by T. Scott Boatright
The Lincoln Parish Police Jury passed a motion to restructure its organizational chart in hopes of improving efficiency during its May meeting Tuesday night inside the Lincoln Parish Courthouse.
Part of the change will be changing titles for Assistant Parish Administrator Kevin Klepzig.
The created positions are Parish Director of Operations, which will be handled by Klepzig, and Financial Manager.
“One thing we’d like to go back to is put back in a Financial Manager,” Parish Administrator Courtney Hall told the Jury. “That position existed three years ago and it was kind of taken out when we appointed the Treasurer. But as (former football coach and LPPJ Vice President Greg ‘Big Coach’ Williams) would see, around here we need to keep our first stringers in the game all the time.”
Hall said the move would help strengthen stability for the LPPJ.
“Even though the title is Financial Manager they would basically handle some of the purchasing and risk management functions, or at least be familiar with them, so we wouldn’t be put in a bind if something was to happen and we’d lose somebody,” Hall said.
Hall also said he’d like to do away with a Public Works Director and go to what he called a Director of Operations.
“So you could put not only highways and solid waste, you could have facilities and buildings, highways, solid waste, parks, animal control and the HELP Agency, which I put there because it was on the original chart.”
“What I’m envisioning — right now Kevin is the Assistant Parish Administrator,” Hall said. “If you look at the old chart (used by the LPPJ in recent years), the assistant is kind of an appendage of the administrator. Kevin does so much more than that. Just Assistant Administrator doesn’t really describe what he does because he deals with all of these departments every day. It’s not just highways and solid waste, it’s everything, so I think it would be good to give him another title as Director of Operations.”
The LPPJ also voted to agree to a one-year deal to provide administrative offices for the Boys and Girls Clubs of North Louisiana once the HELP Agency moves out of the second floor of the LPPJ Annex (the old Lincoln Parish Library) located at the intersection of Homer and Alabama Streets.
“If you remember, we tabled this last meeting for more information,” Hall said. “Well, we had another meeting with (Boys and Girls Clubs of North Louisiana Director Eldonta Obsborne) here recently to go over details and I think we’ve got things worked out.
“He understands that we can’t guarantee more than one year at this point and he’s OK with that. We just have to be flexible. I told him we wouldn’t throw him out on the street but that we couldn’t enter into more than a one-year agreement at this point.”
Hall said that details such as utility payments and insurance have been worked out.
“From an administration standpoint we’re satisfied that they will make good tenants and are agreeable to the terms that we present to them,” Hall said.
The LPPJ also adopted its Millage Rates for 2025 with no changes from last year, adopted a resolution committing matching funds in the amount of $358,600 for bridge replacements on Mitchell and Shady Grove roads and adopted a certificate evidencing public approval of bonds to be issued by Capital Area Finance Authority pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and authorizing LPPJ President Glen Scriber to sign the certificate.
Also adopted was an ordinance for sale of an adjudicated property; authorizing the abandonment of Holstead Road, Lester Road, Skinner Road, Skinner Road and Grover Road; authorizing the engagement of Shuler Consulting Company for services related to acquisition of generators with FEMA funding from the 2019 tornado and authorizing the advertisement for bids for those generators; granting plat approval for Oak Tree Subdivision Units 2 and 3; and declaring various items as surplus property and authorizing advertising for bids on that surplus property.
