The second time was the charm Wednesday afternoon for Baton Rouge City Court Technology Fund.
The Metro Council in September voted 6-5 to reject authorizing judges to levy a $5 fee to fund the new case management system. But with two new members since the last vote, the council reversed course Wednesday and unanimously approved the request to begin levying the fee.
“I’m not sure specifically what may have changed their vote; I’m just happy with the result,” City Court Administrator and Clerk of Court Lynn Maloy says.
The next step is getting the judges to sign an order authorizing them to begin levying the fee, and completing a request for proposals to send out to vendors.
The new case management system could cost between $500,000 and $1.5 million, depending on the features the court seeks. Maloy says the court has about $610,000 already in the bank from carryover surplus money, general fund supplements and a closed expense fund account.
“This gives us a good starting point in combination with the fund to purchase the system,” Maloy says.
The final price will depend on which vendors respond to the RFP and the components those vendors feel will best fit the court’s needs.
Maloy says she seeks a system that speeds up the daily courtroom operations and provides better access to public records to the public and law enforcement.
She says she hopes to have the RFP sent out by the summer. Her plan is to spend about two months reviewing the proposals and seek Metro Council approval of a contract by year’s end. The actual installation of the system could take between six and nine months. Maloy says the new system will be installed in phases.
Also at its meeting Wednesday, the council approved Baton Rouge attorney Roy Maughan’s purchase of 208 condos for $17,500 at Brandywine Condominiums to renovate the entire property.
“The idea is to make if affordable, safe, clean housing,” Maughan told the council.
Maughan says residents who still own their condos and want to participate in the renovation are welcomed to do so.
Councilwoman Donna Collins-Lewis, who represents the district in which Brandywine is located, says she hopes the new owners first clean up the property and meet with the property owners still residing on the property.
The council also deferred for another 60 days a vote on whether to approve the Economic Opportunity Zone for north Baton Rouge. Councilman John Delgado, who is spearheading the initiative, requested the deferral. The council deferred the item last month so all parties involved could agree on the boundaries for the zone. The proposed Economic Opportunity Zone would give businesses and developers who build within the zone property tax abatements for 10 years on any developed property.
—Ryan Broussard
