Shreveport Times
August 21, 2026
CADDO PARISH COMMUNICATIONS DISTRICT NUMBER ONE
Board of Commissioners
6:00 p.m. Tuesday
July 21, 2026
ECC Training Room
1144 Texas Avenue
Board Members Present: Tonya Reeves (Vice Chair), Clarence Babineaux (Secretary),Fred McClanahan and Jackie Lewis
Board Members Absent: Mike Irvin (Chairman)
Others Present: Tommy Mazzone, Jan Horne, Wes Edge, Beth Ann Carter,Richard Stewart, Morris Laichena, Arthur Meacham and Zelda Tucker (Legal Counsel)
Ms. Reeves called the meeting to order, and asked Ms. Horne to please make note of those in attendance.
Ms. Reeves called the meeting into Public Hearing. With no public attendance or comments the Public Hearing was closed.
Ms. Reeves asked for a motion to approve the Tuesday, June 16, 2026, meeting minutes. Mr. McClanahan moved to approve the meeting minutes and it was seconded by Mr. Babineaux. The Board unanimously voted to approve the minutes.
Ms. Reeves asked Mr. Mazzone for an update on the financial reports for the month of June. Mr. Mazzone stated that the District had revenues of $386,637.91. Expenditures totaled $310,170.69. Revenue exceeded expenditures by $76,467.22. As of June 30, 2026, the District had $2,570,308.08 Cash-in-Bank, and Fixed Assets totaled $32,094,664.89. The amount remaining on the Districts long term debt is $9,460,000.00. Mr. McClanahan moved to accept the financial reports. The motion was seconded by Mr. Lewis. The Board unanimously voted to accept the financials.
Ms. Reeves asked for an update on the June Phone and Radio Statistics. Mr. Mazzone stated that for the month of June 98.7% of all 9-1-1 calls received were answered immediately or in less than 15 seconds. This is 0.2% less than last month. Of the 16,231 9-1-1 calls in June, the 425 abandoned calls comprised 2.6%. The average call answer time was 0:00.01 second. Automated Attendant activity for the month: SPD (11,457) and SFD (64), and the CPSO main line: (6,152). During June, the total number of CAD events registered for all agencies in the parish was 22,045. The Districts parish-wide radio system experienced a total of 603,665 push to talk sequences.
Ms. Reeves asked for an update on the Facility Refresh. Mr. Mazzone stated that a walkthrough was conducted on Wednesday, July 15th with the general contractor and the architect to determine the status of the punch list. There are still several items to be corrected, but none of those are major and should be completed within the week. We are still waiting for the security and access subcontractor to complete the work of installing the upgraded gate access/call boxes, complete the training for the new security system, and repair an electronic latch on a door. We have come to an agreement to release pay application #11 one we know the new gate controllers have arrived at the installers office, and the door latch has been repaired. We are still withholding the agreed-upon retainage until all of the work is complete.
Ms. Reeves asked for an update on the website project. Mr. Mazzone stated that in October 2023, the District entered into a contract to redesign our website. A local company was selected and began discussions nearly immediately. From the outset, there were concerns as the representatives assigned to our project were turned over several times. Also, between some higher priority projects and a lack of communication with the contractor, this project took a backseat for a long time. Eventually a draft design was created and presented for review. Our staff made comments and attempted to reach the contractor several times without response. During this time, the District reached out to a different designer, that was on our original list of sources. Mr. Laichena and Mr. Mazzone took a presentation from a vendor and learned that they have added a new product designed specifically for Special Districts like ours. Not only would they migrate the District to a refreshed website, but they will continually monitor state and federal laws pertaining to website accessibility and transparency to keep us up to date and protected. The cost of this service is $12,500.00 annually. With the Boards concurrence, Mr. Mazzone recommends the District terminate our contract with Hemingway West and initiate a professional services agreement with Civic Plus (Streamline).
