BOSSIER CITY-PARISH IS FLAT. THE POLICE JURY IS NOT.
That remains the real takeaway from the latest local sales-tax numbers. Bossier City-Parish collected:
**2025 YTD:** $39,391,584
**2026 YTD:** $39,382,199
That’s a decrease of only about **0.02%**.
In other words: **Flat as a pancake.**
Meanwhile, SettleTalk reported the **Bossier Parish Police Jury** at:
**2025 YTD:** $7,534,658
**2026 YTD:** $8,485,417
and called that a **25.9% increase**. At first glance, that math does NOT work.
Using the correct percentage increase formula:
**(New Value − Old Value) ÷ Old Value × 100**
$8,485,417 compared to $7,534,658 is only about a **12.6% increase**.
BUT...
After cross-checking prior monthly figures, it appears the more likely problem is a **typo in the published YTD dollar amount**.
The Police Jury had already reportedly collected about **$8.1 million through June**, and July alone added about **$1.388 million**.
That puts the YTD total around: **$9.485 million**
And guess what?
If the intended figure was approximately **$9,485,417**, then the reported **25.9% increase is essentially correct.** So the likely error is not the percentage.
It’s this: **$8,485,417 should probably have been $9,485,417.**
That’s an important distinction, and we’re correcting our interpretation accordingly. But here’s the larger point:
**John Settle or Ken still should have caught it.**
Whether it was bad math or a typo, when you publish financial numbers — especially numbers involving millions of taxpayer dollars — the figures ought to reconcile before hitting “publish.”
A simple percentage check would have immediately shown that something was wrong. And the REAL story may be even bigger than we first thought:
**Bossier City-Parish: essentially FLAT at -0.02%.**
**Bossier Parish Police Jury: potentially UP nearly 26%.**
Now THAT deserves some digging.
Why is one major local sales-tax stream basically standing still while another appears to be surging?
❓Growth outside the city limits?
❓Construction?
❓Industrial development?
❓Data-center activity?
❓Tax allocation differences?
❓One-time transactions?
That’s where Bossier Watch will keep looking. And yes — the graphic stays up. Because the lesson still applies:
**CHECK. YOUR. MATH.**
Or at least check your typos. 😂
John came to Shreveport in January of 1977 when he was transferred to Barksdale AFB.
He’s been active in Shreveport politics since deciding to make Shreveport his home.
John practiced law for 40 years and he now monitors local politics. He regularly attends Shreveport City Council and Caddo Parish Commission meetings.
John is published weekly in The Inquisitor, bi-monthly in The Forum News, and frequently in the Shreveport Times.
He enjoys addressing civic groups on local government issues and elections.