How Shreveport is run
Who runs Shreveport, what it costs, and where your money goes
The city manager, council pay, the budget, your property tax bill and who provides each service, from Shreveport's own public documents. Every number links to its source and says which year it describes. Checked Oct 10, 2026.
Who runs Shreveport
The elected mayor heads the city government and appoints its top administrator and department heads. The council passes laws, adopts the budget and sets the tax rate.
What they are paid
Shreveport city staff
2,474 full-time-equivalent positions, including Police 618, Fire 582, Parks and recreation (SPAR) 185. FY2026 budget (full-time authorized positions). City of Shreveport · Oct 1, 2025
The budget lists authorized positions by department and title; we found no published list of pay by position or employee. We name pay only for elected officials and the city manager.
Is Shreveport in the red?
Cities must pass a balanced budget, so "profit" and "deficit" mean something different here. The useful questions: does the city's everyday money (the general fund) cover its everyday costs, how much does it keep in savings compared with its own target, and how big are its pension and debt bills.
Savings against the city's own target
Unassigned general fund balance: $27.6M (2024-12-31). The city's own target: The city commits to keep a general fund operating reserve of at least 8% of spending, budgeted each year. The 2026 budget sets it at $23.4 million. City of Shreveport · Jun 30, 2025
Why we skip the "budgeted deficit": many cities plan to dip into savings, then spend less than planned. The audited result tells you what really happened.
Where the money comes from and goes
The general fund only: the city's everyday money for FY2026 (proposed).
Comes from
- Sales tax$171M · 53%
- Property taxes$30.9M · 10%
- Prior-year fund balance used$29M · 9%
- Transfer from Water and Sewer (rate stabilization)$25M · 8%
- Emergency medical service charges$15M · 5%
- Licenses and permits$9.9M · 3%
- Other$42M · 13%
Goes to (FY2026 (proposed))
- General government (reserves, transfers, retiree costs)$100M · 31%
- Police$77M · 24%
- Fire and EMS$67.6M · 21%
- Public works$25.2M · 8%
- Parks and recreation (SPAR)$20.8M · 6%
- Property standards$9.7M · 3%
- Other$22M · 7%
Your property tax bill: who gets it
Rates are mills per $1,000 of assessed value. The school board and the parish levy most of the bill; the city's share is 28.32 mills.
18¢
of each property-tax dollar goes to the city of Shreveport
- School board72.59 · 46%
- Caddo Parish58.6 · 37%
- City of Shreveport (operations)17 · 11%
- City of Shreveport (debt service)11.32 · 7%
- Total (mills)159.51
2024 property tax rates for a property in the city of Shreveport (Caddo Parish). City of Shreveport · Jun 30, 2025
See what a Shreveport home costs each year, line by line →Who provides your services
Not everything in Shreveport is run by the city. Who provides a service decides whose budget pays for it and whose election decides it.
- PoliceThe cityShreveport Police DepartmentCity of Shreveport · Oct 1, 2025
- FireThe cityShreveport Fire DepartmentCity of Shreveport · Oct 1, 2025
- 911 calls and dispatchThe cityCity police and fire communications centersCity of Shreveport · Oct 1, 2025
- Water and sewerThe cityCity Water and Sewerage DepartmentCity of Shreveport · Oct 1, 2025
- Trash collectionThe cityCity (Solid Waste fund)City of Shreveport · Oct 1, 2025
- Streets and drainageThe cityCity Public WorksCity of Shreveport · Oct 1, 2025
- Parks and recreationThe cityShreveport Public Assembly and Recreation (SPAR)City of Shreveport · Oct 1, 2025
- AirportsThe cityCity Municipal AirportsCity of Shreveport · Oct 1, 2025
Compared with similar cities
The cities in this state closest in population that we cover. Read it for scale, not as a ranking: cities provide different services.
| Per city | RustonLA | HammondLA | AlexandriaLA | ShreveportLA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residents | 22,397 | 24,032 | 42,938 | 175,902 |
| Top administrator's base pay | Not confirmed | $80,000 | Not confirmed | Not confirmed |
| Council member pay | $13,765 | $12,000 | $25,200 | Not confirmed |
| General fund per resident | $1,643 | $1,845 | $1,636 | $1,893 |
| Debt per resident | $3,264 | $279 | $3,375 | $5,736 |
| Unfunded pension per resident | $896 | $1,427 | $803 | $2,410 |
| City staff per 1,000 residents | — | 13.5 | — | 14.1 |
Figures as shown in each city's section, divided by its population. Years differ by state, and pension figures are measured differently in each state (each city page says how).
What Shreveport publishes
What a resident can find online today. A "no" is something you can ask the council to publish.
- Partly: Adopted budget posted onlineThe Budgets page posts the 2026 operating budget marked as the proposed version; the council's amendments are in its December 9, 2025 minutes. City of Shreveport
- No: City manager's contract findable onlineThe Chief Administrative Officer is appointed by the mayor; the CAO page shows no contract or salary. City of Shreveport
- Yes: Council votes recorded member by member online Shreveport City Council · Dec 9, 2025
- Yes: Meeting videos and minutes onlineThe city's meeting portal posts council minutes and links each meeting's video. Shreveport PrimeGov meeting portal
- No: Council pay stated in a public documentThe budget lists council members as elected part-time officials but states no salary; we found no pay ordinance online. City of Shreveport · Oct 1, 2025
- No: Employee pay publishedThe budget lists authorized positions by department and title, without pay; we found no published pay list. City of Shreveport · Oct 1, 2025
Questions to ask your council
- The general fund ended 2024 with $27.6 million unassigned after its fund balance fell $18.3 million. How will the city rebuild it?
- The city-run Employees' Retirement System was 37.42% funded at December 31, 2024. What is the plan to raise that ratio?
- The 2026 general fund budget uses $29 million of prior-year fund balance. How much of that is expected to be spent by year end?
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