Mayor opposes sanitation rate break for apartment complexes: Council President Smith says it's 'politics at its worst'
Plus — 2600 Bossier City water meters don't work: How to tell if your water bill is estimated.
Bossier City weather — Heat Advisory. Today: Partly cloudy with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms this morning, then mostly cloudy with a chance of showers and thunderstorms this afternoon. Hot with highs in the upper 90s. North winds around 5 mph. Chance of rain 40%. Heat index values up to 111. Tonight: Mostly cloudy in the evening, then becoming partly cloudy. Humid with lows in the upper 70s. South winds around 5 mph in the evening, becoming light and variable. Heat index values up to 108 early in the evening. Thursday: Partly cloudy with a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms. Hot with highs in the upper 90s. West winds around 5 mph. Chance of rain 20%. Heat index values up to 109.
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Mayor opposes sanitation rate break for apartment complexes: Council President Smith says it's 'politics at its worst'
The honeymoon is over. A bitter exchange between the Mayor and the President of the council highlighted Tuesday's Bossier City Council meeting.
A resolution to modify sanitation rates charged to apartment complexes and multi-family residential facilities passed a final vote by the Bossier City Council Tuesday, despite Mayor Tommy Chandler's stern opposition.
The ordinance calculates a monthly rate of $12.00 multiplied by 80% of the total number of apartments in a complex, rather than all units in a facility. The fees won't be charged to multi-family housing until February 1, 2026.
Single-family residents have been paying the $12 public works fee since February.
Mayor Chandler said the decision to raise the public works fee was difficult, but the fee increase was "necessary and financially responsible. The city cannot continue to operate public works at a deficit."
However, he firmly objected to delaying the rate increase for apartment complexes and charging less than 100% of the number of apartment units.
“If we show favoritism and don't charge everyone equally, then that's not fair.”
"I cannot support an ordinance that unfairly benefits a small group by reducing their costs while every other citizen continues to pay," Chandler said. "If this ordinance passes, apartment complex owners will not pay their share of the fees for five months. And after that, they will pay a reduced fee. The small group this ordinance will affect will still receive the services that everyone else is paying for. If we show favoritism and don't charge everyone equally, then that's not fair."
Council President Chris Smith was not pleased with the Mayor's objection.
"In my opinion, this is politics at its worst," Smith said. "This is taking an opportunity to pit some citizens against other citizens — and citizens against the city council. Because if this was truly about what's fair, when we first came in and had our first budget cycle, we would have noticed that, hey, Dusty Williams and Bill Alley, they're only paying $12 per meter. That's not right. But they were paying $12 total. That's it. That's it. Not per door, just $12. And then when it went from January 31st to February 1st, it was $6,000 or $8,000, depending on their apartment complex size. That's a tough pill to swallow."
The ordinance passed, with councilmembers Vince Maggio and Brian Hammons abstaining from the vote due to conflicts of interest.
2600 Bossier City water meters don't work: How to tell if your water bill is estimated
It was revealed during Tuesday's city council meeting that some 2,600 water meters in the city are not functioning. An ordinance to spend $250,000 to purchase new meters was introduced for an initial vote when the issue was discussed.
"How many meters do we have out there right now that aren't actually reading?" District 1's Brian Hammons asked.
"Approximately 2,600," CAO Amanda Nottingham replied.
"2,600 meters that we have that we have no idea how much water they're using."
"We're estimating, correct."
Nottingham stated that replacing all 2,600 non-functional water meters would cost the city approximately $3 million.
"How is that fair to the citizens of Bossier, the 2,600 residences and businesses are not paying their actual water bill?" Hammons pressed.
"We use the actual consumption for that particular account for the previous six months so that we can get our best estimate," Nottingham said.
Nottingham also revealed how customers can tell whether their water bill is based on an actual reading or an estimate.
Under the "Your monthly usage" section on the left-hand side of the statement, you will see "Code" as the first entry. If you see "WA," that means your usage is based on an actual reading. If the 'A' is replaced with an 'E,' that means your bill was estimated.
The city is seeking ways to fund the replacement of all of the non-functioning meters.
