Mayor Kip Holden used his annual State of the City address this week to sell his plans for several major capital improvement and public safety projects that would be paid for with proceeds of a $335.6 million bond issue. When Holden’s administration released the financial details of the plan following the mayor’s address on Wednesday afternoon, they indicated it would be paid for with a 25-year, ¼-cent sales tax increase in the city-parish. But on Thursday morning, a Metro Council agenda item request from the administration showed it also will ask voters to approve a property tax increase of 0.5 mills as part of the financing plan.
The Metro Council will consider sending the bond issue to voters at its meeting next week. If approved, it will appear on the May 2 ballot. The council also will consider next week a proposal from the St. George Fire Protection District for a 2-mill tax increase for property owners inside its boundaries to help pay for capital improvements.
Also this week, those behind the effort to incorporate a new city of St. George fired back at a report issued last year by the Baton Rouge Area Chamber and Baton Rouge Area Foundation that said the new city, if incorporated, could face a budget deficit as large as $9 million at its outset, which likely would mean tax increases would be necessary. A report issued this week by St. George incorporation supporters says the proposed city’s draft budget still shows an annual surplus of $10 million to $15 million—meaning increased taxes for those inside the new city would not be necessary.
