By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff-elect Mike Tregre said Thursday that he will begin working with Sheriff Wayne Jones Monday morning as part of an early start to the transition process.

Tregre said he and Jones had spoken last week, and both sides agreed it would be best to begin the transition process as soon as possible so the newly elected sheriff can “hit the ground running” on inauguration day July 1.

“I’m going in so that I can get a feel for the day-to-day operations of the office,” said Tregre. “There are issues pertaining to the budget and other sheriff’s duties that I’m not completely knowledgeable about. I want to be as prepared as I can be.”

Jones said an early transition was something he valued and took advantage of when he took over for longtime Sheriff Lloyd Johnson in 1996. He said it gave him a chance to see the operations first hand over a six-month period so he could get familiar with the position.

“He gave me access to everything I needed,” Jones said. “During the time I was there with him, I had the opportunity to put my entire command staff together so that when July 1 rolled around I had an entire organizational chart ready to go from day one.”

Jones said most of the issues he and Tregre will look at pertain to management of the department’s $24 million budget. He said health insurance costs and declining revenues from lower sales and property taxes could play an important part in Tregre’s first few months in office.

“Health insurance is a major expenditure for us,” Jones said. “We never raised family coverage for deputies while I was here. The Sheriff’s Office always covered rises in premiums so that the amount paid by deputies stayed firm. I want to work together with Mike to ensure we can continue that.”

Jones also said Tregre will be given an opportunity to interview all employees in the civil and criminal departments just to get an idea of what their plans might be. Jones said it will allow Tregre a better idea of what he has to work with.

Jones said Tregre will be brought on as a paid employee during the roughly eight-month transition period. His salary was set at about $5,500 per month with an additional $500 monthly stipend.

Tregre said the goal of the early meetings is to foster a smooth transition on both sides. He said it will go a long way toward preventing an absence of service for the residents of the parish.

“Protecting the residents and property of St. John Parish is the highest priority,” Tregre said. “There is a real cooperative spirit in the community right now. They want to know what they can do to help. They want to make things better in the parish. I’m already getting tips in all parts of the community. Residents see what is going on elsewhere, and they don’t want to see that here.”