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A headline in The Advocate on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 1986, read, “Library fund may bail out C-P budget.” History may be repeating itself once more. Almost 40 years ago, then-Mayor Pat Screen led the charge to pursue library funds to solve a budget deficit.
Rolfe McCollister Jr. is a contributing columnist. The viewpoints expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Business Report or its staff.
Fast-forward, and now Mayor Sid Edwards is targeting dedicated library funds, asking the Metro Council to support the raid to boost the city-parish budget. If approved, the issue will go before voters this fall for their approval—or not.
The public was unhappy with Screen’s money grab in 1986—and, judging by the angry packed house at a recent Metro Council meeting, the honeymoon for Coach Sid may well be over.
I am a fan of Edwards, who genuinely cares about our city and is honest and authentic. However, he’s a political newcomer in his rookie season, and his game plan—regardless of who crafted it—is flawed. Edwards’ team erred by blindsiding the library, the most beloved and best-managed public agency in town. It operates with a standard of excellence that you can’t find anywhere else in city-parish government. Why bench your star player—particularly one offering a plan to voluntarily reduce its property tax millage and forego millions in future tax revenue? Those running the library are team players.
I was sad to see the library pitted against the police, and the community divided. I am a fan both of the library and Edwards, and I hope this can be worked out quickly. While I may love LSU football and want to see the team win, hypothetically speaking I would not suggest that Athletic Director Scott Woodward raid the funds of our national champion LSU gymnastics team to fund NIL for football players.
The library didn’t put the city-parish government in its current financial predicament. Much of this situation arose from years of inefficient operations, weak leadership in making necessary changes, and the establishment of St. George. I don’t blame the latter. I hold former Mayor Sharon Weston Broome responsible for forcing a new city and leaving this mess for Edwards to manage.
Do you know how many of the more than 4,000 city-parish employees she laid off during the pandemic? None.
Russell Campbell of Management Advisors of Virginia did a recent salary study for East Baton Rouge Parish. He told me that in most local governments across the country, the cost of benefits generally ranges between 30% to 45%. “The city of Baton Rouge’s benefit cost is around 70%, maybe slightly higher,” Campbell said. “This is the highest I have seen.”
In other words, a $100,000 salary incurs an all-in cost to the city of $170,000 annually. This is unbelievable and outrageous. Broome did nothing about this during her eight years in office, nor did any of the mayors who preceded her. We have been paying this exorbitant benefits cost for decades and then wonder why we are in this mess.
Like DOGE in Washington, D.C., people are fed up with waste, abuse, and the status quo. Before we tear down the best asset in our community, Coach Sid should clean house, reform, privatize, downsize, and streamline our city-parish government. It’s a hot mess. Edwards said if his plan doesn’t pass, he might cut 600 jobs. Coach: Don’t wait. City government is not a “jobs” program. Taxpayers are angry and there should be no limits. The mayor should clean up the mess—now!
Walking the walk
Rep. Dixon McMakin told me when he got elected that one of his goals was to deal with the traffic nightmare at the Washington Street exit. Well, he doesn’t just talk the talk.
He posted recently after a press conference with the Louisiana DOTD secretary: “Make no mistake, I will not allow the closure of the Washington Street exit to get caught up in needless red tape and bureaucratic backlogs. We will finally solve this problem for Baton Rouge once and for all.” McMakin claims the closure will happen this year.
Constitutional amendments
Here we go again. Since 1974, we have passed 221 amendments to the Louisiana Constitution, many of which should not be there but rather enacted in statutes.
Often the Legislature reacts to try to fix something that is not broken. I think that is the case with a couple here. Other times we do need to change and provide flexibility. With that comes the risk of politicians doing the wrong thing and creating waste, fraud and abuse of your tax dollars. But people will never be perfect, and neither are our laws. Even so, we elect them, and we get the government we deserve.
Below are my recommendations after research and discussions. There are many complex changes in No. 2, and I suggest you go to parlouisiana.org and read the details. I have reservations on some, which in the language sound good but may be unnecessary. You must make the best decision you can and pray that our leaders execute as intended for the good of our state.
AMENDMENT No. 1 — AGAINST
Do you support an amendment granting the Louisiana Supreme Court jurisdiction to discipline out-of-state lawyers for unethical legal practices in the state of Louisiana, and to grant the legislature the authority to establish trial courts of limited and specialized jurisdiction?
This is two-in-one. A Houston firm came in and filed 1,500 suits and now leaders want to pass an amendment. Overreaction. We have 69 specialty courts now and more judges per capita than many other states. This can already be done in districts. This also could open the door for a “business court.” You may have read that Texas launched a potentially game-changing challenge to Delaware, which has a separate set of courts and a specialized appeals court to handle complex and expensive business legal matters. Now Texas has followed suit. But if Louisiana wants the same, let’s do a pilot in Baton Rouge or New Orleans.
AMENDMENT No. 2 — FOR
Do you support an amendment to revise Article VII of the Constitution of Louisiana including revisions to lower the maximum rate of income tax, increase income tax deductions for citizens over 65, provide for a government growth limit, modify operation of certain constitutional funds, provide for property tax exemptions retaining the homestead exemption and exemption for religious organizations, provide a permanent teacher salary increase by requiring a surplus payment to teacher retirement debt, and make other modifications?
This ballot language is being challenged in court. The description does seem to go overboard in its positive impact and sounds like a sales pitch for an elixir that cures all that ails you. There are many parts all-in-one and I implore you to go to parlouisiana.org for details. Some may hold their nose as they gulp the medicine down, not liking the taste but having to trust the elected leaders that it will cure the patient. Unfortunately, doing nothing just means we have to hope our state gets better on its own—and that hasn’t happened.
Read the facts from PAR. There are parts that I like and parts that are logical; parts I question and some that are risky. But it’s all or nothing. The Louisiana House passed this bill 87-11 and the Louisiana Senate vote was 39-0. They don’t seem to have a Plan B. Here’s hoping the patient responds. Gulp!
AMENDMENT No. 3 — FOR
Do you support an amendment to provide the legislature the authority to determine which felony crimes, when committed by a person under the age of seventeen, may be transferred for criminal prosecution as an adult?
Sadly, how times have changed. Law enforcement tells me that some gangs will use a 14-, 15- or 16-year-old to do the crime because they get off easy. We know there are root problems causing juveniles to be involved. But I believe we must change the law to address today’s circumstances. It’s a disturbing situation to be in, but we can’t ignore reality, and safety is a top concern.
AMENDMENT No. 4 — AGAINST
Do you support an amendment to provide for the use of the earliest election date to fill judicial vacancies?
Again, this is a case of a one-off, where they want to fix something with an amendment. No. There are ways to handle this now and this is not a crisis to fix. Let it be.
St. George ballot
Many of the races have been decided due to lack of candidates. But voters still must decide on the Home Rule Charter and the form of government. As I have said before, I believe the proposed plan has too many chefs in the kitchen and is not streamlined. The current charter doesn’t look like anything Elon Musk or DOGE would endorse. If I lived in St. George I would vote “NO” on this Home Rule Charter.
Congratulations!
I always look forward to Business Report‘s annual Business Awards & Hall of Fame issue and event. The goal is to honor those who take the risks, create the jobs and lay it on the line every day to help build our community. These entrepreneurs and executives lead the way, raise the bar and give back to help others. Their stories inspire and their companies are an asset to our Capital Region. Congratulations to all.
