BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - The state legislature approved salary increases for judges across the state through Act 390 in 2025. Now, the East Baton Rouge Metro Council’s agenda includes a proposed $14,000 pay raise for city court judges.

“If you want fast food, you spend $7 to $10, right? If you want Ruth’s Chris, you pay more,” EBR Metro Councilman Darryl Hurst said.

This raise stems from a 2017 city-parish ordinance (16612) requiring city-court judges to be paid the same as district-court judges.

“You can get low-level attorneys and low-level judges, or you can spend more and get better,” Hurst added.

With the increase, judges in the area will earn approximately $160,000 annually. Some of the funding for city court judges’ raises will come from the state, but a significant portion wil

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