BATON ROUGE - Baton Rouge's firefighters could be getting a pay raise if a new property tax proposal passes the Metro Council next month.

The men and women of the Baton Rouge Fire Department put their lives on the line everyday when responding to emergencies. And to be able to do it, some of them need second jobs to support their families.

"It's the way we work. Our schedules, we work 24 hour shifts. It's no secret firefighters generally have two jobs. We're trying to get that down. We have a lot of firefighters that have three or four jobs. The rising cost of inflation and just the price of everything now, it's really hitting our salaries," Jake Morgan, a member of the Baton Rouge Professional Firefighters Association, said.

Sometimes the need for more pay causes firefighters to leave for other departments.

"The fire departments around us have increased their pay to around the industry standard mark where we are trying to be, and we're just trying to stay competitive with the Louisiana fire departments to retain those employees who we invest so much time and training in," Morgan said.

This is why the BRPFA is asking for a new millage for the first time in nearly 25 years.

"We're on the lower side of regional salaries," Morgan said. "We start our firefighters out at $33,000 and that industry standard pay, where we would like to be to stay competitive, to provide the best employees in the fire service, is the $40,000 starting mark."

The proposal is a special ad valorem tax of six mills on the dollar for property owners within Baton Rouge city limits.

"Baton Rouge Fire Department, in our eyes, is that staple fire department," Morgan said. "The one thing we are lacking is that industry standard pay and I believe if we get our pay up, Baton Rouge will be the golden fire department of the state of Louisiana"

If passed by the Metro Council, there will be a special election in November for residents to vote on the proposed tax.