City Council postpones Mayor Perkins’ $206 million bond proposal

SHREVEPORT, La. (KSLA) - On Tuesday, Jan. 12, City Council voted to postpone a proposal that would call a special election in Shreveport.

The proposal, which would include a special election, was postponed for a special meeting.

Resolution 7 was mistakenly put in the wrong place on the agenda, stating that the proposal would not be adopted before Jan. 26. However, it was originally meant to be introduced and voted on the same day.

Due to the confusion, Councilman John Nickelson, District C, said he did not think it was right to vote on the proposal.

“My concern is that it’s very important citizens understand what we’re going to do and how we’re going to do it before we take action,” he said.

Mayor Adrian Perkins says the proposal has to be voted on by Jan. 19 for procedural reasons. Council members will be holding a special meeting sometime between now and then to officially vote on it.

If approved, citizens of Shreveport will get to vote in a special election in the spring. On the ballot would be four different propositions totaling more than $206 million dollars.

The propositions include:

• Proposition No. 1: About $88.48 million “for the purposes of constructing, acquiring, and/or improving (i) streets, highways, bridges, and drainage systems, and (ii) water systems.”
• Proposition No. 2: About $76.7 million “for the purposes of constructing, acquiring, and improving public facilities and equipment for (i) police department, and (ii) fire department.”
• Proposition No. 3: About $22 million “for the purposes of constructing, acquiring, and/or improving (i) public facilities for parks and recreation, and (ii) public transportation.”
• Proposition No. 4: About $19.5 million “for the purposes of economic development including but not limited to industrial park and workforce development facilities.”

Mayor Perkins proposed similar propositions back in 2019 but they did not pass.

“This bond proposal is almost identical to the one our citizens chose, but we did make minor adjustments.”

Nickelson said he does believe the public safety departments need upgrades, describing their current facilities as “abysmal.”

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