The scare tactics used on the people of Avoyelles by the Police Jury will not work anymore. This letter should further clear up some misunderstandings on the petition to create a Home Rule Charter.
By signing the petition, you are ONLY saying you would like a charter to be written by a committee. Once written, the voters will be able to read it and then debate it on its merits. The voters will be able to decide if it is right for Avoyelles.
The committee that will write the charter will NOT BE PAID as described by the Police Jury. They will be either elected or appointed from a diverse group of voters residing in the parish. Examples of possible commissioners to draw up the charter are farmers, community leaders, business owners, engineers, professionals, consultants, researchers, and other intelligent people in Avoyelles. The people in the committee to write the charter cannot initially run for the offices they are creating. The members of the committee to write the Home Rule Charter are not paid and cannot initially run for the offices created by the charter.
There will be NO change in the district lines. The lines for the 9 districts we have now are designed with the minority population in mind and create 3 majority minority districts. This is important for proper representation of our diverse community. To attempt to change these would create a litigious situation.
The Home Rule Charter will not replace the individuals in the Police Jury. If passed the charter will take effect in the next election cycle (November, 2027). The current officials will complete their term and if desired run again in their current prospective districts. They could also run for parish president. The power of the individual police jurors will be diminished and their salaries will most probably be reduced.
The timeline for this process is as follows.

1. The petition is signed by 2500 voters and the initiative to form a committee to write a Home Rule Charter is put on the ballot. The police jury can also initiate this process without costing the taxpayer anything, if they wish.
2. If passed, a committee will be selected or elected to write the charter. The charter will take 9-18 months to be written. No changes take place with the current government during this time.
3. Once written the Home Rule Charter of Avoyelles will be published online and in print for all to read and debate. Once sufficient time has passed the charter will be placed on the ballot on the next election cycle to either be voted yes or no on.
4. If the charter is passed by the voters it will take effect on the next election cycle once the current police jurors have finished their term. They can run for their district seats as parish councilmen or run for parish president if desired.
   The many details regarding salary, positions, budgets, and other details cannot be debated at this point because they have not been written yet. That debate will take place at the ballot box once the charter is written. This is not a light undertaking and will take some time and effort on the part of all of us. The assumptions made by the some of the police jury members on these issues are misleading and create confusion on what the petition does.
   Many elected officials have already signed the petition. I would urge you to call them and ask them their feelings on the Home Rule Charter. Join the Facebook group “We the People of Avoyelles Parish” and educate yourself on the merits of this system. Get with one of our core members and find a location near you where you can sign the petition. This group is completely transparent and anyone can help. This is not an “us against them” situation. This is an “all of us” helping “them and us” to make a better community. The only people that stand to lose in this are the police jurors themselves (salary reduction). We have four jurors that are in favor of letting the people vote on a charter at this time. If one more police juror can be convinced to let the people decide we can move forward. In the meantime we will continue to get signatures on the petition.
   This is not about the 9 Police Jurors; this is about the future of Avoyelles Parish. If the majority of the 40 thousand people in Avoyelles think that the police jury system is working and do not think any change is needed, they can decide that by voting against Home Rule Charter. The petition is only asking for the people to be able to decide for themselves which route is better.
   We the People of Avoyelles Parish think that when the community comes together to effect change we can make our little part of the world a better place. No one is being paid to get the petition signed. We are a group of concerned citizens that have researched Home Rule Charter and want to leave a better parish for our children and grandchildren. We believe our current police jury system needs an upgrade. Join us in this effort, and help bring Avoyelles into the future by signing the petition.