"As we're sitting here, we're losing money from 2,600 accounts," Hammons added. "Hopefully one of those accounts isn't Twin City Car Wash."
Traffic fines to increase for slow left-lane drivers: Up to $350 or 30 days in jail
Motorists will face higher fines for driving below the speed limit in the left lane of a Louisiana highway beginning Friday.
A new state law, Act 24 from this year’s legislative session, will require a person driving less than the speed limit to stay in the furthest right lane of a multilane highway. People driving in the left lane must be either passing another vehicle or turning left off the road.
Current law only requires drivers to stay in the righthand lane if they are driving at least 10 mph below the speed limit. Sen. Jay Luneau, D-Alexandria, sponsored the new statute and said the current restriction has been difficult to enforce and is rarely used.
He hopes the new requirements will garner more compliance.
His new law will also increase traffic fines for people driving too slowly in the left lane. The penalty is going from $100 or up to 30 days in jail to $150 for a first offense, $250 for a second offense within a year of the original offense, and $350 or up to 30 days in jail for a third offense within a year of the original offense.
Luneau said he brought the bill because he was stuck behind slow drivers during his two-hour commute between the Capitol in Baton Rouge and his home in Alexandria.
“I think this is something that we all encounter on a weekly basis,” Luneau told lawmakers during a hearing earlier this year.
Slow highway driving is also a safety hazard that causes incidents of road rage, he said.
A handful of lawmakers opposed the proposal.
“I don’t think we need a new reason to pull people over and give them traffic tickets,” Rep. Mike Bayham, R-Chalmette, said before voting against the bill on the House floor.
Overall, the new law was popular with lawmakers. The Senate approved it with a 35-3 vote, and the House favored it 78-16.
Sen. Royce Duplessis, D-New Orleans, suggested a song from Ludacris, encouraging people to “Get out da way,” become the statute’s new theme music.
– By Julie O'Donoghue/Louisiana Illuminator
Bossier City events calendar
Live music in Bossier City and other notable events in the area for your free time consideration. If you would like to add an event to the Bossier City free time calendar, send the details to email@bossiernow.com.
July 31: Beaux Atkins at Monzon's Cantina & Grille
July 31: The Intemperate Sons at Hurricane Alley Live
August 2: Ironfish Kids Triathlon at Cypress Black Bayou Park
August 2: Ambush reunion at Hurricane Alley, 7pm.
August 3: River Cities Triathlon at Cypress Black Bayou Park
August 3: The Lovers at Live! Casino & Hotel Louisiana
August 9: Sheila and the Caddo Kats at Louisiana Downs Casino & Racetrack
August 16: Anxious at the Louisiana Downs Casino
August 15: KC and the Sunshine Band will bring their classic funk and disco sound to the Riverdome at Horseshoe Casino & Hotel. 8 pm.
August 22: The Marshall Tucker Band at Margaritaville Resort Casino
August 31: The 14th Annual Shreveport Blues & Southern Soul Pre-Labor Day Fest at Festival Plaza
September 12: Hudson Westbrook and the Texas Forever Fall Tour. Shreveport Municipal Auditorium.
September 13: Lainey Wilson at the Brookshire Grocery Arena
October 3: Billy Bob Thornton & The Boxmasters at Margaritaville
October 17: Zach Top and his Cold Beer and Country Music tour at the Brookshire Grocery Arena.
October 18: Wanda Sykes and her Please and Thank You tour at the Horseshoe Bossier City.
October 24: Styx at the Live Casino & Hotel Louisiana. 8:00 pm. Tickets start at $59.99. Must be 21+
November 20: ZZ Top at Shreveport Municipal Auditorium
December 12: Jiaoying Summers at the Live! Casino and Hotel. Get ready for a night of fearless, dark, and laugh-out-loud comedy from a global sensation with over 1 billion views online! You’ve seen her viral “Uber Karen” sketch and hilarious English name roasts — now catch her live on her “What Specie Are You?” tour!
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I would like to know how much money (if any) from the real estate tycoons was given to the council members who voted for this ordinance. Politics at its worst could very well be true but not like Smith thinks.