LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) — Since Lafayette Consolidated Government approved over $400,000 to purchase land for a new jail in June 2023, there have been questions, starting with, is it still in the process of being built?

The Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office is tasked with the jail’s daily operation while the city’s government is responsible for maintenance and financial obligation. Lafayette Mayor-President Monique Blanco Boulet said plans to build a new facility is in the works, but discussions on funding is still ongoing.

“Today what we’re faced with is very old facilities that are not really safe for the people that work there or for the people who live there,” Boulet said. “So right now we are working very closely with Sheriff Mark Garber to try to identify the funds.”

Boulet says building a new jail is expensive, and the previous administration looked at a proposal where two existing millages used for the operations and maintenance of the courthouse and jail would be used for it. She doesn’t see that proposal as a feasible option.

“So, if we would bond those millages out, we then would not have money to operate and maintain both the courthouse and the jail,” Boulet said. “We would be in a really tough fix. I don’t think that package worked.”

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Boulet says her administration is working to put together a package leveraging everything they can in order to build a new jail. When asked if LCG is opposed to private entities providing assistance with funding, Boulet says she’s open to ideas.

“We are trying to be very creative, and we are trying to work with as many partners as we can to make this happen,” Boulet said.

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Boulet says they’re at the table being honest with one another as there are tough questions needing solutions. And as a result of that, she says new relationships between LCG and LPSO are being formed.

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