By: ELIZABETH WEST
Associate Editor
Budget cuts are forcing a massive number of layoffs and salary reductions at the Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s Office.
An email was sent from Evangeline Parish Sheriff Eddie Soileau to Evangeline Parish Police Jury Secretary/Treasurer Donald Bergeron on Saturday to inform him of the major cuts that began on Monday.
The EPSO email read, “we are officially broke as of Aug, 19th.”
When it came to what areas would experience the most cuts, the email stated that the sheriff’s office “will be leaving the civil division in tack, for the parish to do business; the law enforcement division and the jail division will be hit hard.”
The sheriff’s email went on to say that the EPSO “will continue to try to give the public protection with what we have left, if anything.”
On Monday, the EPSO sent out a press release concerning this matter, which stated that “the department is forced to downsize by way of massive layoffs,” and that “in an attempt to lessen the impact of the cuts, layoffs will be spread across various divisions within the sheriff’s office.”
According to the release “there will also be a 10 percent decrease in salary of all employees in an effort to balance the budget, which is effective immediately.”
The EPSO intends release more information concerning this matter at a later date.