In light of the Metro Council’s decision last week effectively to ax Mayor Kip Holden’s $748 million bond package before a committee meeting or public hearing, District Attorney Hillar Moore III says he’s “99% sure” he won’t put a separate bond proposal for his office on the Nov. 19 ballot. “It’s highly unlikely now,” Moore says. “I surely don’t want to go it alone. I want to do this together [with the city-parish], even if it means waiting until next year.” A week after Holden revealed details of his proposal in early July, Moore pitched a 10-year, 3.5-mill property tax to add roughly $10 million annually to his current $11.6 million operating budget, of which the city-parish provides $4.7 million. Unlike Holden, Moore does not need Metro Council approval to put his proposal on the ballot.
Should Moore decide to place his proposal on the ballot this year, it will cost his office approximately $250,000 in fees. Moore says he’ll make a final decision on the matter “within a week or two,” after discussing it further with some Metro Council members. If his proposal doesn’t make the ballot this year, Moore says it’s likely he will raise the issue again next year, unless the city-parish can find a way to increase its funding of his office. Moore says the “vast majority” of the funds in his proposal would go toward filling as many as 10 vacant positions, but would also provide some pay raises and other personnel support. —Steve Sanoski
