East Baton Rouge Budget

Most teachers in East Baton Rouge Parish public schools will get a raise if the school board approves Superintendent LaMont Cole’s proposed budget.

East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore is suing the East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council and Mayor-President Sid Edwards in hopes of getting the $22.6 million he asked for in his 2026 budget proposal.

All East Baton Rouge city-parish employees are set to receive a raise soon, after the Metro Council approved a plan in a 10-1 vote Wednesday.

All officers will receive at least a 15% raise, non-sworn employees will receive a 3.5% raise and the police chief will receive a 5.9% raise. The base pay for a sworn officer would be kicked up from about $41,000 to about $58,000 under this plan.

Baton Rouge Police Department employees could soon get the largest across-the-board pay raises in department history if East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sid Edwards latest ask of the East Baton Rouge Metro Council is successful.

The East Baton Rouge Public Defender remain underfunded despite a $500,000 allocation from the parish. High case loads and small pay checks remain the norm

The approved budget includes 11% cuts to nearly every department and nearly 200 layoffs. Councilmembers also allocated some of their budget funds to impacted departments.