Welcome to the home page of the City of Franklin, Louisiana.  

"It's all here under the Lampposts!" --Mayor Eugene Foulcard

Welcome to the official Web site for the City of Franklin.

We are located in South Louisiana with the winding Bayou Teche flowing through the heart of our city.

Founded in 1808 as Carlin's Settlement, Franklin became the parish seat for St. Mary Parish in 1811 and the first incorporated town in 1820.

The Bayou Teche became a conduit for steamboats carrying trade goods of the day.  Numerous sugar plantations arose in the area, and Franklin became an interior sugar port.  The area produces oil, gas, carbon black, salt, seafood and, of course, sugar.

After the Civil War, lumber became the major industry with 11 saw mills operating along the Teche by 1869.  The business district along Main Street expanded to include hotels, commercial establishments and antebellum homes.

I invite you to come and visit with us for a few days "Under the Lampposts."  Here you will find a city rich in history with one of the most diverse and culturally enriched populations for a city its size.  Our citizens will welcome you like family and make you feel right at home.

A must for our visitors is a leisurely drive down our beautiful East Main boulevard.  You will feel like you stepped back in time when you are greeted with the site of antebellum homes and Spanish moss hanging from the limbs of hundred-year-old stately oak trees.  East Main Street retains its distinctive turn-of-the-century grandeur and is something you don't want to miss.  The Historic District is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and encompasses over 420 noteworthy structures.

Tourists will enjoy a stroll along Main Street "Under the Lamppost" in downtown Franklin.  Here we proudly display lampposts, which are replicas of the original lampposts from many years ago.  You will find several locally-owned shops--each with their own unique inventory.  The shop owners, displaying their Southern hospitality, love to visit with our tourists and tell them all about our quaint little city.

We are proud of our very own venue for cultural enrichment, The Teche Theatre for the Performing Arts, which is owned by the City of Franklin and leased to the Teche Theatre for the Performing Arts Board and Players.  This historic building was restored to its original grandeur and is maintained by the all-volunteer board.  Several productions each year are offered to the community.

For the outdoor sportsman, you can fish, canoe, kayak or water ski along the Bayou Teche.

If you need further information on local attractions in our community, please feel free to contact us.

We look forward to your visit!

Eugene P. Foulcard, Mayor

Key Department Contacts

• View the Mayor's Office Staff Directory for key contacts

The Cemetery Sexton manages and collects on sales in Franklin Cemetery and Perpetual Park Cemetery. This includes the sales of both cemetery plots and mausoleum crypts.

The City of Franklin Department of Community Development is responsible for supporting the community and voluntary sectors in Human Resource Management. Specifically, developers facilitate the building of healthy, sustainable and empowered communities that are better equipped and skilled to tackle their local concerns and to relate positively with other communities.

Franklin's Accredited Main Street Program aims to make downtown viable and fun and is critical to the future of downtown revitalization efforts. Our Accredited Main Street Program has the vision of building on downtown's inherent assets such as its rich architecture, personal service, traditional values, and most of all, its great sense of place. Our annual Harvest Moon Festival, Soul Food Festival, Bikers on the Bayou, Black Bear Festival, Christmas Under the Lampposts and New Year's Eve Bash accentuate these core values and highlight the best of Franklin, La.  Our monthly Bayou to Main Marketplace on the first Saturday of March, April, May, September, October, November has over 40 vendors partnered with the Franklin Merchants Association. 

• Main Street Program
• Film Division
• Economic Development
• Tourism

The City of Franklin Finance Department is responsible for the systems and procedures that assure the sound and efficient functioning of the City's financial activities. This department manages the City's cash flow, debt portfolio, financial reporting, vendor payments, employee payroll and benefits and risk insurance activities.