Ms. Reeves asked for a motion to consider approval of an Ordinance updating the emergency telephone service charged on wireless telecommunications service to be levied within the jurisdiction of the district. Mr. McClanahan made a motion to introduce the Ordinance and Mr. Babineaux seconded that motion. Mr. Mazzone provided a history of the emergency telephone service charge, beginning with the formation of the states communications district, leading to the current fees based on the tariff rates dated in 2016. In September 2016, after thorough research from the previous Executive Director and General Counsel, the board adopted District Ordinance 16-002 which set the 9-1-1- wireless surcharge fees based upon the then legislatively set amount of not greater than $1.25. It has been 10 years since the last adjustment. During those ten years, inflation has cumulatively exceeded 30%. NG911 implementation, cybersecurity, GIS, CAD integrations, radio interoperability, cloud services, redundancy, and other technology costs have increased substantially. Personnel costs have risen dramatically because of market pressures and the need to recruit and retain qualified technical staff, and vendors now rely much more heavily on annual licensing and subscription models than perpetual software purchases. Recent years have shown a steady decrease in revenue from wireline service providers, which can be attributed to the consistent migration from traditional wireline services to wireless services. Therefore, it is vital to offset this loss of wireline devices with the increase to wireless devices. Members of the Louisiana Directors Consortium Legislative Committee successfully lobbied for this relatively small increase to the service charge, which will enhance our operational capacity. Mr. Mazzone recommended that the Board take the opportunity to increase wireless surcharge fees as proposed from $1.25 to $2.00, and he reminded the board there is no prohibition from the District amending these fees in the future. Mr. McClanahan moved to accept the Ordinance and it was seconded by Mr. Babineaux. The Ordinance passed with four (4) yeas and zero (0) nays.
Ms. Reeves asked if there was any Old Business. Mr. Mazzone informed the Board that the Department of Revenue Prepaid Wireless Audit is still ongoing. The District has been receiving a decreased quarterly revenue of 67.18% from 1Q22. Mr. Mazzone estimated that conservatively the District has lost $425,000.00 over the last four years. The legal team at the Department of Revenue is still coordinating with their auditors and with the opposing counsel representing the telecommunications companies. They are still hopeful a settlement can be achieved and the revenue stream resume per statute. This continues to be an open item. Mr. Mazzone also updated the Board on the e-Notifications and District Paging System. For several years the parish fire departments have explored new technology to complement their use of District-provided RF pagers. These applications (e-Dispatch, FlowMSP, Active911, etc.) have each had their pros and cons, and because each has been used by different departments, they have required our CAD database administrator to research, and build interfaces to ensure seamless connectivity. During a recent meeting of the Caddo Parish Fire Chiefs Association, all of the Fire Chiefs and the POC for the Shreveport Fire Department stated they would like to move forward using Active911. Mr. Mazzone stated that he plans to confirm this with each Chief, and afterwards allow Mr. Meacham to move forward with his interface. Once it has been verified fully operational, the District Radio Systems Manager recommends that we deactivate and dismantle the Districts RF paging system, This would be a cost savings to the District as it would not only remove antiquated equipment and
Maintenance, but also antennas from towers which should lower monthly lease costs. This continues to be an open item.
Ms. Reeves asked if there was any New Business. Mr. Mazzone stated that as the District finalizes the facility refresh project, we are in a prime position to explore options for resealing our roof. As the heavy rains continue, and the snow/ice accumulates in greater amounts each winter, our roof is prone to wear and tear and leaks. With the Boards concurrence, Mr. Mazzone will consult with our architectural firm to obtain three (3) quotes for the resealing of our roof and also for a completely new roof, along with warranties for each. Once we receive the quotes, we will discuss them with the Facility Needs Subcommittee and make a decision. Mr. Mazzone informed the Board of the vending machine replacement. The District entered into an agreement with Five Star Breaktime to remove their existing vending machines and install a Micro Market which is planned to increase product selection by 75% include fresh food, new items and be monitored cashless system. The vendor will begin taking measurements and planning the custom layout. Once the modules are ready, it will be a one-day turnover. This decision was labored over with our General Counsel to ensure the District is protected, but also to ensure we continue to find creative ways of boosting morale for our call takers and dispatchers. Mr. Mazzone also mentioned that he was taking letters to the Mayors office and the Parish Administrators office to see about who they would like to appoint to the Board.
With no further business to be brought before the Board, Ms. Reeves asked for motion to adjourn the meeting. Mr. McClanahan made the motion and it was seconded by Mr. Lewis. The motion was accepted unanimously.
12572009 8/21/26 ($238.79)
Miscellaneous Notices