BATON ROUGE - Mayor-President Sid Edward proposed his 2026 budget during Wednesday's Special Metro Council meeting. In total, Edwards' plan would eliminate 420 government positions.

Edwards said that due to the incorporation of St. George, the city-parish's general fund will be reduced by $15 million.

During his address, Edwards said personnel is the largest cost from the general fund and his budget proposes a 33% workforce reduction, excluding police and fire employees.

The mayor said that his plan does not include his THRIVE initiative to let the government tap money currently going to the parish library system, the public pest control agency and the Council on Aging.

Without the approval of the THRIVE, Edwards said the City-Parish will not be able to sustain funding support for cert

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