EXTRA: Montgomery blows up Mayor's police, fire, and City employees' pay raise budget
Mayor Tommy Chandler remains silent and doesn't defend the budget his administration proposed.
City councilmember David Montgomery has once again blocked Mayor Tommy Chandler's agenda.
Montgomery didn't attend the City's budget workshop a month ago, so he decided to disregard the City administration’s plan to implement salary adjustments for municipal workers, police and fire — and propose one of his own at Tuesday’s council meeting.
The mayor's budget, based on a recently completed salary study, was presented to the council on October 8 by Chief Administrative Officer Amanda Nottingham.
Montgomery didn’t attend that meeting.
"Salary increases for citywide, all departments, total $2,558,958," Nottingham told the council at the budget workshop. "This includes the state mandated 2% increase for civil service, fire, and police. And it increases pay for non-civil service employees. We use the data that Mr. Sauchet provided to get all of our employees up to the market minimum. And for those employees that are at the market minimum, and everybody else, it would be an additional up to 5%."
Nottingham said the goal was to narrow pay disparity among first responders.
"The adjustments to police pay, where they were creating parity between ranks, between fire and police, we really wanted to make sure that we focused on the officers that are on patrol, that are out on the streets. We want them to know what a great value they are to the city and how much we appreciate them. And so those increases amount to approximately 10%," Nottingham said.
Each firefighter would receive a one-time pay increase of $4,000 in 2025.
Nottingham said the Mayor's proposed 2025 pay-raise budget was based on rolling property tax millages forward and drawing from a capital fund.
"That was not done this year, but [the property tax roll forward] is an additional approximately $1.1 million, and three of those millages, three of the four, are dedicated to fire and police. And so in order for us to have a recurring revenue stream to sustain those [pay] increases, rolling the millages forward would, we feel like, be the best option to providing those increases for fire and police," she said.
Montgomery has another plan
Rather than implementing the pay increases recommended by the salary study conducted for the City, Montgomery suggested a $500 per month increase for police, fire and City employees.
"I would like to take out the administration's proposal for raises. I would like to replace that with a $500 per month raise for all employees in the City of Bossier," Montgomery said.
Montgomery's plan had an off-the-cuff estimate of $5.5 million with no recurring revenue to fund the increase. He said the City could pay for the across-the-board pay raises with additional revenues it has shown during the past three years.
Inexplicably, Mayor Tommy Chandler remained silent throughout the meeting while his administration’s budget was being dismantled.
Hammons says Montgomery's plan would 'bankrupt' the City
Councilmember Brian Hammons was skeptical of Montgomery’s plan.
"I just don't see how this is sustainable. The one thing we're going to have to do in the years to come, we're going to have to lay people off, and we're going to have to raise taxes," Hammons said. "That's the only way that we're going to make this up. And then we're going to look back, and we've got $40-something million gone out of the general budget, and we're going to be bankrupt, in my opinion."
And an across-the-board salary increase would still leave pay gaps among some City employees, he said.
"Even with $500 a month going to them, we still have people in the water department, according to our salary study, that are grossly underpaid," Hammons added.
Then Hammons asked a question that raised the temperature in the room.
"I mean, was there a budget meeting that I missed?" Hammons asked. "I'm just wondering where this came from. I was only out of town for one meeting."
"I think each council member has the right to offer amendments on the floor," Montgomery responded. "Am I right, Mr. Smith?"
"You do,” Councilmember Chris Smith, serving as acting president, replied. “But I would point out that I came out of a meeting with a firefighter who knew more details about this than I did. So there's been some coordination going on here."
"Let me ask you something, Mr. Smith. When did this budget that's being presented today come about?” Montgomery asked. “And this, what I see today presented — we had no knowledge of, the very same thing you're accusing other people of."
"There was a whole public workshop where this was discussed," Smith replied.
"We have businesses and jobs. So we're supposed to cancel our life?" Montgomery heatedly replied regarding the budget workshop he missed, which the other six council members attended.
Smith says Montgomery's plan is unfunded
"So I'm going to start asking my questions now," Smith said. "Ms. Nottingham, the administration put forth a proposal. I don't believe y'all coordinated with any council members on how to come up with that. That was proposed by the administration and then presented at a public workshop in front of God, everybody, cameras?"
She said, "yes."
"OK, thank you. So nobody was left out. The mayor comes up with the budget and presents it to the council," Smith added.
Then, noting that City sales tax collections were down 15% through October, Smith said, "And so I bring that up because, for the last three years, this country as a whole has faced a lot of problems. We've faced record-high inflation. A gallon of milk went from $3 to $4. Lumber skyrocketed, causing housing prices to go up. Energy costs have gone up. Everything costs more.
"And I don't think anybody in this room would disagree that it costs more to go to the grocery store today than it did in 2019 pre-pandemic. And so as inflation is starting to come down and we're starting to get back to pre-pandemic numbers, sales tax is going to come down, correct? I mean, that's basic math. Inflation's not as high, so things aren't going to cost as much, so we don't tax as much.
