Mayor Chandler plans a tax hike. The City Council is divided on alternatives
Plus — Why are grocery prices so high? Chris Smith announces reelection campaign.
Bossier City weather — Today: Sunny. Highs in the lower 70s. Tonight: Mostly clear in the evening, then mostly cloudy with a slight chance of showers after midnight. Lows in the mid-50s. Chance of rain 20%. Wednesday: Mostly cloudy in the morning, then becoming partly cloudy. A 40% chance of showers. Highs in the upper 70s.
Beyond Bossier
Mayor Chandler plans a tax hike. The City Council is divided on alternatives
Mayor Tommy Chandler is doing something few politicians dare — announcing a tax hike just before an election. While Chandler has not officially announced his intention to run for reelection in March, he has budgeted a tax hike for Bossier City in 2025.
At a budget workshop on Tuesday, October 9, City Chief Administrative Officer Amanda Nottingham presented the administration's 2025 operational budget and said it was based on rolling property tax millages forward.
According to Nottingham, some of the biggest financial challenges facing the City are:
A proposed increase in police, fire and municipal employee salaries of $2.5 million to meet the initial goals recommended by a recently completed salary study.
A $1 million dollar increase in the City's share of group employee benefits.
General liability insurance charges have a budgeted increase of $2.5 million.
"We have had very high increases in our insurance over the last several years. And that is, I mean, ultimately it's not sustainable," Nottingham said.
To increase revenue, Nottingham said the City would need to:
Hike property taxes by rolling millages forward in 2025. "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," Nottingham said.
Raise the sanitation fee by $12 per household. Nottingham said the City lost $4.3 million in the past year providing sanitation, water, and sewer services.
A possible future increase in utility rates which will be considered after the City institutes meter replacements.
Montgomery has another plan
However, councilmember David Montgomery offered another plan at the last city council meeting. He suggested tapping City budget reserves to fund City pay raises rather than recurring revenue.
"We have increased the general fund balance, which means our revenues over expenditures have run $7 to $8 million a year. For the past three years," Montgomery said. He added that the City could take $5 million a year from the surplus and apply it to citywide pay increases.
City Finance Director Angela Williamson noted that the city would need recurring revenue after the first four or five years to continue funding the salary hikes.
Councilmember Brian Hammons also had concerns.
"It just seems to me like after five years, we're going to drain the entire general fund budget," he said. "I just don't see how this is sustainable. I mean, the only way of, if this is not 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."
"It's hard to know what's going to happen sales tax-wise and revenue-wise," Williamson agreed. "But I don't know. Over $5 million a year is a lot for us."
What if Texas legalizes gambling?
"There's talk right now in Texas of them legalizing gambling," Hammons added. "What would happen if we lose two casinos in Bossier City?"
"We would need money to pay debt service that's coming out," Williamson replied.
"How much money would we need to replace?"
"Debt service is $9,335,000," she said.
Councilmember Chris Smith was also critical of Montgomery's plan.
"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. I can get on board if the original plan wasn't right. But the original plan at least had reoccurring revenue in it. This one has none, zero, nada."
The budget will be considered again at the council's next meeting.
Nightly closures of I-20 westbound from I-220 to Airline Drive
Full nightly closures of I-20 westbound from I-220 to the Airline Drive interchange continue. All of the ramps at Airline Drive will not be impacted and will remain open to traffic.
These nightly closures will take place from approximately 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. to allow the contractor to safely perform work in preparation to move the concrete barriers that separate the lanes.
On Saturday, November 16, 2024, traffic will be shifted to the new travel lanes on I-20 westbound from I-220 to Airline Drive. The remainder of the shift from Airline Drive to Hamilton Road will occur in the coming weeks.
As a reminder, the partial shift for the eastbound direction took place in late October 2024, beginning at the Industrial Drive interchange. That process will also be ongoing over the next several weeks to fully complete that shift.
Councilmember Chris Smith kicks off reelection campaign tonight
Chris Smith, at-large council member for Bossier City, has announced his intention to run for reelection.
“Three years ago, I promised to bring a new voice and fresh perspectives to our city council," Smith said in a release. "I have fought for transparency, advocated for term limits, and worked tirelessly to represent the interests of our residents and business community. We have achieved significant progress, but there is still more work to be done. I remain committed to fostering growth, improving infrastructure, and ensuring that Bossier City remains a place where families and businesses can thrive.”
Smith is hosting a campaign kickoff and fundraising event tonight, Tuesday, November 12, 2024, from 5:30-8:00 p.m. at Silver Star Smokehouse,1201 Dixie Overland Rd. The community is welcome to attend.
"I’m proud of the accomplishments we've made, but I’m equally excited about the future," Smith added. "With the support of our community, we can continue to move Bossier City forward, addressing new challenges and building on the foundations we have laid."
Why are grocery prices high?
Grocery prices overall have risen during the past year, but some prices have risen comparatively steeply while others have risen more slowly or even dropped. How these changes affect your wallet, all comes down to what’s in your cart and how inflation impacts grocery aisles in unique ways.
From September 2023 to September 2024, grocery prices rose by 1.3%. This was smaller than the 2.4% rise for commodities such as gas, utilities, and clothing. It was also below the Federal Reserve’s 2% inflation target.
When it comes to specific staples, egg prices increased the most, rising from $2.06 to $3.82 per dozen over the year. One of the biggest causes of this 85% increase? An avian flu outbreak.
Staples such as beef and tomatoes also increased more than the 1.3% average. Beef prices went up by 11%, tomato prices by 5%, and chicken prices by 4.1%. However, bananas, cheese, and potatoes were cheaper, with potatoes down 3.6%, cheese down 2%, and bananas down 0.2%.
Several factors affect food prices, including supply chain challenges (think COVID-19 and global events like the war in Ukraine), inflation, higher labor and transportation costs, animal disease (such as the avian flu, which affects eggs and chicken), and weather that damages crops and livestock.
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