• Visit the Human Resources section for about employment opportunities and policies
• Visit the Utilities Billing & Collections section for information on utilities billing and collections 

Department Contacts

• Edward Hay, Chief Financial Officer
• Corinne LeBourgeois, Accounts Payable
• Glynn Bradley, Purchasing Agent 
• Kevin Ina, HR Administrator, Payroll and Benefits

The mission of the City of Franklin Fire Department is to protect the lives and property of the community in emergencies involving fire, medical, hazardous materials, vehicle rescue (extrication), environmental causes and search and rescue.

The department accomplishes the mission through education, fire prevention, fire suppression, emergency medical services and other non-emergency activities.

Many lives are saved and property conserved as a direct result of the dedicated men and women of this department who put their lives on the line in times of danger.  The Franklin Fire Department is located at 512 First Street.

The City of Franklin Police Department is committed to providing a professional, community-oriented police service that protects life, property and maintains order while assuring fair and equal treatment to everyone.  

CLICK HERE to like the City of Franklin Police Department Facebook page.

The Department of Public Works establishes for the City of Franklin an effective and workable procedure for the direction and control of public works, engineering equipment and manpower to support the same. Some of the functions are to maintain emergency operations for all public works divisions, maintain emergency equipment and ensure that all equipment is in good condition and emergency engineering and maintenance of roads and bridges. Assisting other departments with rescue support and maintaining essential departmental facilities is important to overall operations.

Welcome to the Recreation Department

The Recreation Department actively encourages and provides quality leisure, recreation and cultural opportunities for the City of Franklin. 

The Department of Parks and Recreation is responsible for the maintenance and scheduling of all five city parks, the Summer Recreation Program for children, city beautification, landscaping of public buildings, general maintenance of city buildings and the sponsorship of certain city events.

Recreation leagues offered in Franklin are youth football, baseball, softball and biddy basketball. The City of Franklin provides facilities (parks and two recreation centers) and maintenance of the facilities for each league and insurance and other needs deemed by individual leagues. Our recreation director assists the leagues with registration, record keeping and other duties as requested by the individual leagues.

• List of City Parks
• Map of City Parks

Announcements

Biddy Basketball will begin in January!!!

The Tax Collector's Office collects property taxes, insurance premium licenses, beer and liquor and chain store licenses and works closely with the St. Mary Parish Sales and Use Tax Office on the collection of the occupational license tax.

The mission of the Court is to fairly and impartially facilitate the administration of justice and to provide the citizens of the Third Ward with efficient and convenient access to justice.

The Third Ward Franklin City Court was established in 1968 with presiding Judge Charles R. Provost. He held the bench until 1996.

The City Court is a court of record that processes civil, traffic, criminal and juvenile matters.  City Court is located at 508 1/2 Second Street.

DIVISIONS:
The City Court is divided into the Criminal/Ticket and Civil departments. The former handles misdemeanor offenses, traffic offenses and ticket processing, warrants, juvenile cases and services and probation. The latter is involved with small claims litigation, petitions, evictions and garnishments.

MISSION:
The mission of the City of Franklin Third Ward Marshal's Office is to protect the municipal courts, municipal property and conduct operations as dictated by the City of Franklin's Third Ward City Court.  The strength of the Marshal's Office has always been unity among its entire staff.

Protective Service Program
Deputy City Marshals provide protective services to judicial officers, dignitaries and other person designated by the City Marshal, Command Staff and Mayor's Office. This protective service might call for deputies to facilitate this program in situations that fall under jurisdictional responsibility.

Contraband-Seizure Management
The Deputy City Marshals confiscate and inventory contraband found on persons entering the city courthouse, fugitives and persons violating the law.

Court Marshal Services
The Deputy City Marshals provide court marshal services for city courts, regulate and control the policing of the courtrooms, enforce all rules and regulations of the City Courts and utilize metal detectors and other security equipment. The Deputy City Marshals oversee the process serving of subpoenas, summons and writs.

Protection of City Government Property
Deputy City Marshals serve as full protectors of City government property and enforce all laws pertaining to City government property.

Custody and Transportation
Defendants are arrested, placed in the custody of Deputy City Marshals, escorted to a holding facility and transported to various detention centers.

