Kenner firefighters may see changes to their pay as Councilman Joey LaHatte plans to introduce a resolution during a city council meeting to address ongoing concerns.
“It’s mind-boggling to me; I can’t ignore it anymore, and neither can any of the council, and we control the money, so we are going to direct them to do this tomorrow night via resolution,” LaHatte said.
LaHatte stated that voters had passed a millage to better fund firefighters, but he claims the money is not being managed properly internally.
“It comes down to the chief; the fire chief is the one who needs to take the reins on this, and it doesn’t seem there’s a captain in the wheelhouse driving the ship. It’s a big beautiful ship, but someone needs to control this,” LaHatte said.
In 2024, Kenner firefighters and their union expressed a lack of confidence in fire Chief Terrance Morris during a city council meeting. With a new council now in office and the mayor supporting the effort, LaHatte said the time has come to address firefighter pay.
“We find out not everyone is getting their pay, which is causing a lot of morale issues, and things, and we just cannot ignore that anymore,” LaHatte said.
Morris responded to the concerns, saying, “The city of Kenner’s position is that the allocation of 2% pay increases for firefighters complies with Louisiana statutory state law.”
READ MORE:Kenner councilman calls for firefighter pay resolution amid management concerns
