East Baton Rouge Parish OKs District for $888M Bond Plan

DALLAS — The Metropolitan Council of East Baton Rouge Parish, La., has established a special taxing district that would support a proposed $887.5 million capital improvement bond program.

East Baton Rouge Parish Capital Improvement District No. 1 was approved Wednesday on an 8-3 vote by the governing body for the parish, which includes Baton Rouge. The council on Aug. 12 will consider a resolution setting the bond election for Nov. 14.

The bonds, which would be issued by the improvement district with voter approval in November, would be supported by an increase in the parish sales tax of 0.5%, to a total of 5%, and a property tax increase of 9.9 mills.

Officials expect the additional sales tax to generate $39 million a year and the property tax increase to provide another $29 million a year for debt support.

Parish Mayor-President Melvin “Kip” Holden told the council that the bonds would finance the parish’s first capital improvement plan in 50 years.

“It’s going to take words nobody likes to hear — bond issue — if we want to address this problem,” Holden said.

“It’s never an easy election,” Holden said. “This one is one that we know we need to move forward because we have so many critical infrastructure needs.”

The proposed package would provide $376.3 million for public safety and capital improvements, $225 million for educational and recreational developments along the Mississippi River in downtown Baton Rouge, $145 million for drainage projects across the parish, and $141.2 million for renovation of the downtown convention center and an adjacent parking garage.

“We can talk about becoming the next great American city, but now is a call for action,” Holden said during his presentation to the council.

The riverfront efforts include Audubon Alive, which would be operated by the Audubon Nature Institute of New Orleans through a public-private partnership. The park would include an aquarium, river walk, museum, and a research facility.

Walter Monsour, a special adviser to Holden, told the council that Baton Rouge is the only large city on the Mississippi River without a major riverfront development.

After the vote, Holden said at a news conference that the parish must seize the opportunity to develop the riverfront in Baton Rouge before it is too late.

“I think we need to be thankful to God for the fact that many cities across this nation are suffering and that we have found ourselves in a unique position,” he told reporters after the council voted. “We can choose the status quo or to move forward.”

The parish’s outstanding sales tax revenue bonds have underlying ratings of A2 from Moody’s Investors Service, and A-plus from Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings.

Unlike the provisions of a similar $987 million bond program narrowly rejected by voters in 2008, the district does not include the Baton Rouge suburbs of Baker, Taylor, and Zachary. The higher taxes would not be collected in those cities, and there are no bond projects within their city limits.

Voters in Zachary and Central overwhelmingly rejected the 2008 bond proposal, but Baker provided a slim majority in favor.

Holden said the cities did not want to be included in the new taxing district, but Councilman Trae Welch, who represents Zachary and a portion of Baker, voted against establishing the district. Elected officials in those areas, Welch said, told him they were interested in being part of the district.

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