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The Shreveport City Council members Garyson Boucher and Tabatha Taylor attend a meeting of the council Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, at Government Plaza in Shreveport, La. By JILL PICKETT | Staff photographer The Shreveport City Council meets Friday, Nov.
8, 2024, at Government Plaza in Shreveport, La. By JILL PICKETT | Staff photographer Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save The City of Shreveport can start the bond sale approved by voters early this year after more than a month of delay , and also can sell the bonds approved in 2021 to rebuilding the Shreveport Police Department headquarters. The Shreveport City Council at its meeting Friday authorized the sale of general obligation bonds meant to pay for major infrastructure projects around town.
The votes followed several weeks of postponement because members of the council withheld their support for moving forward Mayor Tom Arceneaux's signature achievement as a means of pressuring the administration to quickly relocate police from their decaying headquarters building on Texas Avenue and hasten the start replacing it with a new one, a process now in motion. The council on Sept. 24 slammed the brakes on the mayor's plans to begin selling bonds which would pay for the first round of projects approved in an election earlier this year.
A week earlier, photos of dilapidated conditions at the SPD headquarters complex made the rounds on social media and reached several council members. Disturbed by accounts of broken utilities, reports of mold and overall uncomfortable conditions for department personnel, council members asked Arceneaux to declare the situation there an emergency. Arceneaux said 'No.
' He admitted the building was in disrepair, but didn't believe there was a health emergency there, nor that a declaration of a state of emergency would facilitate moving out police personnel to temporary sites any faster. The council reacted by shutting down a planned vote which would have authorized the sale of $88 million worth of general obligation bonds the voters approved this year. Council members said they'd pause the vote until there was progress on the headquarters.
Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux attends a meeting of the Shreveport City Council Friday, Nov. 8, 2024, at Government Plaza in Shreveport, La. The city administration got the message and almost immediately began pursuing options to move police personnel into temporary locations.
Officials expect police will begin relocating before the end of the year and plan to finish reconstruction of the complex by 2027. The council unanimously decided to delay the authorization vote three more times after that. But during their last meeting, several of them indicated they were satisfied the administration had done enough to expedite the abandonment of the Texas Avenue complex.
At their meeting Friday, the council voted in favor of two bond sales: $88 million of what voters approved this year and $29 million of what they approved in 2021, meant to rebuild the police station but still unsold because it won't cover the cost of the current plans. Council members voted unanimously to move the $88 million bond sales forward largely because the administration advanced the issues they've raised concerning police workspaces. But several said they're expecting the mayor to keep the issue front of mind.
"I'm voting for this because I've listened to several constituents call me, and I don't want to hold up any more projects than we need to. However, I'm holding my nose and voting for it and trusting that we're going to move these 2021 bonds forward as well," said Councilman Grayson Boucher. The council's authorization means the city now can sell two tranches of general obligation bonds to underwriters, the revenue from which will be used to fund infrastructure projects.
Shreveport residents ultimately pay back those loans through increased property taxes..
