In what would strictly be a symbolic gesture, the Metro Council will vote Wednesday on a resolution expressing its support for a 10.6 mill property tax to serve as a dedicated funding source for the Capital Area Transit System.
The tax and ballot measure would only be put to residents in Baton Rouge, Baker and Zachary, while Central residents and others in unincorporated areas are not in the proposed taxing district. It will appear on the April 21 ballot.
Despite the fact that there’s no city-parish funds at stake, Metro Council members reached by Daily Report today were somewhat divided on the resolution.
“I’m not for it. I’ve said that from the beginning. It’s just not a good deal,” says Mayor Pro Tem Mike Walker, who is running against Mayor Kip Holden in the fall election. “I don’t like the gerrymandering of [the taxing district]. You’re talking about saving a bus system for a few people in a limited area. We need to talk about a real public transit system for all our citizens.”
If approved, the tax would annually pump an estimated $18 million into CATS coffers. If it doesn’t, CATS officials say they’ll be in jeopardy of going broke and shuttering operations by July. Councilwoman Tara Wicker says that would be “catastrophic” for Baton Rouge.
“I don’t think people have really stopped to think about what that would mean for our community,” she says, adding her constituents are overwhelmingly in favor of the tax. “We need to see public transit for the economic engine that it is, instead of a drain.”
Joel Boé, whose entire district lies outside the proposed taxing district, says he will likely vote for the resolution supporting the tax on Wednesday. “Eventually CATS and mass transit will spill over into my district, and I believe they do need a dedicated funding source in the short term so they can improve the service and prove themselves to the community,” he says. “This is a tough one … but for the long-term benefit of the community, it needs to happen.”
Like Walker, Metro Councilwoman Alison Gary represents a district in which roughly half the residents will be able to vote on the tax. “I didn’t love the way everything went down, but I’m not going to vote against it, because I support having a quality transit system,” she says.
The council meets at 4 p.m. on the third floor of City Hall—formerly called the Governmental Building—at 222 St. Louis St. See the full agenda here; and read a recent Business Report article on the CATS tax by David Jacobs here.
