The Shreveport Times
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Henrietta Wildsmith, Shreveport Times
The Shreveport City Council is expected to vote on a few hot-button legislative items on Tuesday.
Sponsored by Shreveport City Councilman John Nickelson, the proposed firearm storage ordinance drew opposition from the National Rifle Association (NRA).
If approved, Nickelson’s ordinance, adds a new section to the Code of Ordinances making it a misdemeanor offense that carries a $1,000 fine, to leave a handgun in an unattended vehicle unless the handgun is locked in the vehicle’s trunk, glove compartment, or a container that is permanently affixed to the vehicle’s interior and not in plain view.
Nickelson’s stance is that in 2020, 558 firearms were stolen from vehicles in Shreveport, and 75 homicides were committed with firearms. He pointed out that 69 of the victims were African American.
“These statistics show the degree to which the terrible cost of gun violence falls disproportionately on African-Americans in our community,” Nickelson wrote in a social media post.
He stated further that, “If we reduce the number of stolen firearms accessible to violent criminals, we will reduce the number of murders and other violent crimes.”
In addition to push-back from local citizens, the NRA sent a letter to the council explaining their “strong opposition to the proposed change to the city’s code of ordinances as it relates to gun storage in personal vehicles.”
The letter states in part, “The proposed legislation would apply a one-size-fits-all approach to handgun storage in personal vehicles, would place an unjustified burden on Louisianans who carry handguns for self-defense, violates Louisiana law, and raises significant legal questions concerning Louisianans’ right to keep and bear arms.”
Nickelson commented that he was somewhat surprised by the pushback and that he is hopeful that his colleagues on the council will “see the merit of this legislation and will support it.”
Nickelson commented in his social media post that for him, “The right of my constituents not to be murdered with stolen handguns outweighs the right of handgun owners to leave their weapons unsecured in vehicles from which they can be easily stolen.”
Pay increases for Shreveport mayor, city council
Proposed pay increases for Shreveport mayor and the Shreveport City Council also drew some opposition as well.
A 67% increase is proposed for council members, taking their annual salary from $15,000 to $25,000. The increase in the salary for council members, if approved, becomes effective Dec. 31, 2022.
Sponsored byNickelson and Jerry Bowman, a 30% increase is proposed also for the mayor whose salary would go from $96,000 to an annual $125,000 salary, payable in equal semimonthly installments, according to the ordinance.
Nickelson submitted a memo to The Times Monday that states, “The Mayor of the City of Shreveport is currently paid substantially less than the city’s chief administrative officer, its chief financial officer, and every city department head.
“Because inadequately compensating the city’s chief executive is not in the public interest, Councilman Bowman and I have co-sponsored Ordinance 50, which would increase the salary of the next elected Mayor to $125,000 beginning December 31, 2022 — after the next election.”
Nickelson asks the public to contrast the mayor’s present approximately, $95,000 salary, with the following salaries of 10 different chief executives of public organizations in the community as reported to the Louisiana Legislative Auditor:
- Caddo-Bossier Port Commission Executive Director: $292,683
- Caddo Parish School Board Superintendent: $260,625
- Caddo Parish Commission Parish Administrator: $215,494
- Caddo Parish Clerk of Court: $178,048
- Caddo Parish Tax Assessor: $172,515
- Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau CEO: $165,815
- First Judicial District, District Attorney $149,569
- Shreve Memorial Library Executive Director $133,412
- Caddo Levee District Administrator-Secretary $130,385
- Downtown Development Authority Executive Director $119,408
“Excerpts from the organizations’ most recent audits confirming these salaries are attached for your review. Please do not hesitate to contact me or Councilman Bowman if you have questions regarding this legislation,” Nickelson wrote in the memo.
Councilmen James Green, and Grayson Boucher, oppose the pay increases, however, Boucher is more opposed to an increase for the council than he is for the mayor.
Shreveport Mayor Adrian Perkins has made it clear that he had nothing to do with the pay increase legislation.
If approved the council will do away with their work session meetings, which have not taken place for some time.
Currently, the City Council Rules of Procedure calls for an administrative conference to be held on the Monday preceding each regular meeting, this resolution on the agenda for approval, removes the administrative conference requirement.
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