(The Center Square) — A public hearing prior to the approval of the 2026 Bossier City budget is scheduled for Tuesday.
Bossier’s budget for the next fiscal year is nearing the end of its approval process. The city council is holding a pubic hearing to allow residents to speak for or against the budget before the council casts a final vote.
Final readings on each separate budget take place immediately following the public hearing.
There have been no drastic changes to the budget since it was introduced, aside from a 2% pay increase for part-time employees and the removal of $50,000 for management of the Bossier Arts Council plaza.
There were, however, several changes made after the city’s budget workshop meeting, including a decrease in general fund expenditures of $18,845 due to some changes in the Public Works Department. There were also adjustments to several items in the sales tax capital fund to account for the purchase of a $1.5 million fire truck and $600,000 for eight police vehicles.
General fund expenses were projected to increase by 4.9%, according to Chief Administrative Officer Amanda Nottingham, along with a 14.8% increase in general fund revenue and 4.5% more in sales tax revenue. These increases were estimated based on what the city has collected over the past few years.
Expenditures across all funds were estimated at $283 million, a nearly 2% increase from the current year’s budget, with $80.5 million from the general fund.
A $3.4 million increase in salaries is partially due to raises given to employees this year that were not included in the 2025 budget. There is a state-mandated 2% cost-of-living increase for civil service police and fire department employees and a 2% increase for non-civil service employees.
Millages were addressed during the previous budget workshop, noting that projections are based on rolling property millages forward. However, the city has not yet said whether this will be necessary.
