There are moments when a community must answer a fundamental question: Do we believe in ourselves? Do we believe in the potential of our neighbors, our entrepreneurs, our children and our futureThe June 27 special election in East Baton Rouge Parish is one of those moments. And the answer from voters should be a resounding “YES.”
The East Baton Rouge Parish Library system is not asking voters to approve a new tax or increase a current tax. It is asking us to renew its dedicated millage that is actually 14% lower than the current millage. This would continue the foundational funding that keeps one of our community’s most vital and dynamic institutions operating.
This is a vote worth understanding. Let me share the facts.
The proposed millage is set at 9.5 mills. That figure is 1.6 mills less than the 11.1 mills that voters approved in 1995, 2005 and 2015. Two rollbacks have already been factored in. This is not a tax increase disguised as a renewal; it is a continuation of a commitment our community has honored for three decades.
What does it fund? Nearly everything.
Almost all of the library’s operating budget comes from this millage. When the previous tax expired in December 2025, it didn’t just create a funding gap. It started a clock ticking on an institution that serves hundreds of thousands of residents annually. Without this renewal, the library would be forced to spend down its reserves just to keep the lights on, effectively gutting the pay-as-you-go capital improvements plan in the process.
That means no Bluebonnet phase three renovations. No updates to meeting rooms, restrooms, or the adult wing. No critical repairs at Central, Zachary, Delmont Gardens, Carver or the Main Library. Those aren’t just building projects; they are quality-of-life infrastructure that invites our community to gather, learn and grow.
One of the things I have learned over the years is that the library’s value proposition extends well beyond its bookshelves.
The EBR Parish Library system houses a robust Career Center and Small Business Services division that provides the kind of business intelligence, research tools, market data and professional development resources that would cost individuals and small firms thousands of dollars to access independently. For the entrepreneur just starting out, the job seeker upskilling for a new career or the small business owner who needs competitive research without a corporate budget, the library levels the playing field.
That’s an economic development tool. That’s workforce development infrastructure. That’s a resource our chamber, our businesses and our community should be actively championing.
And the library’s evolution from “reading and research center” to “community hub” doesn’t stop there. Today’s public library is a technology incubator, a digital equity provider, a community convener and a civic anchor uniquely positioned to provide public access to emerging technologies and create shared resources that no single individual, school or organization could platform alone.
The East Baton Rouge Parish Library leadership team has been a faithful steward of public trust and public dollars. It has managed resources with discipline to extend operating capacity during this uncertain period. It has earned the community’s confidence. Now it needs our vote.
I have spent the last decade studying what separates thriving communities from stagnant ones. The answer almost always comes back to leadership and institutions that anchor and build human capacity, connect people to opportunity and one another, and signal to residents and investors alike that this is a place that invests in its people.
The East Baton Rouge Parish Library is one of those institutions.
This is not a hard decision. It is a lower rate than we currently pay. It is a proven investment with decades of demonstrated return and good stewardship. It is a direct lifeline to an institution that serves and benefits every ZIP code, every income level, every age group in our parish.
Invest in our present and our future by voting “YES.”
