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Jefferson Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng says it would violate state law to raise firefighters' starting pay.
Firefighters want parish leaders to increase their starting minimum pay from $10.53 an hour. But Lee Sheng says state law prohibits parishes from increasing only the entry-level wages.
She says raising the starting salaries would cost $327,000 but state law requires across-the-board raises, which would cost nearly $10 million.
Lee Sheng says the starting pay is low, but in the long term, it becomes competitive.
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