Mayor Kip Holden predicts “serious legal battles” will ensue if some Metro Council members follow through with plans to try to reallocate some of the property tax dollars dedicated to the parish library system to fund a mental health facility.
“They’re setting new precedent when you take the public’s money that was dedicated for purpose A and use it for what they want to use it for,” Holden says. “That’s a breach of trust to the public, who are wise enough to make their own decisions, not [leave it to] a few council members.”
In the wake of last month’s Metro Council decision not to let voters decide on a proposed bond issue that would have gone to fund public safety infrastructure projects, several council members suggested at least one of the proposed facilities—a mental health assessment center—could be funded without a bond issue.
In that vein, they have suggested the city-parish review all of its dedicated millages and consider asking voters to restructure them. With a fund balance of $57 million, the library’s 10.8-mil tax would be an attractive target. Holden says he would oppose such an effort.
“I have serious concerns about people who misplace the trust of voters, when the voters decided that they wanted their tax dollars dedicated to a library system that is very poor,” he says. “When we now assume the role from a council level that we know the answer to everything … it’s no longer a democracy. It’s a dictatorship.” —Stephanie Riegel
