Columns & Opinions

Speaking to the Broadmoor Neighborhood Association Tuesday evening, Mayor Tom Arceneaux got right to business. It seems that the previous administration failed to put 2023 millage reauthorizations on the fall 2022 ballot. So Arceneaux urged everyone to turnout for an April special election to renew streets, recreation facilities, city wages and salaries, pensions and first responder expenses. A total of $11,549,500. Those in attendance were grumpy.

“Your revenue is $217 million, but you are spending $253 million.” Urban Three (Urban3. com) founder Joe Minnicozzi opened his presentation at LSU-S theater Monday evening with a hard truth. Shreveport is spending more money than we take in. Mayor Arceneaux said on KEEL Radio last Friday that we will need to dip into our Strategic Reserve Fund this year and probably next year, too.

Here, There and Everywhere

SettleTalk

Ugh! The bronze building with the egotistical banner visible from I-20 is now 'legal'

The recent F1 tornado in Shreveport caused some damage. Unfortunately, the National Weather Service could not warn us because their radar did not pick up this twister. However, we will be prudent to invest in purchasing a few tornado and other imminent threat warning drone sirens. Many small northwest Louisiana towns have warning sirens, yet Shreveport has no sirens.

While Entergy Corp. recently reported $1.1 billion profit for 2022, their customers in Louisiana saw increases in their utility bills throughout the year. Those increases will continue for up to 15 years. They are attributed to storm-restoration charges. Unfortunately, in Louisiana all of the costs spent restoring areas damaged by natural disasters are passed on to the customers by the utility companies.

Sometimes politicians forget for whom they work or who pays their salaries. They become arrogant and full of themselves. In other words, the power that they are given by the people goes to their heads, and they believe that whatever body they are leading is their own little fiefdom. It is not. It is the people’s council. It is the people’s council chambers. It is the people’s business.