Sparks were flying when Sheriff Marlin Gusman went before the New Orleans City Council for budget hearings. There were disagreements over new construction at the jail.
Councilman Jay Banks says he's not happy about the position the council is in
"We're currently under a federal court order to honor an agreement made by the Landrieu administration to build phase three," said Banks. "The council will not vote on phase three, nor will we take a vote that might be interpreted as contempt."
Banks said the council has been deferring a vote on a zoning change needed for the construction, and he wants the council to continue deferring it the zoning change request expires.
He said at that point, U.S. District Judge Lance Africk would then have to order the city to comply.
Sheriff Marlin Gusman took issue with the council characterizing construction of phase three as an expansion.
"You're absolutely wrong. This is not an expansion of the jail," Gusman shot back, and suggested Banks re-read the permit application.
"If you read that, you would see that, then you could see that clearly this is not an expansion."
Phase three is a wing of the jail for inmates with special needs, either mental health or other medical needs, something Gusman says is necessary to satisfy a 2013 federal consent decree with the U.S. Justice Department.
