BATON ROUGE - The mayor-president's 2021 budget proposal would put more money toward funding first responders, including a three-percent pay increase for all BRPD officers.

Mayor Sharon Weston Broome's proposal will go to the East Baton Rouge Metro Council for approval during a special meeting Dec. 8. The mayor's office said the raise would be a "first step" in bringing Baton Rouge officers' pay more in line with their peers in other cities.

Other notable expenditures in the proposal include funding to hire 32 more paramedics and  put three more ambulances in service, as well as using $9.4 million in reserve money to account for shortfalls caused by the pandemic.

Additionally, the proposal would equip traffic signals throughout the parish with technology that detects emergency vehicles and turns lights green upon their approach.

The 2021 budget would come in at $982,114,922, 2.5 percent cheaper than 2020's due to the impacts of COVID-19.