What Are the Budget Priorities in Shreveport?

SHREVEPORT, LA - The Shreveport Council is getting a first look at Mayor Tom Arceneaux’ budget plan.

What's the Top Priority?

Chief Administrative Officer Tom Dark tells the Council: “the first and most basic priority is to make sure the budget is balanced. We have done that. We are budgeting to begin and end 2024 with the same $25 million in Operating Reserve.”

Dark says the next priority is the need to increase the number of police officers on the force.  He says “when Chief Smith tells us that SPD is 150 or so officers below full strength, a figure that seems to increase every month, we cannot continue to do what we have been doing and expect better results. This involves more successful recruiting and more effective retention of existing officers.”

The Mayor is planning to increase incentives to bring in more officers. This includes  a first-year recruitment incentive stipend of $7,200 for both new Police and Fire recruits. Part of the money would be paid after the recruits complete their academy training, with the rest paid after they successfully complete year one on the force.

This budget package also has $10,000 in incentive money for current police officers and firefighters who transfer here from another agency. Half of that money would be paid up front, with the remainder paid after they complete two years of service with us.

This plan also include pay increases for current police and firefighters. The proposed increase is 3% which would go into effect on January 1.

Arceneaux is also proposing to boost minimum pay for all city workers to $14.33 per hour.

Taking Care of City Property

Dark tells the Council “we also must maintain the buildings where we provide many of our services. During 2023, we have experienced significant unplanned expenses caused by major problems or system failures in some of these buildings – expenses that we were able to absorb because of our Operating Reserve. Since the reserve will not have as much flexibility in 2024, we have recommended that $1 million be placed in the SPAR budget to help us deal with those kinds of problems.”

Buying More Equipment

Dark says another priority is to “assure that we have adequate vehicles and equipment for use in City operations. For that reason, we are recommending that $10 million in equipment funding be included in the General Fund budget for Police, Fire, Public Works, SPAR and Property Standards. This includes about 70 vehicles for the Police Department and five new garbage trucks.”

How to Pay for Current Needs

Dark says “we are recommending that the City Council increase the current monthly Solid Waste fee from $7 to $10 per month and that EMS and building permit fees be increased by 5%. Together, these changes will generate about $3 million in new revenue in 2024.”