As District Attorney Hillar Moore continues to fight in court for more funding for his office, all of the parish’s cities must now join the case as defendants alongside the East Baton Rouge Parish government.
Baton Rouge judge Tarvald Smith ruled Wednesday that St. George, Baker, Central and Zachary must be added to the case as third parties, siding with city-parish attorneys who have argued that those cities aren’t paying their fair share.
Moore opposed adding St. George and others to the suit. He agrees with leaders of those cities, who point to state law requiring parish governments fund district attorney offices, not cities.
Smith’s ruling is a major development in an ongoing debate that has grown fiercer since the Louisiana Supreme Court allowed St. George to incorporate two years ago: In a parish fragmented between so many cities, who is responsible for paying for what?
The debate is bigger than just district attorneys. For example: Some have also questioned why cities other than Baton Rouge do not pay for the 19th Judicial Court, from which Smith issued the ruling.
In a statement Wednesday afternoon, Moore noted that it was not his office that brought the cities into the suit.
“We have not sought to make this a dispute with our local mayors or city governments,” Moore said.
In court, attorneys representing his office have pointed to a 1988 Louisiana Supreme Court decision that ordered a parish government — not a city — to reimburse its district attorney’s office operational expenses.
A spokesperson for Mayor-President Sid Edwards declined to comment on the judge’s decision, citing pending litigation.
‘There’s no precedent for it’
A St. George spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
St. George’s incorporation diverted roughly 40% to 50% of the city-parish’s annual parish sales tax revenue from the city-parish general fund to finance St. George’s government.
The general fund supports dozens of departments and agencies, including the so-called “constitutional offices” like the district attorney’s office, coroner, court and parish prison.
Over the past two years, some parish leaders have argued that St. George, Baker, Central and Zachary are not contributing funds towards Moore’s office and others, yet are getting services from those agencies for free.
Attorney Brett Furr, who is representing the city-parish in the case, previously filed arguments that said St. George and others should be added to the case. Furr’s ammunition for those arguments came from St. George’s incorporation case at the Louisiana Supreme Court in which organizers filed documents that said money would be allocated to the district attorney’s office and others if they became a city — but that never happened.
“Now that it has incorporated and it is time to write a check, St. George has reneged,” Furr said.
District Attorney Hillar Moore pictured as Mayor-President Sid Edwards answers a question about budget cuts to the District Attorney’s office during the State of the City address during a Rotary Club meeting at Drusilla Place on Wednesday, January 7, 2025.
In that case, St. George’s own expert witness testified that the city would contribute more than $5.3 million annually to pay for the district attorney and coroner’s offices and the parish prison.
The newest incorporation has led to some pointing fingers at other cities too.
Following Wednesday’s ruling, Central Mayor Wade Evans said he believes the state’s constitution doesn’t allow for a mandate that cities pay for the district attorney and others.
“We’re going to defend it, because we don’t believe the constitutionality of the municipalities having to pony up for the constitutional offices is sound,” Evans said of the order. “There’s no precedent for it. The solution is not to just for us to give more money. The solution is to fix the problem.”
Moore said he personally spoke with mayors of all four cities following the decision, adding his office “values its relationship with every municipality” and will continue to serve them regardless of what happens with his lawsuit.
DA’s funding woes
Moore has repeatedly said that the district attorney’s office is operating at a severe funding disadvantage.
The city-parish provides about $7.5 million annually, but Moore says the office would need $22.6 million a year to be on par with similarly sized district attorneys’ offices elsewhere in Louisiana.
The legislature passed a bill earlier this year that effectively provided Moore’s office $800,000 in additional funds for prosecutor salaries — but Moore says more is needed.
Before filing his lawsuit, the district attorney tried to pass his own parishwide property tax last year to fund his office independently, but voters rejected it by a 20% margin.
All four cities recently agreed to begin allocating funds to the public defender office in Baton Rouge.
The fundamental argument of Moore’s case that a judge will ultimately need to decide is whether or not the local government is adequately funding his office as the constitution requires.
“Our goal is not conflict,” Moore said. “Our goal is to find a lawful and workable solution that allows this Office to carry out its constitutional duties and continue protecting all of our communities.”
