KEN KREFFT
Contributing Columnist
The city of Shreveport's 10 months' sales tax receipts are running at a record pace. October's $13,297,236 gives a YTD total of $122,437,016. This sum is 16.7% over 2020's 10-month figure of $104,897,747. Next month's number will easily surpass the appropriated amount. Then the final month's receipts will be on top of that. Such revenues indicate the method by which the mayor and city council should award public safety first responders a long overdue and badly needed pay raise of 12-13%.
Social Security recently announced a 5.9% COLA as of Jan. 1, 2022. This is by far the largest such jump in decades. Inflation is high because of many causes, and it will continue to be high for next year. Whether one cites supply chain issues, the fed, a massive trucker shortage, containerized ships awaiting unloading at LA/LB, the price of crude oil or rising food prices, inflation won't dampen down any time soon. Consequently, the city's 2.75% total sales tax rate will yield large monthly 2022 revenues.
It's understandable that our mayor, CAO, all city council members and citizens need to see an ongoing, sufficiently high revenue stream before giving a police/firefighter pay hike. I will speak on this point at the Nov. 9 city council meeting, and again at a scheduled Nov. 11 annual budgetary review hearing for 2022's general fund budget. The budgetary hearing continues on Nov. 12. Both hearings are open to the media and public.