CENTRAL — The Louisiana Attorney General’s Office says the City of Central can hire the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement services while keeping its own police department in place.
Attorney General Liz Murrill issued a formal opinion concluding that a contract with the sheriff’s office would not take away the elected police chief’s legal authority to enforce laws and ordinances within Central.
The opinion also says the city can cut the police department’s budget to help cover the cost of sheriff’s office services. There is one condition though — the elected chief’s salary cannot be reduced during his current term in office…