(The Center Square) – After reviewing Bossier City’s financial documents, The Center Square found that over the past five years, the city’s proposed general fund expense budget has increased by $17 million.
Spending across all funds has increased by nearly $100 million.
According to financial records, the city proposed a $55 million expense budget for the general fund in 2020, which includes the City Council, Public Affairs, Finance Department, Police Department, Fire Department and others.
The police and fire departments received the largest budget that year. In total, the general government was anticipated to spend $12 million, while public safety was much greater at $37 million.
Across all funds, expenditures were $180 million in 2020.
While not by much, the general fund expense budget has gradually increased over the last five years. The city adopted a $72 million budget for 2025 for the general fund, and an $8 million increase from the 2024 budget of $64 million.
The city budgeted $17 million for expenses by the general government and $47 million for public safety.
The city’s budget was $276 million in expenditures across all funds – $135 million of that comes from consolidated sales tax, followed by $77 million from the general fund. The proposed expenditure budget for 2026 is $283 million, with $80 million coming from the general fund.
The Bossier City Council reviewed the budget last week for the first time. A public hearing is scheduled for Oct. 7, followed by the first reading of the budget. Final reading takes place Oct. 23.
