By Jim Smilie
Alexandria’s future depends on the ability of residents and leaders to focus on doing things smarter, faster, better and safer.
That was the primary message from Alexandria Mayor Jacques M. Roy during a presentation at noon Tuesday to the Rotary Club of Alexandria in Convention Hall.
“We have to do things at a scalable level, we have to do things with speed and we have to do things with clear endpoints,” Roy said. “We’re way behind.”
Roy, who previously served three terms as Mayor from 2006-2018, took the oath of office for the fourth time on December 5, 2022. At that time he began work on his plan for the first 100 days in office, which will be completed on March 15.
Improving public safety was the first issue Roy addressed. Alexandria, like many cities across the state and nation, has experienced an increase in violent crimes, especially shooting incidents. “We have to have public safety, or nothing else matters,” Roy said. “There is no family in this city – Black or White – who doesn’t want that.”
Roy shared his vision is to create, “the best police department, period. No qualifiers. Not the best department for a city our size. The best police department, period.”
As part of that effort, Roy said it is crucial to reevaluate the department’s personnel and resources. Rather than focusing solely on recruiting sworn police officers, Roy said it is important to look at non-POST certified roles as well, such as mental health professionals and information technology specialists. Additionally, Roy wants to see the current Regional Police Training Academy, which he called “the best in the state” go from being a statewide academy to a national training academy.
Roy, who recently attended a national meeting of mayors, said the law enforcement landscape has changed significantly since he left office in 2018 and he was surprised to find how similar the recruitment challenges are for cities large and small. “We used to think our competition for officers was local,” Roy said, referring to other cities in Louisiana. “It’s national now. I’m seeing a completely different landscape.”
Education was the next point he stressed, noting, “crime is caused by a lack of education.” Roy said he plans to divert significant funding from existing budget areas to go toward support of education. One example he cited is his desire to budget $3 million to support Louisiana State University of Alexandria’s plans to expand the Allied Health facility in downtown Alexandria.
“We have to do it (invest in education) to achieve scale and speed,” Roy said, noting Louisiana still ranks last nationally in education. “We’re last – we can’t be last,” he said. “We need to get married to education.”
Referring to the LSUA health initiative, Roy noted the increased demand for medical professionals. “We had an advantage in health care. We’ve lost that and need to get it back.”
Roy also cited efforts by Central Louisiana Technical & Community College (CLTCC) to better develop the local workforce. He said he supports programs that will help train local residents to fill in-demand jobs ranging from retail and restaurant positions to skilled trades workers to administrative professionals.
Roy said he will be releasing a full report on the implementation of the first 100-day plan early next week prior to day 100 on March 15. “Right now I’m looking at day 101 and beyond. We have to think about change. We have to do it in every part of our life,” Roy said. “We can’t creep forward anymore.”