The Downtown Development District Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the agency’s 2020 budget at its meeting this morning, which at $761,320 is slightly less than last year’s budget of $762,590.
As in previous years, the DDD budget is supplemented by the city-parish general fund, though that amount is expected to be $132,230, a decline from the $142,500 the group has received D.
According to budget documents, the DDD plans to spend $40,000 on infrastructure enhancement projects, like North Boulevard Town Square Phase II and Riverfront Plaza; $20,000 on economic development, including development of a strategic plan for the DDD; $60,000 for the implementation of Plan Baton Rouge II; and $20,000 to develop an arts and entertainment district.
Additionally, the DDD is requesting four new projects be considered for state sales tax rebate funds dedicated to riverfront improvements. In a letter to Mayor Sharon Weston Broome, DDD Executive Director Davis Rhorer requests $50,000 for landscaping for the second phase of the Riverfront Plaza and $100,000 for two shade-covering structures at the riverfront landing and levee stage. Another combined $23,000 is requested to upgrade lights for the Yazoo Plaza area and within the Beacon Plaza fountain in Town Square.
