KEN KREFFT

Contributing Columnist

Shreveport has a 2.75% sales tax. For July 2021 those receipts hit an all-time high for a month -- $13,810,977.61. The previous record was April this year -- $13,756,900.02. Through seven months of 2021, the $84,702,756.06 total is 17.7% above 2020, when Shreveport’s sales tax revenues were $71,958,337.61. It is a $12,744,418.45 jump over 2020. The top five months’ receipts ever have happened in 2021.

I call on Mayor Adrian Perkins and the entire city council to introduce legislation at the Aug. 10 council meeting to grant at least an 8% salary increase -- 10% is better – to all our first responders. We should do this to reduce the very high rate of attrition in SPD and SFD. There are so may vacant positions for which we taxpayers paid for the training of police officers and firefighters. One way to try to at least slow the attrition rate down is a sizable hike in pay. There are ample general funds to accomplish this. There is absolutely no reason to raise taxes for a raise.

Citizens, contact both your mayor and your city council member to let them know your thoughts on this matter.