Fire Department Project
This project proposes to analyze existing and collected data for the purposes of making recommendations that will lead to improving the fire rating for Ouachita Parish from its current rating of Class 5 to Class 4, and then provide a set of recommendations that include a cost-benefit analysis on how to move to a Class 3 rating.
This increased rating will potentially lead to a reduction in fire insurance rates for citizens in the unincorporated areas of the Parish as well as the Towns of Richwood and Sterlington. Further, the SSRL is mindful that a Parish renewal of the millage that supports in part the annual Fire Department budget will be before the voters within eighteen months.
While the SSRL, as a state entity, is strictly forbidden from advocating political positions, how those impacted by this report utilize the conclusions and any recommendations is entirely an internal matter of any public organization. Also, the SSRL will conduct a comparative analysis of fire department salaries and benefits from across the state and region.