Here's the proposition:
Shall the City of Bossier City, State of Louisiana (the "City"), under the provisions of Article VI, Sections 27(B), 30 and 32 of the Constitution of the State of Louisiana of 1974, and other constitutional and statutory authority supplemental thereto, renew the levy and collect a special tax of six (6) mills on all property subject to taxation in said City, for a period of ten (10) years, beginning with the year 2011 and ending with the year 2020, with collections from the levy of the Tax estimated to be $3,060,000 for one entire year, for the purpose of operating and maintaining, including salary adjustments, the Fire and police departments of said city.
The discussion so far has been that it will actually be an increase, because the council had rolled the tax back to 4.9%. They could do that again - or not. In order to put the tax up as a renewal, it has to be in the original amount of 6%.
The ramifications are that, if the tax is not passed, the $3,000,000 per year will be cut directly from the fire and police department budgets.
The question is, after cutting approximately 10% from those budgets at the beginning of the year, can the departments suffer another cut of this size without drastically reducing services?
Monday, April 5, 2010
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Well, from reading the actual proposition, it seems that the 3 million plus MUST be dedicated specifically to the Police and Fire Departments.
ReplyDeleteI know there has been some speculation that it could just go in to the general fund. And, I'm pretty sure that just because the tax is renewed, there will be no guarantee of personnel cuts.
But, this does help clear up some of the murkiness. I guess that the City could try to do something like shifting dedicated funds to other departments. But, the language of the proposal makes it pretty clear (at least to me) that there would be a fairly high legal hurdle to jump.
I doubt that the Council will roll back to the previous 4.9% level. If my memory serves, that was done when we were flush with cash. But, I could be wrong. So, it will probably be an increase that I can live with.
Personally, I think the mayor wants this to fail, which is why they made the statements about the increased sewer rates when they did.
ReplyDeletePeople can say the departments are overstaffed, but I think they would be surprised to know just how few officers are on the street at any given time.
Lay them off. It is on the Mayor and his cronies. I will not vote for this and neither will any member of my family
ReplyDeleteIf you want to see the cuts, then vote against it. Don't blame the mayor and his cronies, however - this is your decision. If that's what you want, then vote your conscience.
ReplyDeleteThe men and women of both depts. will be the ones who suffer.
ReplyDeleteif this does not pass. they will lay off 30 police officers and 30 firemen. they will be the ones to suffer along with all citizens off bossier city. how do you expect them to do the same outstanding job, extremely shorthanded. not gonna happen, morale is already in the gutter most civil service employees are looking for another job.
ReplyDeleteWhy no blogging on he next chief of police in bossier, Jim? Hmmmmm, sounds fishy. somebody get to you.
I put a poll up about the chief position, other than that I don't have a clue. It is the mayor's decision and he hasn't called me lately to discuss it.
ReplyDeleteMaybe a better poll question would have been who do you think the next chief should be, instead of who people think it will be.
ReplyDeleteMight have been, but since the mayor doesn't give a flying flip what people think, I thought it was more realistic to word it like I did.
ReplyDeleteI actually did consider your wording.
Truer words were never spoken, than those saying he doesn't give a flying flip. I agree that he probably doesn't care. But I also think some of those numbers would be totally different!
ReplyDeleteOkay, let's give it a try.
ReplyDeletePeople with knowledge of the chief situation may be suprised by the mayors choice. Morale is at an all time low and only getting worse, whoever gets the position could help change that if the depts. dont have their pay cut if the proposition doesn't pass. With the city insurance rates going up and incentives (educational, field training officer) being taken away, paychecks are really beginning to dwindle.
ReplyDeleteI like the wording of the second poll better, and the results of it sure look better. The Mayor hasn't made alot of good choices in the past, maybe this time he will make a good one, and pick the right man for the job.
ReplyDeleteThe only people to suffer if the tax renewal does not pass will be the police officers, firemen, and the citizens. If anyone thinks the mayor and his friends will do with out they are wrong. The mayor was able to replace his secretary that retired even after the city laid off so many employees only a few months ago. The citizens of Bossier would be surprised if they know how sort handed both departments are on any given day.
ReplyDeleteThe next police chief will be a leader from inside the department with no ties to Halphen's administration. That is a great thing. Walker's decision making will turn around. If no tax renewal their will be significant cuts to police and fire either with pay cuts or layoffs. either way the citizens suffer. people would be very surprised at how short handed the police force is.
ReplyDeleteI know that Jim had intel on one the police chief candidate's but chose not to pursue. You know what I am talking about. I think you had a good reason not too.
ReplyDeleteright jim. besides hes not gonna be chief anyways.
I hope that the citizens who say Bossier city is over staffed in the police department watch the news. The Regions bank in Bossier was robber today. We have seen an increase in crime in Bossier since the layoffs last fall.
ReplyDelete