Shreveport city leaders are working to fast‑track salary increases for a broad range of municipal employees, aiming to align their pay raises with the upcoming 6% base‑salary boost slated for police officers and firefighters on Dec. 1.

Funding plan tied to data‑center revenue

Mayor Tom Arceneaux’s proposal calls for a 6% raise for police and fire personnel, initially funded by building‑permit revenue generated by new data‑center projects. The city plans to transition to recurring revenue streams to sustain the higher payroll over the long term.

Council pushes for equity across departments

During Monday’s administrative conference, council members argued that employees in other city departments are equally essential to Shreveport’s operations and should not wait months for their raises. Councilman James Green warned that if the “fountain of money” from data‑center permits exists, it should benefit all workers, not just a select few.

“If we found that fountain of money from the data centers and whatever, then we should look beyond putting a few in a bowl and then tell others to wait because they’ve got to go to the gas pump like everybody else,” Green said.

Chief Administrative Officer outlines rollout

Chief Administrative Officer Tom Dark said more than 400 city employees are expected to receive raises beginning Jan. 1, 2027, after a compensation study showed their salaries lag behind comparable positions in other municipalities. Dark explained that the raises will be staggered over several months to reduce the risk of payroll errors.

“Doing these all at once raises more and more of the possibilities of payroll errors and things like that,” Dark said. “We were trying to spread it out.”

Concerns about morale and staffing

Councilman Grayson Boucher echoed Green’s concerns, cautioning that delaying raises for some staff could damage morale across city departments.

“I think there’s going to be some animosity amongst the ranks if we don’t,” Boucher warned.

Councilwoman Tabatha Taylor added that higher salaries alone will not solve staffing and morale challenges within the Shreveport Police Department. She called for structural reforms, especially in promotion procedures and advancement opportunities.

“We can give a 20% raise but if the structure and morale suck, then what do we have?” Taylor said. “I think that we have to look at that in its totality because our first responders when they go and if they work other jobs or whatever, they utilize the equipment and stuff that we have.”

Next steps

The council is scheduled to vote Tuesday on the proposed 6% raises for police officers and firefighters. If approved, the city will move forward with a detailed cost analysis for extending similar raises to the broader municipal workforce.

Shreveport residents can expect the city to release the final funding plan and timeline after the council’s vote, providing transparency on how the new payroll commitments will be managed.

Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.