On Jan. 14, the Metro Council voted 8-4 against putting Mayor Kip Holden’s $335 million package of proposed public safety construction projects, including a new $204 million parish prison, on a May ballot.
“How did the administration get it so wrong, again?” Business Report Editor Stephanie Riegel wonders in her latest column. “After three failed attempts at passage of a tax hike to fund capital projects, one might have thought the fourth time would be the charm. But here in Baton Rouge, it’s another year, another failed bond issue.”
In 2008 and 2009, when Holden first attempted to push a bond through, Riegel notes that at least voters had an opportunity to weigh in on the measures. But this time, as in 2011, the council—not the voters—killed the proposal, despite agreeing, in a rare instance of unanimity, that all the projects in the package were worthy and badly needed.
“Council members say they’re amenable to putting the bond issue on a fall ballot, though Holden now reportedly says he’s won’t pursue the issue again,” Riegel writes. “If that’s true, one has to wonder why something of such importance to the community was presented in such a bush league manner to begin with. In hindsight it almost seems the administration wasn’t serious about getting this measure passed this spring.”
If it had been serious, Riegel wonders, why did it wait until Jan. 7 to unveil the specifics of its plan— just one week before it asked the council to vote on the measure?
“Given the way the whole process went down, a cynic could suggest this proposed spring bond issue was really a ploy to begin with, a very Machiavellian move that was designed, from the beginning, to fail,” Riegel writes. “But it’s not entirely clear what the wisdom of such a maneuver would be.”
Read the full column. Send your comments to editors@businessreport.com.
