SHREVEPORT, La. — The Shreveport City Council voted 7-0 to give police officers and firefighters 6% raises, and city leaders now plan to speed up a smaller raise for about 1,000 other city workers so they are not left waiting until spring.
The new public safety pay scales take effect Dec. 1. Police and fire employees are also in line for a separate 2% increase plus parity adjustments in January, Chief Administrative Officer Tom Dark told the council.
The rest of the city’s classified workforce had been set to get a 3% raise in March 2027. Council members on Monday questioned why those employees should wait months longer than police and fire crews. By the next day, Mayor Tom Arceneaux told the council the administration agreed and had found a way to move the date up, and Dark said the plan now is to start the 3% increase on Jan. 1.
Dark put the extra cost of the earlier start at about $180,000 for the rest of 2026 and roughly $360,000 in 2027 across all city funds. He said the money could fit inside the proposed 2027 city budget. He also warned that the faster schedule will strain the human resources and payroll offices, though staff told him it can be done with enough notice.
More than 400 workers who were found to be underpaid in a city compensation study are still due for extra raises on Jan. 1, 2027. Dark said those raises will come out a little larger because they will be figured on salaries that already include the 3% bump.
Shreveport’s Human Resources Board is set to meet Nov. 9 to approve a new pay chart for city employees.
Section: More Shreveport LA politics news
Filed under: Shreveport LA Politics News
