Parish bypassed eligible candidates, ignored State Examiner warnings, proposes part-time "fix"

Bottom Line Up Front: West Baton Rouge Parish has used a contractor arrangement for Fire Chief duties for over three years, ignoring Louisiana civil service law requirements. An emergency Fire Board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, August 28th, where officials may attempt to formalize the arrangement by reclassifying the position as part-time.

West Baton Rouge Parish has operated under a contractor arrangement for Fire Chief duties since 2022, with some questioning whether the approach complies with Louisiana civil service law requirements for classified positions.

The arrangement came under scrutiny when Parish President Jason Manola acknowledged to WBRZ that parish records don't show the full-time Fire Chief position was ever officially eliminated from the classification plan.

Current Arrangement

The parish pays Butch Browning, former State Fire Marshal, $50,000 annually through his company Browning Associates LLC to perform Fire Chief duties. This arrangement began in June 2022 and has continued for over three years.

Parish officials indicated the contractor arrangement was chosen to save money compared to a full-time Fire Chief position, which Manola estimates would cost between $200,000-$250,000 annually including benefits.

In November 2021, the parish conducted a Fire Chief examination and approved an eligibility list that remained valid for 18 months. No appointments were made from this list before it expired in June 2023, despite qualified candidates being available. Browning was not an applicant for the full-time Fire Chief position.

Legal Framework Questions

Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 33, Section 2476 (the Municipal Fire and Police Civil Service Law) establishes specific procedures for Fire Chief appointments in civil service systems. According to the law, "temporary appointment" means "the appointment of an employee for limited period of service without acquisition by the appointee of any continuing right to be retained beyond the period."

For temporary appointments to most classified positions, "a provisional appointment shall not continue for more than three months. No position in the classified service shall be filled by one or more provisional appointments for a period in excess of three consecutive months and successive like periods shall not be permissible. The board may, however, authorize the renewal of such appointment, or authorize such successive appointments for a period not to exceed three additional months whenever it has been impracticable or impossible to establish a list of persons eligible for certification and appointment to a vacancy."

This means the maximum legal timeframe for temporary appointments is typically six months total - an initial three months plus a potential three-month extension.

The WBRZ investigation revealed that "according to state law, when it comes to full-time fire chiefs, a temporary appointment of one can be used when no eligibility list exists for the fire chief position. The initial limit is 90 days, and then it can be extended for another three months. Anything beyond that, without appointing someone from an eligibility list, is a violation of state law."

The three-year contractor arrangement appears to exceed these statutory temporary appointment timeframes. Parish officials indicate they view this as a consulting arrangement rather than a temporary appointment, but this raises questions about whether the duties being performed constitute those of a classified Fire Chief position.

State Oversight Response

Documents from the Office of State Examiner indicate state officials have been aware of the arrangement. An August 2023 document acknowledges Browning as "temporarily serving as Fire Superintendent in lieu of a classified Fire Chief."

According to the WBRZ investigation, "The state Examiner's Office was clear and to the point, and they have informed the parish several times that they need to follow state civil service law and select a Civil Service Fire Chief and follow their own parish ordinance and ratify that selection."

The Office of State Examiner serves in an advisory capacity and cannot compel local governments to take specific actions regarding civil service matters, but their guidance appears to have been consistently ignored for over three years.

Key Questions About Parish Actions

Missing Records: Parish President Manola told WBRZ "We can't find in our records where we actually eliminated the full-time fire chief position." However, Manola served as Chief of Administration during the 2021 examination process and was directly involved in personnel decisions.

Unused Eligibility List: Parish officials had 18 months to make appointments from the 2021 eligibility list but chose not to use it, potentially exposing the parish to legal action from qualified candidates who took the examination.

Authority Questions: Recent parish documents show Browning has signed official correspondence using the "Fire Chief" title, including personnel termination letters as recently as May 2025, raising questions about his official authority under a consulting arrangement.

Parish's Proposed "Part-Time Fix" Raises Additional Questions

Parish President Manola told WBRZ he plans to propose continuing with "a part-time fire chief in a consulting capacity," essentially formalizing the current contractor arrangement rather than following proper civil service procedures.

This proposed solution raises several concerns:

Still A Classified Position: Louisiana civil service law includes "the chief and assistant chiefs" in the classified service regardless of full-time or part-time status. The statute doesn't create exceptions for part-time Fire Chiefs.

Avoiding Civil Service Requirements: Part-time positions in Louisiana civil service are typically exempt from competitive examination requirements. This means Browning could continue in the role indefinitely without ever having to take a civil service examination or compete against other qualified candidates. By reclassifying the position as part-time, the parish could permanently avoid using the existing eligibility list or conducting new examinations entirely.

Avoiding Accountability: The part-time proposal appears designed to avoid addressing three years of potential legal violations rather than correcting them through proper civil service procedures. The parish has already spent taxpayer money conducting the 2021 Fire Chief examination and creating an eligibility list that was never used, wasting that investment while paying contractor fees.

Dangerous Precedent: If the parish can avoid civil service requirements by declaring classified positions "part-time consulting arrangements," this approach could be applied to other department heads to avoid oversight.

