Inside Report for October 16, 2009

• By LANNY KELLER
• Advocate Opinion page staff
• Published: Oct 16, 2009 - Page: 9B

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There’s just a month to go before a Nov. 14 election on a major Baton Rouge bond issue. Backers of Mayor-President Kip Holden’s bond issue are mobilizing to sway the tax-averse electorate of Baton Rouge.

One important element of the final push: talking about the parts of the $901 million tax program that will replace public facilities crumbling with age.

For Chris Carter, president of the Union of Police, the big investments in a new jail and a new headquarters for police are vital. The jail is an obvious interest, as police want a modern jail so that arrestees don’t go right back on the street.

The police headquarters is at a crumbling old school on Mayflower Street, held up with wires lest bricks fall out of the walls, Carter told a news conference held by organizations backing the bond issue.

“We have without a doubt the worst police headquarters of any city in America,” he said. “It’s an embarrassment.”

The police force has to compete for talent like any other organization, and pay is competitive, Carter said. But he said the patched-up hand-me-down headquarters has to go.

The police union also is not backing off its support for the Alive museum and tourist attraction planned for the riverfront and built in large part with about $240 million from the Holden bond issue.

Carter and others at the news conference noted the economic benefits of Alive would help pay for the bond issue, but Carter added experience shows “the job of law enforcement is a lot easier” in a city with a vibrant economy.

Mike Futrell, the top aide to the mayor, added that another law enforcement project in the bond issue hasn’t received the attention it deserves: a juvenile justice facility.

Today’s run-down facility doesn’t come anywhere near to the standards that are needed, he said. The city-parish has looked to a national model, in Kansas City, in designing the $44 million new facility to handle more than just juvenile crime.

“This building will deal with happy events like adoption and sad events like abuse,” Futrell said.

The new building will provide facilities for counseling that turns around a child who gets in trouble the first time, Futrell said.

“We’ve seen the number of juvenile offenders go up and the age of offenders go down,” he added. “We’ve got to turn that around.”