A Heart of Webster Exposé on How the Police Jury Misled the Public — and What They’re Desperate to Hide

For years, the Webster Parish Police Jury has repeated the same tired lines:

“Money is tight.”
“We can only repair a few roads.”
“We’re doing everything we can with limited resources.”

But their own audit tells a very different story — a story of hoarded cash, deferred maintenance, federal liabilities swept under the rug, statutory violations, and budget gamesmanship that leave residents with broken roads, sinking services, and a justice system propped up by bandaids.

This is not mismanagement.
This is intentional deception, and the numbers prove it.

Police Jury Audit – Click to download

THE PARISH IS NOT BROKE — IT’S HOARDING MONEY WHILE SERVICES COLLAPSE

The Police Jury’s General Fund — the core bank account for the parish — is sitting on:

➡️ $28,010,238

That’s right: $28 million.

And that’s not all.

The Jury also claims:

➡️ $22.3 million “unrestricted” net position

meaning money that is NOT legally locked down.

Meanwhile, General Fund spending for the entire year was only $4.36 million — meaning the Jury has over SIX YEARS’ worth of operating money sitting in the bank.

So why are roads being abandoned?
Why are services being cut?
Why are residents being told “there’s no money”?

Because the truth would embarrass those in charge.

THE ROAD FUND SCANDAL: MILLIONS FOR ROADS, SPENT ON ALMOST NOTHING

The Sales Tax Fund — money required by law to be used for blacktopping and sealing parish roads — increased by:

➡️ $1,259,733 this year

ending at a staggering

➡️ $4,947,293 sitting unused

But here’s the bombshell:

Road spending DECREASED.

Road work was reduced.

Road capital outlay went DOWN while money went UP.

The Jury intentionally let the fund grow while claiming publicly that road money is running out.

This is not incompetence.
This is misrepresentation to the public.

While families tear up their vehicles on cratered roads, the Police Jury is letting millions sit idle so they can cry “poverty” and justify abandoning more infrastructure.

This is a betrayal of the rural residents they claim to serve.

CRIMINAL COURT FUND: A FINANCIAL DISASTER PROPPED UP BY RAIDING OTHER FUNDS

The Criminal Court Fund is in such bad shape it cannot survive without yearly bailouts.

In 2024, it required:

• $300,000 from the General Fund

• $232,000 from the Opioid Settlement Fund

That’s $532,000 in emergency money — just to stay afloat.

But the Police Jury didn’t stop there.

They then ignored state law that requires half of the Criminal Court Fund’s year-end surplus to be transferred back to the General Fund (La. R.S. 15:571.11).

They broke the rule because the Criminal Court fund is collapsing — and they don’t want taxpayers to know it.

And yes, you read that correctly:

The Police Jury used opioid crisis settlement money to bail out court expenses instead of funding addiction treatment and prevention.

That should infuriate every parent, teacher, pastor, and health worker in Webster Parish.

OPIOID MONEY RAIDED — WHILE OVERDOSE RISKS REMAIN HIGH

Opioid settlement funds are meant to fight addiction, save lives, and prevent future overdoses.

Webster Parish leadership had other ideas.

They siphoned $232,000 into the failing Criminal Court fund.
Not into treatment.
Not into prevention.
Not into recovery.

Into court expenses.

This is more than a budget choice.
This is a moral failure.

ARPA FUNDS: ANOTHER $2.5 MILLION SITTING UNUSED

The parish is holding:

➡️ $2,524,364 in unearned federal ARPA money

This money was given to help communities after COVID — for infrastructure, recovery, public services, and economic support.

Instead, the Police Jury is letting it sit.

No plan.
No urgency.
No transparency.

Federal deadlines are looming, and if the Jury screws this up, Webster Parish could lose every dollar.

HUGE FEDERAL LIABILITIES HIDING OUT OF VIEW

Two major contingent liabilities threaten the parish’s future:

Head Start Disallowed Costs — $782,000

Federal monitors found:

• $421,919 in disallowed costs

• $360,238 in additional penalties and interest

Total exposure:

➡️ $782,000

The Police Jury didn’t record this as a liability, even though all official correspondence from HHS is sent directly to the Jury.

FEMA Contractor Dispute — $991,982

A contractor billed the Jury $1,240,093 for FEMA project administration.
Only $248,111 has been paid.

The remaining $991,982 is disputed — but if FEMA sides against the Jury, taxpayers pay the price.

Again, the Jury recorded no liability.

Meaning the parish’s “healthy” financial picture is a well-polished illusion.

COMPONENT UNITS LEFT OUT OF THE FINANCIALS — BY CHOICE

The auditors issued an adverse opinion because the Police Jury “has chosen not to include” its component units in the financial statements.

These include:

• Head Start / Community Services

• Fire districts

• Waterworks districts

• E-911

By excluding them, the Jury hides financial problems, risks, and liabilities from the public eye.

This is the opposite of transparency.
This is intentional opacity.

THE PARISH’S JUSTICE SYSTEM IS BEING HELD TOGETHER WITH DUCT TAPE

The audit shows:

• Insufficient court revenue

• Heavy dependence on bailouts

• Statutory violations

• Opioid funds used improperly

• Large unfunded liabilities

• Rising costs with no plan to fix them

This is not a justice system.
This is a budgetary emergency dressed up with silence and excuses.

WEBSTER PARISH HAS A PATTERN: DELAY, HIDE, HOARD, REPEAT

Across every major area, the pattern is undeniable:

✔️ Hoard cash so the public thinks money is tight

✔️ Delay road and infrastructure work

✔️ Hide liabilities off the books

✔️ Move money between funds to mask budget failures

✔️ Ignore state law when it becomes inconvenient

✔️ Use restricted funds for unrelated shortfalls

✔️ Keep the public uninformed and unprepared

This is not leadership.
This is budgetary manipulation and political survival at the expense of taxpayers.

THE PSYCHOLOGY OF DECEPTION: CONDITION THE PUBLIC TO ACCEPT LESS

When leaders repeat:

• “Money is tight.”

• “We can’t fix every road.”

• “We’re doing the best we can.”

…while stockpiling tens of millions of dollars and ignoring mandatory financial rules, this is not incompetence.

It is conditioning.

A public conditioned to expect failure will accept failure.
A public that believes “nothing can be done” won’t ask questions.
A public kept in the dark cannot demand accountability.

This is how corruption survives in rural America.

THE POLICE JURY MUST ANSWER FOR THIS

Webster Parish is not financially strapped. It is financially misaligned, mismanaged, and misrepresented by its leadership.

The audit reveals:

• Millions in unused road money

• Millions in unused ARPA money

• Opioid funds raided

• Court fund collapsing

• Statutes ignored

• Federal liabilities hidden

• Component units excluded

• Roads abandoned

• Residents misled

This is a crisis of honesty, not resources.

Webster Parish does not have a funding problem. It has a truth problem, a transparency problem, and a leadership problem.

HeartOfWebster will continue investigating:

• Road abandonment

• Justice system shortfalls

• Opioid fund misuse

• Internal transfers

• ARPA deadlines

• Component unit liabilities

• Budget priorities that harm rural communities

Webster Parish is sitting on $35.8 million while being nearly $4.9 million short in liabilities and broken systems it refuses to fix.

Because the people of Webster Parish deserve more than excuses and cover-ups.
They deserve answers — and accountability.