| Advisory opinion request regarding the employment of Gage Tervalon with the Bogalusa Police Department while his father, Troy Tervalon, serves as the Assistant Chief of the Bogalusa Police Department. |
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Troy Tervalon has been employed with the Bogalusa Police Department since August 1998. He served as a Major over the Corrections Division and Warden of the Bogalusa City Jail when his son, Gage Tervalon, was hired by the Bogalusa Police Department as an Officer in the Patrol Division on November 22, 2021. During that time, Troy Tervalon abstained from all decisions made regarding Gage Tervalon's employment, including his interview panel, hiring panel, shift assignments, promotion decisions, and any corrective actions taken.
On December 5, 2022, Troy Tervalon assumed the role of Acting Assistant Chief of Police. On October 15, 2024, he was promoted to Assistant Chief of Police. On June 1, 2023, Gage Tervalon was promoted to Officer First Class in the Patrol Division. On November 19, 2024, he was promoted to Sergeant in the Patrol Division. At all times pertinent herein, Gage Tervalon was never employed in his father's division.
In an effort to continue avoiding any potential violations of La. R.S. 42:1112B(1), the Bogalusa Police Department submits the following proposed disqualification for approval by the Board pursuant to La. R.S. 42:1112C.
Proposed Disqualification Plan
Assistant Chief Troy Tervalon is disqualified and excluded from participating in any duties, decisions, and/or approvals required by the Bogalusa Police Department that affect the employment, disciplinary action, and/or salary of Sgt. Gage Tervalon. All duties, decisions, and/or approvals of matters pertaining to Sgt. Gage Tervalon's employment shall be performed by the following chain of command: Lieutenant, Captain of his assigned shift, Major assigned to his unit, and then the Chief of Police.
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La. R.S. 42:1112B(1) provides that no public servant shall participate in a transaction involving the governmental entity in which, to his actual knowledge, any member of his immediate family has a substantial economic interest.
La. R.S. 42:1112C allows a disqualification plan to be developed in accordance with rules adopted by the Board to remove a public servant from participating in transactions that would otherwise present violations of Section 1112 of the Code.
La. R.S. 42:1119A provides that no member of the immediate family of an agency head shall be employed in his agency.
La. R.S. 42:1102(2)(a)(vi) defines "agency" for public servants of political subdivisions to mean the agency in which the public servant serves, except that for members of any governing authority and for the elected or appointed chief executive of a governmental entity, it shall mean the governmental entity. Public servants of political subdivisions shall include, but shall not be limited to, elected officials and public employees of municipalities, parishes, and other political subdivisions; sheriffs and their employees; district attorneys and their employees; coroners and their employees; and clerks of court and their employees.
La. R.S. 42:1102(3) defines "agency head" to mean the chief executive or administrative officer of an agency.
La. R.S. 42:1102(12) defines "governmental entity" to mean the state or any political subdivision which employs the public employee or employed the former public employee or to which the elected official is elected, as the case may be.
La. R.S. 42:1102(13) defines "immediate family" as the term relates to a public servant to mean his children, the spouses of his children, his brothers and their spouses, his sisters and their spouses, his parents, his spouse, and the parents of his spouse.
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Adopt the proposed advisory opinion and approve the disqualification plan.
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| Assigned Attorney: |
Jessica Meiners |
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