Emergency Fire Board Meeting Thursday

Parish officials have called an emergency Fire Board meeting for Thursday, August 28th, where they may formally propose reclassifying the Fire Chief position as part-time to justify the contractor arrangement. The Fire Board is composed of the Parish Council acting in its capacity as the governing authority for the fire district, meaning the same elected officials who oversee parish government will be making this decision.

The timing of this meeting, coming after media attention focused on civil service violations, raises questions about whether officials are rushing to formalize the arrangement rather than address the underlying compliance issues. The proposal raises the same concerns already outlined: it would not change the position's classified status, avoids civil service requirements, and risks setting a precedent for bypassing oversight.

Accountability on the Line

Manola campaigned explicitly on accountability. "I ran my campaign on being accountable," he told reporters after his 2023 election, promising to be "accountable to the citizens and taxpayers of West Baton Rouge Parish."

However, when asked about the civil service law violations in his WBRZ interview, Manola claimed the issue "doesn't affect Parish Citizens." This statement neither excuses three years of apparent state law violations nor addresses why the parish ignored repeated guidance from the State Examiner's Office.

The proposed part-time solution raises fundamental questions about that accountability promise:

Why Change Rules Instead of Follow Law? Why is the parish attempting to reclassify the Fire Chief position after three years of violations instead of simply following civil service law and appointing from eligible candidates?

What About Qualified Candidates? Candidates who took the 2021 Fire Chief examination invested time and resources based on the position being full-time classified. Why were they never given the opportunity for appointment?

Who Authorized This Approach? Which officials decided to bypass civil service requirements for three years, and were Parish Council members fully informed when they approved contractor payments in annual budgets?

Why Ignore State Guidance? The State Examiner's Office repeatedly told the parish to follow civil service law. Why was this guidance ignored for over three years?

Accountability vs. Convenience? How does reclassifying the Fire Chief as part-time after the fact serve the accountability Manola promised voters, compared to appointing a dedicated chief through proper procedures?

Parish President Gets Basic Timeline Wrong

In his WBRZ interview defending the contractor arrangement, Parish President Jason Manola attempted to justify recent problems by referencing the fire department consolidation, claiming it occurred in 2021.

However, parish records show the fire department consolidation actually occurred in 2014—seven years earlier than Manola stated.

This timeline error is significant because it undermines Manola's attempt to blame consolidation for recent civil service violations:

Reality Check:

• 2014: Fire department consolidation occurs
• 2015-2019: Full-time Fire Chief Hunts serves successfully after consolidation
• 2019-2022: Problems begin with interim appointments and civil service violations
• 2021: Manola incorrectly claims consolidation happened this year

The fact that the department operated successfully with proper Fire Chief leadership for four years after consolidation (2015-2019) contradicts any suggestion that consolidation itself caused the current civil service compliance problems.

As Parish President, Manola's unfamiliarity with the basic timeline of major government reorganizations raises questions about his grasp of parish operations and whether his explanations for ongoing violations are reliable.

Next Steps and Remaining Options

Parish leadership has indicated they plan to address the situation at upcoming Civil Service Board and Fire Board meetings. Legitimate options could include:

• Conducting a new Fire Chief examination and making appointments from the resulting eligibility list
• Following proper legal procedures to formally create a classified part-time Fire Chief position with appropriate civil service protections
• Returning to traditional full-time Fire Chief appointment process using proper civil service procedures

However, simply formalizing the existing contractor arrangement as "part-time" appears to continue avoiding rather than addressing the core civil service compliance issues.

Why This Matters for Residents

The fire department serves approximately 25,000 West Baton Rouge Parish residents across 192 square miles with an annual budget of approximately $7 million. Yet unlike other major parish departments including Public Works, Parks and Recreation, and Emergency Preparedness, which all operate with full-time department heads, the fire department receives only part-time contractor oversight. Effective leadership is crucial for emergency response times, grant acquisition for equipment and training, and coordination with other public safety agencies.

Legal experts warn that bypassing civil service requirements could expose the parish to lawsuits from qualified candidates, forcing taxpayers to cover back pay or damages. Additionally, leadership instability can weaken the department's competitiveness for federal grants and negatively impact fire insurance ratings that directly affect residential and commercial property owners.

Recent parish growth, including new industrial development and residential areas, increases demands on fire services and may require more comprehensive leadership than the current part-time contractor arrangement provides.

Moving Forward

At stake is not just who leads the fire department, but whether parish officials see accountability as following the law—or rewriting the rules after breaking them.

The emergency Fire Board meeting is Thursday, August 28th. Regular Parish Council meetings are held on the second and fourth Thursday of each month at 5:30 PM. All meetings are open to the public.

This is a developing story. WBR Independent will continue following developments as parish officials work to address civil service compliance questions.

Contact the Parish President's office at (225) 336-2415 or attend public meetings to voice concerns about civil service procedures and fire department leadership.

Editor's note: WBR Independent Editor John Summers previously served as a volunteer firefighter with West Baton Rouge Parish Fire Department and brought initial concerns about civil service procedures to media attention.

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https://www.wbrz.com/news/questions-raised-over-fire-chief-appointment-in-west-baton-rouge/

https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/butch-browning-west-baton-rouge-fire/article_0f75a5df-3c9c-4e44-bcd0-2e26efb68d04.html