BATON ROUGE, La. — December 12, 2017 — The East Baton Rouge Metro Council today approved Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome’s 2018 budget. The General Fund operating budget of $319 million has less than a 1 percent increase and is considered “standstill.”

“While this budget has not changed much from last year, we will continue to work diligently on behalf of the citizens that we serve daily,” Mayor-President Broome said. “We will collaborate with like-minded stakeholders and agencies to not only maintain services but improve the efficiency of such.”

Prior to today’s vote, Mayor-President Broome met with the council members in small groups and discussed funding for police and fire academies, as well as the replacement of police and fire vehicles. Efforts are also being prioritized to increase entry-level pay for police officers.

Revenue collection efforts will also be increased. It has been cited that these have been complicated due to the effects of the August 2016 flood.