The Jeff Davis Parish Police Jury stayed within the parish Wednesday in selecting Ben Boudreaux of Jennings as the parish’s first administrator.

A graduate of Welsh High School, Boudreaux said he is eager to get to work and looks forward to capitalizing on the untapped potential of Jeff Davis Parish.

“I am honored,” Boudreaux said in accepting the job. “I think this is a great parish and I hope to be a great addition to it and the police jury. I’m looking forward to finalizing it soon and I am very excited to do a lot of things for the parish, Maybe help do the things that have never been done before and move it forward.”

Among his goals for the parish is economic growth and improving the quality of life for Jeff Davis Parish residents, he said. He also hopes to increase efficiency in the operations of the police jury.

Boudreaux is currently a traffic engineer for the Louisiana Department of Transportation where he has worked for the last 10 years. He is a licensed professional engineer and traffic engineer and holds a master of business administration degree.

Police Jury President Steve Eastman said
Boudreaux will be an asset to the police jury and the parish because of his knowledge in design and project engineering, as well as financial analysis.

“He has grant application experience with close to $40 million in project funds being awarded while he was employed at the DOTD,” Eastman said.

Eastman said Boudreaux’s skill set will also allow him to negotiate with potential developers and industries looking to locate in Jeff Davis Parish.

“We know that the lack of adequate water and sewer in the rural areas along I-10 is a barrier to business and industry locating in the parish,” Eastman said. “Ben plans to pursue ways to reduce and hopefully eliminate that barrier.”

Boudreaux is expected to begin work in June after finalizing his contract.