The budget crisis inside St. Tammany Parish government has exploded again, this time with the Sheriff’s Office announcing it may terminate security services entirely due to what it says is yet another major budget failure caused by Parish President Mike Cooper’s administration.

The Sheriff’s Office sent Parish President Cooper a formal “Notice of Intent to Terminate Security Contracts,” a step that would cut off security at three key parish government buildings. According to the sheriff, this drastic move is the direct result of chronic underfunding and financial mismanagement coming from the Parish President’s office.

The letter, written by attorney Andrew Capitelli, states that the parish currently pays $112,000 a year for security at the Towers building in Slidell and $95,000 for the parish complex on Koop Drive. All security contracts, including the one at the Justice Center, are slated for termination effective Dec. 31, 2025.

The Sheriff’s Office says the problem goes far beyond security contracts. The letter criticizes the administration for insisting the jail operate on only $3.50 per inmate per day and for refusing to purchase basic hygiene necessities such as body wash, deodorant, sanitary napkins, toothpaste, and soap. The parish claims those items must come out of the same $3.50, a position the sheriff calls unreasonable and impossible to sustain.

Capitelli said the termination is “the result of ongoing underfunding of the parish’s jail, the shortfall of which the sheriff can no longer cover,” stressing that the parish is failing to meet its legal funding responsibilities.

In response, the Cooper administration claimed it has attempted to end its contracts with the Sheriff’s Office since winning a court ruling over jail maintenance. The administration accused the Sheriff’s Office of refusing to provide documentation on how many parish inmates are being held, saying it cannot pay without that information.

Despite the blame shifting, the Sheriff’s Office maintains that the crisis stems from persistent underfunding and financial neglect by the Parish President, which has now pushed essential services to the brink.