Copyright Baton Rouge Advocate
East Baton Rouge Parish faces a dire financial situation beginning next year, largely driven by the creation of St. George and its subsequent taking of its share of a 2-cent sales tax that formerly went to city-parish government. Mitigating that crisis is why we urge support of Mayor-President Sid Edwards' Thrive EBR plan, which would rededicate taxes that currently go to the parish library system, mosquito abatement and the Council on Aging. The funds will be used to pay down debt and fund infrastructure projects. The three propositions that make up the plan aren't perfect, and their road to appearing on the Nov. 15 ballot wasn't a smooth one. But we believe it is the best path right now to ensure that city-parish government continues to provide services and the other agencies retain sufficient dedicated funding to keep them operating at or near current levels. Early voting begins Saturday and runs through Nov. 8, excluding Sunday. Under Thrive's terms, voters will consider three propositions. The first will renew for 10 years the existing 11.1 mill property tax that has been used for the library. A portion of that, 2.8 mills, would be rededicated to the city-parish's general fund while the remainder, 8.3 mills, would remain dedicated to library use. The proposition would also rededicate approximately $52.4 million of the library's $100-plus million fund balance to the city parish to pay down debt. The second proposition would renew for 10 years mosquito abatement's 1-mill property tax, half of which would be rededicated to the parish general fund. And the third would renew for 10 years the 2.25-mill Council on Aging tax, with one-quarter mill rededicated to the parish's general fund. Together, the three propositions would result in approximately $26 million for the city-parish in new and freed-up revenue. Getting to this point was a laborious process for the first-year mayor. Edwards' first proposal, which would have rededicated all of the library system's substantial revenue and reserve fund to the city parish to fund pay increases for Baton Rouge police officers, faced immediate pushback from officials and users of the first-rate library system. Edwards had a choice: Dig in and prepare for a fight or go back to the drawing board and do what has become a dirty word in American politics: compromise. He chose the latter, and after some work with members of the Metro Council and leaders of the other agencies, they jointly presented the plan currently before voters. It cannot be ignored that Thrive EBR has won the support of an impressive array of stakeholders that includes the leaders of each of the affected agencies, all 12 Metro Council members and the East Baton Rouge Parish Republican and Democratic parties.
