KEN KREFFT
Shreveport’s April 2021 sales tax receipts reached an alltime monthly high of $13,756,900, easily surpassing the prior mark of $13,000,330, just established in January this year.
This is a jump of 28.2% above April 2020. Year-to-date a $46,475,034 total has been received. It represents an 11.24% hike over the $41,779,043 figure from 2020.
Both May and June of 2020 did not fare well in the early grip of the Covid-19 pandemic.
There is a strong likelihood that the city’s total sales tax collections will be far above the mid-year 2020 number. Sales taxes will be higher in 2021 than the 2020 year-end amount, which was $127,214,947.
2021 is already 36.53% of the 2020 total after four months’ deposits into the city’s books. Folks are shopping!
I ask Mayor Adrian Perkins and all seven City Council members to consider giving city employees a 2.75% cost-of-living pay hike.
There are sufficient general funds for this long overdue salary boost. Many city workers last saw their pay rise in 2008, when the final COLA under then Mayor Cedric Glover was awarded.
THIS ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED IN THE May 7 ISSUE OF FOCUS SB - THE INQUISITOR.