Baton Rouge voters will have the opportunity this fall to let their voices be heard on a proposed tax that would raise pay for firefighters in the city.
By an 8-2 vote Wednesday, the East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council supported a resolution placing a special property tax of 6 mills on the Nov. 5 ballot.
The tax would provide funds for increasing salaries and benefits for Baton Rouge Fire Department employees who are part of the Municipal Fire and Police Civil Service System.
After amending language in the resolution to change the tax period from "in perpetuity" to a 10-year period, council member Aaron Moak spoke in support of the resolution and increasing pay for firefighters.
“This is something that has been very much needed," he said. "We want to thank all of our firefighters for everything that they do."
Baton Rouge Fire Department Chief Michael Kimble said salaries for Step 8 members of the department, which requires about seven or eight years of service, are $40,000 a year. With built-in overtime, salaries can reach up to $50,000.
Councilmember Jen Racca said she supported the resolution and mentioned her faith in the community to make the right decision at the ballot box.
"At no point are we passing a tax; we're sending it to our citizens, to our constituents and to our community for them to make their educated decision and choice as to what to do as a voter of this city," Racca said. "I trust that they're going to go and make the right decision, so that's why I'm supporting this measure."
Council members Denise Amoroso and Darryl Hurst abstained from the vote, while Rowdy Gaudet and Dwight Hudson voted against the resolution, with Hudson citing the general fund allotment as a cause of hesitation related to the proposed tax.
“When we look at Baton Rouge Fire Department funding, it is largely general fund," he said. "So we’re going to pass an item that gives the ad valorem tax for them, but we’ve done nothing to ensure that there won’t be any changes to the general fund allotment."
Hudson said he would liked to have worked closer with Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome's office to guarantee the potential tax would not impact the general fund.
"If we’re not doing this in concert with the Mayor’s Office, and if we’re not setting ourselves up where we’ve got some sort of guarantee that we’re not going to pass a tax to then reduce the general fund allotment, then I think that’s totally wrong to the taxpayer," he said.
Council member Cleve Dunn Jr. responded to Hudson, arguing that the Mayor's Office should not dictate the decisions of the Metro Council, as they perform different roles in the branches of city-parish government.
"I don't want to belittle this but, again, I disagree," Dunn Jr. said. "If we get to the point where every item that comes up we need the mayor to make a commitment on what's going to be on the budget or what's not going to be on the budget on that item, we'll never get anything done."