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Firefighters and Parish Spar Over Pay, Millage Use as Council Orders Millage Review
Summary
Firefighters, union leaders and residents pressed the Jefferson Parish administration and council for higher starting pay and transparency in the fire millage while the administration called for fiscally constrained solutions; the council voted to require millage projection reports to assess funds at risk over time.
Jefferson Parish firefighters and their supporters spent the bulk of public comment at the Oct. 22 council meeting pressing officials for higher starting pay and an accounting of how dedicated fire millage dollars have been spent.
The session’s most sustained exchange came after council members adopted a resolution directing the Department of Finance to prepare millage-projection documents. Councilwoman Van Brinken said the reports are intended to identify any millage department “anticipated to experience a negative fund balance prior to the end of the life cycle of the millage,” giving the council data to plan ahead.
Union leaders and firefighters described long-term pay stagnation and hardship. Robin Burkett of the Jefferson Firefighters…
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