Arrest and Warrant Services
The defendants are arrested by Deputy City Marshals, conveyed to the City of Franklin and a routine warrant search is performed. This search is performed to reveal any federal, state or city warrants against the defendant.

Utilities Billing and Collection (UB&C) is a Division of the Finance Department and is directly responsible for the billing and collection of the City of Franklin utilities fees and charges.

Specifically, the division collects fees for water, sewer, garbage, landfill usage, security lights and mosquito control. Franklin's UB&C has approximately 3100 customers that comprise 30 billing routes. Customers are billed monthly.

UB&C is made up of approximately five full time employees. Three employees periodically perform 24-hour on call shifts on weekends. Job duties that include assignments such as administrative clerical support, accounting and payroll, payments processing, mail operations, special billings, customer service, collections and field services. Although UB&C performs numerous functions and provides a multitude of services, there are two functions that most directly affect our customers: counter services and telephone customer inquiries.

Featured Information

• Description of Services - application fees, connect fees, etc.
• Applications for Commercial and Residential Water Service
• Application for Pre-Authorized Payment

The Water Department has four full-time employees on call 24 hours a day. Their primary responsibilities are the maintenance of Franklin's water mains, towers and wells. They monitor water quality and ensure potable drinking water.

Another important function of the Water Department is providing water for fire fighting. The Department must maintain the volume and pressure of water in sufficient amounts to enable the Fire Department to fight fires.

Key Department Contacts

• Bernard Daniels, Water Plant Manager

PUBLIC NOTICE

REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS FOR ENGINEERING SERVICES

The City of Franklin is requesting Statements of Qualifications for Project Engineers.  The City intends to apply for a Water Sector Program Grant to make improvements to the water plant, install and improve water lines and valves, and improve water pressure to fire hydrants. The City is interested in procuring the services of an engineering firm to provide information necessary for the grant application packages and to provide preliminary engineering, design engineering, and inspections for this project if it is successfully funded. The procedures for the selection of this firm will be in accordance with federal procurement requirements of the grant. All responses received will be evaluated in accordance with the selection criteria and corresponding point system that is identified in the Request for Qualifications package. That package also identifies the scope of services to be performed by the selected firm. The City will award the contract to the respondent obtaining the highest score in the evaluation process. Interested parties are invited to secure a Request for Qualifications package from Karen LeBlanc, LCMC, CAO/Clerk of the Council, phone number: (337)828-6310, mailing address: City of Franklin, LA, P.O. Box 567, 300 Iberia Street, Franklin, LA 70538, or email: kleblanc@franklin-la.com. The response to this request must be hand-delivered or mailed to the above named person at the above named address in such a manner that it is received no later than 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, May 31, 2022.  The City is an Equal Opportunity Employer.  We encourage all small and minority-owned firms and women’s business enterprises and Section 3 Firms to apply.

Posted:

April 27, 2022

Advertise:

Banner-Tribune

May 4 & 11, 2022

The Zoning, Permits and Inspection Department facilitates the activities of the following Boards and Activities..

• Zoning Board of Adjustments
• Planning Commission
• Historic District Commission
• Dangerous Buildings Remediation or Demolition
• Special Projects:  Historic Downtown Franklin Pocket Park Bricks
• View related forms and applications.
• For questions, email us at gtodd@franklin-la.com or permittech@franklin-la.com

Responsibilities

The Director performs technical and administrative work, overseeing the administration and enforcement of building codes, permitting, local zoning and related ordinances.

The Inspection Services Division is primarily responsible for overseeing new construction of and alterations to commercial and residential buildings and the installation of plumbing, electrical and heating and air conditioning systems. Plans are reviewed and permits are issued with conditional approval within the restrictions of State and City codes. This Division o makes inspections on property maintenance. 

The Zoning Division answers zoning questions, supplies re-build and zoning compliance letters and handles all zoning variances.

Welcome to the training department! We offer the following:

• Cooking
• Music
• Ghost Tours