CADDO PARISH, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – A Caddo Parish Commission committee has allocated funds to move the Confederate Monument that’s located outside the Caddo Parish Courthouse.

The Commission’s Long Range Planning/Special Projects Committee voted Monday to allocate up to $500,000 to remove the monument.

The Caddo Parish Commission voted to remove the monument in October 2017. The Shreveport chapter of the Daughters of the Confederacy immediately filed suit to block the removal on the grounds that it has a “private property interest” in the land where the statue stands in front of the Caddo Parish Courthouse. It also claims parish officials violated its rights to free speech and equal protection.

A federal judge in Monroe threw out the suit last year, a decision that has since been upheld by a federal appeals court.

Commissioner Lyndon Johnson says a vote from the full commission is expected in December.