The Baton Rouge Area Chamber today endorsed five tax measures on the Dec. 10 ballot that address transportation and infrastructure, the operation of a crisis stabilization center for mental health services and occupancy taxes for East Baton Rouge Parish hotels.
The chamber says it’s neutral or has taken no position on the other Dec. 10 ballot initiatives. Early voting for the election starts Saturday.
BRAC says it’s in favor of two separate propositions that, if approved by voters, would fund transportation and infrastructure improvements through the city-parish’s Green Light Plan.
One measure would authorize a 5-mill property tax for capacity improvement projects for major roads. BRAC says the tax will cost a homeowner with a $200,000 home about $62.50 a year, or just over $5 per month.
The other proposal rededicates the Green Light Plan’s original half-cent sales tax to fund 150 rehabilitation and community enhancement projects through 2030.
BRAC, a supporter of the Green Light Plan, says the proposals would address traffic congestion in the parish. The two separate ballot propositions must pass for the plan to proceed, the chamber says.
BRAC also is saying “yes” to a new 1.5-mill property tax that would fund the operation and maintenance of a crisis stabilization center for mental health services. Estimates peg the tax to produce between $5.8 million to $6.1 million a year.
The chamber also supports an additional 2% occupancy tax on hotel rooms that would raise about $2.6 million annually, to be split between the Baton Rouge River Center and Visit Baton Rouge.
The measure would not apply to hotels in Baker, Central and Zachary, nor the area represented by the North Baton Rouge Economic Development District, BRAC says.
A separate ballot referendum in north Baton Rouge would levy the same 2% hotel occupancy tax in the area and funnel the revenue raised to the North Baton Rouge Economic Development District. BRAC says it also supports that proposed tax.
