By John Summers on Oct 14, 2025

WBR Council Appears to Violate State Open Meetings Law While Quadrupling Public Records Fees

Meeting Coverage

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Same officials who also sit as the fire board deny item-specific public comment, approve fees 4× the state standard after business owner warns of "pre-made decisions"

Bottom Line Up Front: The West Baton Rouge Parish Council voted unanimously Thursday Oct 9th, 2025 to support public records fees four times Louisiana's official state standard rate—with no cost analysis, no council discussion, no item-specific public comment period on the resolutions as required by Louisiana Open Meetings Law, and no response to residents who raised concerns on social media. The process took less than two minutes, with Parish President Jason Manola and Finance Director Chance Stephens remaining silent on the specifics. When asked after being approached for comment, The Finance Director cited two problematic requests in 2025. Parish President Jason Manola questioned the link between higher fees and transparency and did not address open-meetings concerns.

When asked for comment, he responded: "[I'm] not sure how you are trying to make the connection between transparency and accountability to the public records request increase, because the policy has not been eliminated, simply the cost has been reevaluated after a decade of the same cost structure."

PORT ALLEN, LA — The West Baton Rouge Parish Council voted 9–0 Thursday to support a new public-records fee schedule—$1/page (1–25), $0.50/page (26–500), $0.25/page (501+)—and a 75% deposit before work begins (Resolution 13.B). The item passed in under two minutes after a brief staff presentation and without item-specific public comment, per the official transcript.

Online criticism and regional coverage had questioned whether the increase is "reasonable" under Louisiana law. Councilman Alan Crowe made the motion; Councilman Brady Hotard seconded.

"Pre-Made Decisions" Followed by Instant Approval

Earlier in the meeting, Louis B. Vielee, president of TMI Enterprise, urged the council to avoid "pre-made" decisions while speaking on a towing-facility permit. "So hopefully y'all haven't pre-made y'all decisions. And hopefully y'all do the right thing," Vielee told the council. The permit was later approved with added conditions.

At approximately 47:00 into the meeting, Finance Director Chance Stephens presented Resolution 13.B for about two minutes. When he offered to take questions, a member replied, "I think we're good," and the council moved directly to a motion, second, and vote—without item-specific public comment. The sequence appeared to validate Vielee's observation about predetermined outcomes.

The Appearance of Deliberation

Councilman Alan Crowe added an opaque-fencing "condition" to the towing permit; the applicant had already stated Louisiana State Police require fencing for towing licensure: "That has to be done as per state police. It's a six-foot hurricane fence as per state police."

The overlap raises process questions—whether the "condition" restated existing state requirements or reflected limited engagement with the presentation.

The Fee Structure and Justification

Finance Director Chance Stephens presented the proposed fee structure to the council, which would update a policy dating to 2015:

$1.00/page for pages 1–25
$0.50/page for pages 26–500
$0.25/page for pages 501+
75% upfront deposit before records are pulled

Stephens compared WBR to clerks of court, a district attorney's office, and the City of Baton Rouge/EBR, and said the 75% deposit aims to prevent large requesters from failing to retrieve completed work.

Important clarification: Resolution 13.B affects general parish government records maintained by offices funded through property and sales taxes paid by West Baton Rouge residents. This differs from constitutional offices like Clerk of Courts, which operate on self-generated court fees rather than taxpayer funds.

What Wasn't Addressed

Critical questions went unasked during the brief consideration:

No cost basis documenting per-page expenses for $1 top tier
State benchmark (LAC Title 4 §I-301) at $0.25/page not addressed
Peer mismatch (clerks/DA vs. parish governments)
Commercial tier unused (La. R.S. 44:32(C)(2))
Free inspection (La. R.S. 44:32(C)(3))
Low volume (two problematic requests; ~1/month overall)
Reasonableness (AG Op. 96-270; fees should reflect actual cost, not impede access)
Electronic delivery ignored (no separate pricing for PDFs/digital files)

The Accountability Paradox

In a 2023 interview, Parish President Jason Manola emphasized accountability and transparency: "I ran my campaign on being accountable, understanding that the role of the parish president is accountable to the citizens and the taxpayers of West Baton Rouge Parish."

