Covington - Two of St. Tammany's top leaders have turned each other into the state legislative auditor-- asking for countering investigations.
St. Tammany Parish President Kevin Davis and Sheriff Jack Strain accuse each other of misspending tax payer money.
Each man accuses the other of using dedicated tax money on projects that don't qualify.
This comes on the heel of a long time dispute over how to fund the parish jail.
The $3.2 million new sheriff’s building in Slidell is the focus of Parish President Kevin Davis' request.
For years, St. Tammany Parish has directed certain parish sales tax monies to Sheriff Jack Strain to help pay for jail operations.
The ordinance says the tax is dedicated solely for providing and maintaining jail facilities to incarcerate prisoners.
This is the pot of money Davis says Strain tapped to pay for the new Slidell sheriff's office complex.
“I need the legislative auditor to review it. I'm not insinuating anything. Can you take dedicated sales tax money and use it for other things?" questions Davis.
Davis says legally he was required to alert the auditor about the potential problem.
The sheriff's office and the parish share the cost of running the jail.
The sales tax pays the parish's share of the bills.
Davis says he discovered this situation after strain told the parish his budget was short.
“Now you tell me you need more money to run the jail? Well wait a minute something just doesn't add up with all that," says Davis.
The Legislative Auditor's office has received Davis' request. Auditors are looking through the paperwork. They hope to decide whether to investigate in the next few weeks.
Starting next year, Davis plans to take control of the sales tax fund and require Strain to submit expense reports before getting access to any money.
“All I can do is appeal to those who may be able to bring him back down to earth," says Strain.
He calls the whole thing foolish. Strain says he has never mis-spent tax payer money - not when building the new jail or with other money transfers Davis is questioning.
“We've proven we can run a jail in the most efficient capacity, increase how many people we have and reduce the cost to the taxpayers," says Strain.
He adds both in-house and independent audits have found nothing wrong with the funding source for the Slidell sheriff's complex.
Strain charges Davis is trying to avoid the bigger debate concerning how to fill a $2 million dollar budget hole.
“To confuse the issue and draw attention somewhere else doesn't solve the problem of how are we going to incarcerate prisoners today," says Strain.
It’s a debate that's getting nasty and more personal by the day.
In Strain’s complaint to the Legislative Auditor, he claims Davis misspent dedicated road tax dollars on projects like walkways and gardens.
