NEW ORLEANS - 12-06-2022

McGee brings extensive news and communications experience to help agency relay accurate information to public

Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson announced the expansion of her executive leadership team with the appointment of Casey Ferrand McGee as her first Chief Communications Officer, effective immediately. McGee is responsible for leading the strategy, planning and implementation of internal and external communications infrastructure to facilitate the flow of accurate, timely and relevant information to the media, community and key stakeholders.

The New Orleans native has an extensive record of achievement in media relations and public relations with a strong record of facilitating media coverage for agencies, businesses and nonprofits. Most recently, McGee served as Director of Communications for New Orleans-based nonprofit STEM NOLA, where she built and lead a team that grew the organization's local and global footprint by sharing its extraordinary stories through both digital and traditional media. Since 2019, McGee has also been a media coach and consultant as the owner of her own PR firm CFM Media. McGee has a prior television and media career as an award-winning journalist in news markets throughout Louisiana and Texas. Most recently, she was a well-known and trusted face on WDSU News in New Orleans for eight years.

"We are thrilled to have a leader with Casey's tremendous media and public relations experience join the OPSO team," Sheriff Hutson said. "My goal is to be an administration focused on much-needed accountability, transparency and systematic change, and that means having clear channels to communicate our efforts to progress those initiatives. Casey has been a trusted voice in this city and will be an outstanding spokesperson for the agency as we aim to move to a higher level of communications with staff, the public and our media partners."

McGee called it "a privilege" to work with Sheriff Hutson and her team. "This is the perfect time to help improve communications within OPSO," said McGee. "With my media, public relations and production experience, we can continue to improve relationships with the media and the community at large."

McGee will direct the exchange of all information pertaining to OPSO, manage the distribution of press releases and serve as a spokesperson on behalf of the Sheriff and the main point of contact for the media. Phil Stelly will continue to serve as a Public Information Officer on the communications team to handle media requests for information and support other communication efforts.

NEW ORLEANS - 12-01-2022

Sheriff Susan Hutson today reported that the hourly wage is going up for most OPSO deputies.

Starting with their Dec. 8 paycheck, all eligible hourly workers at the Sheriff's Office will receive an additional $2.43 per hour. This pay bump means that pay for deputies increases from $15.57 per hour to $18 per hour. Deputies unaffected by the pay increase are those who have received raises since May 2022 as well as new administrative hires.

Sheriff Hutson said, "I promised to fight for deputy pay increases, and thanks to everyone who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with me, I'm delivering on that promise. I also want to thank the New Orleans City Council for recognizing how critical our security workforce is to the administration of criminal justice. Investing in our deputies is really an investment in public safety for all New Orleanians."

Besides increasing deputy pay, Sheriff Hutson is seeking the City Council's support for more compensation and benefits for Sheriff's Office staffers that would include a 5 percent longevity bonus, 100 percent employer-paid healthcare, and a $2 per hour shift differential for working the second shift in the jail.