You just have to wonder sometimes if the public pays more attention to their Facebook accounts or football teams than they do their government, Business Report Publisher Rolfe McCollister says in his latest column.
Voters, he notes, recently shot down the increase of a hotel-motel tax—to be paid by visitors—to promote Baton Rouge, attract more conventions and improve the Raising Cane’s River Center.
“But those same voters passed a new property tax on us that will raise about $8 million a year to fund a nonprofit agency that has little accountability, and many problems and questions when it comes to management,” McCollister writes. “What’s up with that?”
The nonprofit—the East Baton Rouge Council on Aging—is the subject of a recent Business Report cover story by Editor Stephanie Riegel. Her story exposed serious concerns about the COA, which could soon be receiving as much as $10 million a year once city and state dollars are added in, McCollister says.
“Its leadership is just now starting to develop ‘a plan’ on how to spend it. (Why wouldn’t the Metro Council have demanded a plan before placing the tax on the ballot?),” McCollister writes. “Did those who voted in favor of the tax simply feel, ‘It’s for helping the elderly and running Meals on Wheels? That’s a good thing.’ That is a good thing and so are the senior centers. But the COA is doing that now with the $3 million of mostly public dollars they receive. Why do they need $10 million? Were voters duped or foolish?”
And though the agency will now receive a windfall of public dollars, McCollister points out that no local entity has any direct oversight over the COA. That’s a flawed model, he says, and it should be retired.
“Maybe we should allow other nonprofits to bid to deliver the service instead of allowing a monopoly. For example, could St. Vincent de Paul operate the food service more efficiently?,” he writes. “And could the Volunteers of America, BREC or local churches run the senior centers better? Let’s ‘think different’ and not just keep doing it ‘the same way we’ve always done it before.’ The overhead costs now top 50% for the COA. Each nonprofit bidder would have to compete to provide services and get their contract renewed every five years. That’s accountability, with performance required for public funding.”
Read the full column. Send your comments to editor@businessreport.com.
