Alexandria’s Report Card: City eyeing future steps following Mayor Roy’s first 100 days in office

ALEXANDRIA, La. (KALB) - Wednesday, March 15, marked 100 days since Alexandria Mayor Jacques Roy was sworn back into the city’s highest seat.

While campaigning, the mayor emphasized a 100-day plan would be implemented if elected that focused on the biggest needs and concerns in the city, including public safety, utilities and drainage. Mayor Roy’s administration sent out a progress report on his 100th day in office detailing the progress made and future plans.

The City stated they will begin a series of 10 focus groups starting next month ranging from neighborhoods, to the court system, to children and education and even a section on policing and media. The focus groups are scheduled to run from April through July. Below is a list of the scheduled professionally led focus groups:

• Neighborhoods Re-introduction (April 2023)
• Judges, Prosecutors and Allied Safety Professionals (April 2023)
• Judges, Prosecutors and Allied Safety Professionals Pt. 2
• Judges, Prosecutors and Allied Safety Professionals Pt. 3
• Constitutional Policing and Special Units (May 2023)
• Neighborhoods Drill-Down Discussion (May 2023)
• Policing and Community Media Campaign Series
  • Intelligence-led and evidence-based policing, place-based policing and other versions of focused deterrence
  • Mental health and public safety
  • Guns and youth
  • Media and impacts on incident narratives (what is stated and not stated; implicit bias and racism; root cause avoidance; perceived preferences of intended audiences; and subject bias)
• Recreation, health and children
• Education and workforce
• Community summit wrap-up (June/July 2023)

News Channel 5 reached out to the mayor’s office to learn more about how many people would participate in each focus group and who would be included, but at this time have not heard back. Mayor Roy did however post a video on Facebook that said for violence to stop in Alexandria, it will require changes across the city.

“There’s never been a time in American life when communities were more needed to be a part of the set of solutions than any modern police force along with all the other stakeholders we have in law enforcement must offer to the public,” said Mayor Roy.

Part of the city’s plan is to also restructure the chain of command to combat crime concerns by hiring not only more experienced officers but more personnel across the city. News Channel 5 has previously reported on some of the steps currently being implemented as new public safety commissioner Patrick VanDyke was hired and then most recently when the city council approved adding two deputy chief positions at the Alexandria Police Department.

The second half of the 100-day plan moving forward includes adding public safety-focused positions across the city. One position is the Director of Public Safety Special services, which is assigned to departments such as the Office of Gun Violence and Juvenile Services. It also includes the addition of a Director of Public Safety Social Services, who will be in charge of the retention and recruitment of officers along with policies on homelessness. A third position that the City has implanted is a Chief of Neighborhoods and Community Development to address neighborhood concerns and blighted properties.

News Channel 5 once again reached out to City Hall with further questions as to who will be in these roles and who is assigned to appointing the positions, but have not heard a response.

In a second report sent to media outlets, Mayor Roy’s administration detailed the efforts made in other areas of the city such as the utility department and drainage. The City pinpointed 22 separate bullet points regarding the work done in basic services.

One of the biggest beneficiaries of the city during the Roy administration has been the utility customers following the implementation of Project RESTOR. The multi-million dollar grant relief fund was set up to help 3,500 low-to-moderate income households with paying off high utility bills from the previous year. Utility customers applied for assistance during the first full week of March and are expected to hear back on the status of their application in less than two weeks.

View the City’s 100-day plan report card for basic services below:

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