METAIRIE, La. (WGNO) On the ballot for the April 30 election is a tax proposal from Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.
“We were very eager to look at the proposal from the JPSO because Jefferson is the most populous parish in our region,” CEO of the Bureau of Government Research Rebecca Mowbray said.
The BGR report on the tax proposal stated JPSO faces the same issues as NOPD — staffing.
According to the report, JPSO went from roughly 100 vacancies nine months ago to 247 at the end of March.
Mowbray said, the reason became pretty clear.
“If you compare the salaries at JPSO to others in the region, it’s the third lowest among the law enforcement agencies that the sheriff’s office identified as peer agencies,” Mowbray said.
If the tax passes, the average salary for first year deputies would grow from $38,745 to $47,250.
The BGR hopes this will bring people back to the force. The agency did endorse the tax increase but believes the sheriff’s office needs to do their research, as well.
“We did have some concerns,” Mowbray said. “One is the sheriff’s office does not collect any information on the non-financial reasons people leave.”
If the proposition passes, the tax rate would increase by about 5%.