"So while we're projected, I believe, and you can correct me if I'm wrong, to put $7 million towards this fund balance this year to put us a little over $45 million, that might not be the case next year. That's the problem. We don't have a crystal ball. So for the firemen who talked to me earlier who said, how can this bankrupt the city? We've got $45 million in four years to figure it out.
"Well, you know what? We have two options at that point. Option number one, we go to the citizens of Bossier City, and we ask them to pass more property taxes. And in today's political climate, people don't trust the government.
"It's not just Bossier City. They don't trust Shreveport. They don't trust Louisiana. They don't trust the United States. So we expect for them to trust us to pass another millage because we passed something four years prior that put us in a bad spot. And option number two is what happened in 2009 when firemen, police officers, municipal employees were let go.
“This proposal is missing any lack of basic accounting understanding and conservatism because this is saying in five years, we've got to figure something else out, either lay you off or raise your taxes."
"And so we can fight hard for pay raises that are deserved. Do not ever say that I say they don't deserve $500 because I've been fighting for pay raises since the day I walked in these doors. And I've been shut down every year. So don't ever accuse me of that."
"Are you directing that at me?" Montgomery asked.
"Yes, I was, Mr. Montgomery. Yes, absolutely, I was."
"Well, then you're totally incorrect. It is a false statement."
"But Chris Smith did not vote for $400 million in debt service that we have to pay off," Smith replied, referring to himself in the third person. "And yes, I've been critical of the debt since Day One. And I know I'm on an island by myself on that. But that's fine. I will die on that hill. I didn't put us into that $400 million worth of debt. And to me, this proposal is missing any lack of basic accounting understanding and conservatism because this is saying in five years, we've got to figure something else out, either lay you off or raise your taxes."
Montgomery's plan has no recurring revenue, Smith says
"I can get on board if the original plan wasn't right. But the original plan at least had recurring revenue. This one has none, zero, nada," Smith added.
"And so I can get on board that that one wasn't good enough. But I do not think that with a 20-minute heads up — for an extra $2.2 million — that it is appropriate to ask me to make that vote right now. Other councilmen may be privy to this plan before we walked in here, but I wasn't.
“And now I'm being asked to do this. And this isn't lost on me, that we are pitting employees who deserve money against each other for political reasons."
"I'm going to ask – " Montgomery interrupted.
"Mr. Montgomery, I have the floor. When I'm finished. Point of order! Mr. Montgomery, I have the floor,” Smith persisted. “Mr. Montgomery. Mr. Montgomery, I will have the marshals remove you if you do not play by the rules. I have the floor, and you will let me finish."
"And I'm letting you know –"
"Mr. Montgomery. Do you understand? Mr. Montgomery, I am running the meeting, not you. If you have an issue, you can raise a point of order. I did not hear you raise a point of order. We're not going to speak out of turn. I'm tired of you walking on everybody around here. Ms. Williamson's scared to death to answer a question, wondering how you're going to respond to it.
"So I would respectfully ask that we meet with the leadership of the fire department, leadership of the police department, with the mayor and his staff, and we come up with a true plan that has reccurring revenue that everybody is happy with."
The chiefs step in
Minutes later, Police Chief Daniel Haugen and Fire Chief Brad Zagone threw cold water on Montgomery's $500-a-month raise plan.
Both chiefs said that blanket, across-the-board raises don't work effectively with their departments' rank structures and, in fact, increase pay gaps between police and fire.
Sean Culver, a captain with the Bossier City Police Department, added even more clarity to the discussion.
"Two and a half years ago, we tried to get a raise, but there was no funding in the budget. The City Council decided to do a staff study, and it stated that the police department was below what the fire department is," Culver said.
"And in that budget, it was $1.76 million, which rounded up. By requesting the fire department to get $1.7 million as well, then that staff study doesn't matter. You're increasing their salary, but you're not increasing ours.
"You're not bringing us up to them, is what I'm saying. Bring us up to them, and then if you want to do the $500 across the board, then do the $500 for both of us at that point. But the staff study and raising the millage for next year was for the $3 million or whatever it was to bring the raises for the city.
"And that raise isn't for the bottom line. It's just to bring us up with the fire department. And I understand where they're at, and I understand that, hey, $500 or anything is better than nothing. But the staff study was done, and the staff study showed that we were underpaid [compared to] the fire department. And all of a sudden, now y'all have $5 million. You have this golden goose of $5 million that y'all can spend. For the last two and a half years, there's been no money.
"So I don't understand that," Culver added. "Two and a half years ago, two citizens were killed, one was wounded, and an officer was wounded. Everybody up here said, 'Hey, y'all need a raise.' Three months later, nothing was ever said about it."
By the end of the more than two-and-a-half-hour meeting, Montgomery's budget amendments were passed. A final vote is due at the council's next meeting in two weeks.
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