By: David Crockett , Contributing Columnist

Bossier City Charter Commission and Assistant City Attorney Richard Ray are gaslighting the citizens of Bossier City. Ray repeats in every possible venue that the charter commission did great work with recommended changes to the 20-year-old charter.

He also advocates that the proposed changes are needed. Ray is correct that the Louisiana Bond Commission voted to allow the commission’s three propositions to be placed on the ballot on March 29, but citizens need to beware of the snake in the garden…thissssss isssss good sayssss Ray.

If Proposition one is passed, the proposed new charter which can be found on the City’s web page will go into effect with all its flaws—there are many.

For instance, the proposed charter failed to address any of the issues raised during town halls, and the commission didn’t pursue any action that would address out-of-control spending, or hold councilmen accountable who fail to follow their own charter and violate Louisiana statutes.

Appointment of Department Heads

The proposed new charter could cause irreparable damage and encourage perceived ethics issues. The charter allows all department heads except Police and Fire Chiefs to be contract employees rather than appointments by the Mayor.

Manchac City Engineer example: A contractor’s fiduciary interest is to grow business for the owners of the engineering firm. As a contractor, Manchac and it’s employees are able to make contributions direct to any political campaign.

Manchac’s leadership, which includes City Engineer Ben Rauschenbach, has a long history of contributing to Bossier City/Parish campaigns including Councilman Montgomery, other past councilmen, Mayor Chandler, and PJ Pam Glorioso.

Earlier in 2024, Rauschenbach asked for a 30% contract increase while he is the only engineer on the city staff. The contract wasn’t negotiated and a 30% increase was awarded for a five-year contract.

Under the new charter, all department heads could become contractors. There are no restrictions in the charter that prevent a contractor from rewarding their city leaders with campaign contributions. This change also takes more power from the mayor who will not be responsible for selecting contractors. This should be a fatal flaw for the new charter.

Term Limits Controversy

The version of term limits approved by the Bond Commission, if passed, will not stop one grey-beard councilman from running for office until 2037. Most in Bossier City think that three terms should be a life-time limit.

Few in Bossier City would argue that the Charter Commission was formed in response to the Bossier Term Limits Coalition’s petition for retroactive term limits that would prevent any councilman who has already served more that three terms to run for an additional term in 2025.

The grey-beard councilmen used law fare to violate their own charter and avoid putting the propositions from “The People’s Petition” on the March ballot. The Bossier Term Limits Coalition is awaiting an opinion from the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals to enforce the Writ of Mandamus signed by the 26 JDC.

Most City Councilmen appear to have opposition in the coming elections, and the council should have a fresh look with new ideas in July 2025. Following the election, a new charter commission can be formed and recommendations for changes can include the constructive inputs from the 2024 Charter Commission.

Bossier Term Limits Coalition believes the Charter Commission’s work was seriously flawed because their proposed charter changes did not address the issues that have harmed Bossier City, and all three propositions should be voted down.

For other updates on The People’s Petition, go to bossiertermlimits.com.