At the end of this month, the BREC Board of Commissioners could raise our property taxes to the tune of nearly $1 million without our vote. That’s not fair.
BREC already collects one of the highest property taxes in the parish and is on track to rake in about $52 million this year. However, that amount of money apparently isn’t enough for the folks at the parish’s parks and recreation system.
It’s a bit complicated to explain. But because of growth in the parish’s tax base, the millage rate BREC requested and voters approved a few years back to finance BREC’s operations wound up generating more money than BREC sought.
Millage rates are rolled back, or reduced, to take from property owners only the amount of money requested and approved in an election. However, BREC commissioners can vote to “roll forward,” or raise, the millage to the rate that voters approved, which would generate almost $1 million in additional tax money for BREC—or more than the amount you approved. That means you will pay more.
The BREC board voted against such a “roll forward” move in 2012 when BREC managers pushed it. They should do the same this time.
One of the new BREC commissioners says he favors the tax increase because BREC has been “a good steward of its tax revenue.” But is that even the issue here—or is the issue one of raising taxes without the voters’ approval?
Has BREC done all it can to meet its financial needs before doing the easy thing and passing the bill on to the taxpayers once again? What about selling surplus land? Land is in big demand in East Baton Rouge. BREC is a huge landowner and at one time had 180 park sites (only 150 of them are developed and used). Many are less than 5 acres, which makes them expensive to maintain. I believe BREC may have sold some land, but does it still have more it doesn’t need? “Imagine Your Parks” was about bigger and better parks.
How about the BREC Foundation? It can raise more private funds. How about more corporate partnerships? What about privatization of some services? Have all options been exhausted before simply raising taxes? I seriously doubt it.
What about losing more than $1 million a year on golf courses and then refusing to close any—then adding something called “foot golf”? (Now there’s a bold move.)
And I don’t want to hear what a small increase it is for each homeowner. BREC isn’t the only entity taxing property, and it isn’t right to raise taxes without a vote of the people. BREC gets plenty of money.
In the past I have gone both ways on “rolling forward.” I was wrong. Taxpayers should always have the opportunity to vote on tax increases. It’s your money. You decide.
While you can’t vote on these higher property taxes, you can speak out to the commissioners. BREC’s board will have its meeting at 5:15 p.m. on May 28 at 6201 Florida Blvd. If you want to reach out now, you can find the commission members at BREC.org and can email them at commission@brec.org.
RAISING THE BAR
A good leader is successful by building a team of talented people who also can lead. Gov. Bobby Jindal was right on the mark when hiring Stephen Moret to join his cabinet and head Louisiana Economic Development. Moret, who begins a new job as president and CEO of the LSU Foundation this week, was a strong asset for the governor and our state, and the results—and rankings—speak for themselves.
The governor announced last week that Louisiana was ranked No. 2 on a list of Top Competitive States by Site Selection magazine, just a half-point behind North Carolina and ahead of Texas. As Jindal noted, “Prior to 2008, Louisiana never ranked among the top 10 states in the U.S. in any national ranking of state business climates.” It now places among the top 10 states in five national business climate rankings.
Chief Executive magazine last week moved Louisiana up to No. 7 for “Best & Worst States for Business.” In 2008, our state ranked 47th. Editor-in-Chief J.P. Donlon said of Louisiana’s performance, “Louisiana is proof that a state can transform itself, provided it has the will and understanding of what attracts business investment, from a place that was once considered a backwater to a state that CEOs now regard as dynamic and business-friendly.”
Special thanks to Moret and his family for their service to Louisiana and for a job very well done. He was a star player on Jindal’s team, and I have no doubt he will be a great asset to LSU.
BAD BILL, GOOD BILL
BAD: House Bill 76 by Rep. Alfred Williams would change the way we elect Baton Rouge city judges. His bill would create a new map of three majority black districts and two majority white districts, instead of the three white and two black districts that exist currently. Special districts were drawn in 1993 by the Legislature under Gov. Edwin Edwards. Elections previously had been held at-large, and the East Baton Rouge Parish demographics were quite different.
Williams says population shifts warrant new maps, but the 2010 census shows that 54% of the city of Baton Rouge is now black—a majority. So why do we need districts at all for city court judges, and not just use the city limits?
GOOD: HB122 by Rep. Erich Ponti proposes moving to citywide elections for all five city judgeships. This idea makes sense given the new census information.
Retired city judge Alex “Brick” Wall testified for this bill. “It’s about time we took race out of the elections,” he said. “Let’s run based on qualifications, not on the color of their skin.” Isn’t justice supposed to be blind?
U-HIGH CELEBRATES 100
While the official 100th birthday celebration will begin on Sept. 17, University High School on the LSU campus this month will graduate its 100th class since opening on Sept. 20, 1915. There will be 109 graduates this year, compared to seven in the first graduating class.
U-High’s original name was Demonstration High School, and it was located in Peabody Hall on LSU’s first Baton Rouge campus in what is now downtown. Peabody Hall was just a short walk from the Pentagon Barracks. The only student activity during that first year was boys and girls basketball. In 2015, the boys and girls basketball teams both won state championships. (State champs in football, girls soccer and girls tennis, too.)
LSU and “the Lab School” moved to the current LSU campus in 1925. The school moved to its current location in 1953, where it has expanded and been renovated with the latest technology.
University High School, which has grades K-12, has grown to 1,400 students under Superintendent Wade Smith, who leads 130 top faculty and staff.
U-High is one of the best high schools in Louisiana and even is ranked nationally. As a proud alum—and a father of two more—I want to congratulate and thank all U-High faculty, staff and students, past and present, on 100 years of educating and developing young people in our community who have contributed so much.