Raising copy fees while not addressing item-specific public comment sits in tension with those commitments.

Open Meetings Law & Public Comment

La. R.S. 42:14(D) requires a public-comment period before action on any agenda item up for a vote. The Oct. 9 transcript reflects no item-specific public comment before votes on Resolution 13.A (polling place leases) and 13.B (records fees). A general non-agenda comment period at the start does not meet the statute's item-specific requirement. In both cases, the council went directly from staff presentation to motion and vote.

The council has also limited speakers on controversial items. At the May 22 carbon-capture moratorium meeting, Chairman Denstel capped remarks at four speakers though the item required a vote. Together, these instances appear inconsistent with the statute's plain language.

Recurring Practice Across Boards

The same nine officials also sit as the Fire Protection District Board. At their Aug. 28 meeting, the board did not allow any public comment—general or item-specific—before taking votes, moving straight from presentations to motions and votes, as reflected in the official record. They voted to abolish the full-time fire chief position and continue contracting fire leadership through Browning Associates LLC.

The council's Oct. 9 handling of 13.A and 13.B mirrors that practice, raising recurring compliance concerns under R.S. 42:14(D) for both public-safety and public-records governance.

Officials Respond But Cannot Justify Fees or Explain Process

WBR Independent contacted five parish officials Friday with detailed questions about the fee structure and approval process.

Hotard & Denstel: Councilman Brady Hotard said the public can speak before votes on resolutions and stated his understanding that Louisiana's Open Meetings Law requires "the public must be given that opportunity before any vote." Chairman Carey Denstel agreed. The transcript shows neither 13.A nor 13.B offered item-specific public comment before the vote.

Stephens: Finance Director Chance Stephens, when asked about problematic requests justifying the increase, admitted: "I personally am aware of the two so far this year that I was involved with." He estimated departments receive approximately one records request per month but could not provide specific cost documentation showing why West Baton Rouge Parish's costs would be four times higher than state agencies. Instead, he listed generic expenses every government entity has—paper, Adobe licenses, servers.

Manola: Parish President Jason Manola—who proposed Resolution 13.B as the parish's custodian of public records and served 14 years as Chief of Administration before becoming president—declined to address questions about the Open Meetings Law violation that occurred during his own resolution's presentation, stating: "That question should be direct to the Council and the Council Chair who under the home rule charter is charged with running the council meetings."

As the parish's chief executive officer who campaigned on accountability and transparency, Manola was asked how quadrupling fees for the policy he himself proposed aligns with those commitments. He responded: "[I'm] not sure how you are trying to make the connection between transparency and accountability to the public records request increase, because the policy has not been eliminated, simply the cost has been reevaluated after a decade of the same cost structure."

Despite proposing the resolution and participating in the meeting where it passed without item-specific public comment, Manola could not independently justify the policy, repeatedly deferring to Finance Director Stephens: "See Chance Stephens' response," "I am in agreement with his assertions," and "I also agree with Director of Finance's assertion on this matter."

The deflection of responsibility from a longtime parish veteran who proposed the resolution, participated in the meeting, serves as chief executive, and campaigned on holding himself accountable raises fundamental questions about leadership and governance in West Baton Rouge Parish.

Crowe: Councilman Alan Crowe, who made the motion on 13.B, did not respond.

What Happens Next

The council's vote supports (but does not itself enact) the Parish President's policy update; fees take effect only after the custodian of records formally adopts and posts the schedule (La. R.S. 44:32(C)(1)). No effective date has been announced. Regardless of copying fees, residents may inspect and photograph records for free (La. R.S. 44:32(C)(3)). Legal challenges to fee reasonableness remain possible.

The Broader Question

Whether the fee levels are ultimately upheld or not, the process—brief presentation, swift motions, no item-specific public comment, and no cost basis—sits in tension with Louisiana's open-government standards.

The West Baton Rouge Parish Council meets on the second and fourth Thursday of each month at 5:30 PM CT at the Government Building, 880 North Alexander Avenue, Port Allen.

The council's next regular meeting is scheduled for October 23, 2025.

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