Unveiling of the latest bond proposal by East Baton Rouge Parish Mayor-President Melvin “Kip” Holden was delayed last week because Public Works personnel were busy preparing for a Mississippi River flood.
The plan was to have been presented to the Metropolitan Council on May 11, but William Daniel, director of the Department of Public Works, said the staff had to work on flood control efforts instead.
“We are currently in the process of calculating all of the different projects and costs of each of those projects,” Daniel told the council. “We were interrupted here recently.”
Holden has said he would seek an election in October or November on tax increases to support an unspecified amount of debt.
For the measure to appear on the Oct. 22 ballot, the council would have to give its approval to the proposal by June 8. The deadline is Aug. 10 for putting the measure on the Nov. 19 ballot.
Holden said the list of bond projects would not be completed until the flood danger has receded.
He told the council the preparations have identified deficiencies in the existing infrastructure that could be remedied with bond proceeds.
Parish voters rejected Holden’s $989 million bond plan in 2008 and a modified $901 million plan in 2009. The 2009 proposal included $178.3 million of drainage improvements.
