Lafayette Employees To Get Cost Of Living Pay Increase

Lafayette Police and other employees of Lafayette Consolidated Government are getting a pay raise. Well, maybe, they're getting a pay raise. Let's just say a 2% cost of living increase has been approved by the City-Parish Council but certain conditions must be met before those increases take effect.

The conditions that will trigger the raises have to do with Lafayette's economy. Basically council members approved the pay increase if the city’s property and sales taxes increase by two-percent from the year before. Which makes both common and fiscal sense. At least to me, it does.

Lafayette's Police Chief Toby Aguillard told KATC this about those conditions.

We don’t want to put the city in a bind, and we don’t want to see the city suffer as a result of some mandated raise, but what we are saying is that when the revenues are up, police pay raises are a priority.

He went on to suggest that the confirmed pay increases could help his department retain officers who are being recruited by other police departments.

The 2% pay increase not only covers Lafayette Police but other LCG employees including Lafayette Fire Department employees who are not covered by state-mandated raises.

If Lafayette's economy continues to grow stronger the pay increases could go into effect as soon as the next fiscal year.