Bogalusa City Council Meeting of April 16, 2024

This meeting was as contentious as any and there have been many others in the last 15 months.  A lot of disrespect shown by the public and the mayor toward council members. Behind it all were issues about the budgets, the spending freeze, and cuts proposed by the mayor to the police and fire departments. And so much more! These meetings are business meetings and should proceed as such. However, despite the best efforts of the council's leadership and members, the meetings devolve into chaos. Residents and other interested persons can assign blame as they choose but this cannot continue.

For context, viewers should see the entire video. The situation began to escalate even further around 01:07:00 and Councilwoman Douglas walked out. She returned after 01:18:00. The mayor walked out around 02:28:30. Councilwoman Douglas provided other comments after 02:39:00.

This morning, Mayor Tyrin Z. Truong posted the following:

"The Bogalusa City Council’s lack of decorum has become concerning. Last night, I was threatened by a council person with a “loaded double barrel shotgun.” Being that this incident was caught on livestream, I have decided to press charges to make an example. We cannot decry gun violence amongst teenagers and conduct ourselves in this manner. What example are we setting? Violence is -never- the answer and I’m tired of the death threats. 

The council also passed an unwarranted spending freeze, meaning programs like the summer YouthCorps jobs program have been cancelled. This freeze also impacts essential services like police and fire. More information forthcoming. More people have to get engaged with what’s going on in city government."

Bogalusa Council 04162024 from Mt. Hermon Web-TV on Vimeo.