SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) – Shreveport police officers could get another pay raise under a proposal from Mayor Tom Arceneaux that could push their total increase past 8%.
City looks to data centers for funding
Officers may soon get a pay increase, but one question is where the city will find the money to fund it. Arceneaux said the answer, for now, lies with Shreveport’s newly established data centers.
“In the short term, we are comfortable that we will receive more than the $7 million a year from the data center. Either from additional sales tax, additional permit and inspection fees, which those themselves will be in the millions of dollars. We feel comfortable that for the next four or five years, we should be in very good shape,” Arceneaux said.
Planning beyond the next five years
Arceneaux said the city is already planning for what happens after those four or five years.
“When the data center uses electricity, that goes into the gross receipts for SWEPCO. SWEPCO pays us a percentage of those gross receipts as a franchise fee. It’s basically a tax on the electrical service. We feel like five years from now, those amounts will be sufficient to sustain these raises over time, so that we both have the money to do it in the short run, we also believe we’ll have the money to sustain it in the long run,” Arceneaux said.
Recruitment a challenge beyond pay
Money isn’t the only challenge facing the department. Shreveport Police Department Public Information Officer Cpl. Chris Bordelon said convincing young people to pick up the badge is just as critical as the paycheck itself…