Council OKs November vote on mayor’s plan

• By SCOTT DYER
• Advocate staff writer
• Published: Jul 24, 2008 - Page: 1A - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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By an 8-1 vote, the Metro Council decided Wednesday to send Mayor-President Kip Holden’s $989 million capital improvement proposal to voters in one up-or-down vote on Nov. 4.

Holden staved off efforts by three council members to split the proposed bond issue and its supporting taxes — including a half-cent sales tax increase and a 9.9-mill property tax — into two parts. That would have allowed voters to cast separate ballots on the proposed $391 million downtown projects from the rest of the package, which includes a new police station, a new jail, drainage improvements and synchronization of traffic signals.

Holden said the proposed downtown projects — which include a riverfront theme park and the expansion of the River Center and its parking — will create thousands of new jobs and bring more business to the entire city.

“The cab driver will be picking up more people from the airport and bringing them downtown, local retailers will see increased business and the restaurants will also be busier,” Holden said.

Councilman Wayne Carter, who is running for mayor in the fall, suggested Holden’s proposal is likely to fail unless the downtown projects are split into a separate issue.

“You say you want an all-or-none vote, but don’t expect it to pass — people are not ready to support economic development,” Carter said.

Councilman Pat Culbertson, who also pushed to split the proposal into two parts, said the city-parish has collected $182 million in surplus funds over the past year, and suggested that some projects in Holden’s package could have been funded with that money.

Culbertson and Councilman David Boneno, who sponsored their own public hearing Tuesday, wound up voting for the mayor’s proposal after their efforts failed to split the proposal into two parts and move it up to the Oct. 4 ballot.

Speaking in favor of the mayor’s plan Wednesday were representatives from the Baton Rouge Area Chamber and the Baton Rouge Foundation who argued it will help generate thousands of jobs.

Also speaking in support of the mayor’s proposal was Metro Council member Charles Kelly, who pointed out that Holden is “putting his political life on the line” with the proposed tax election.

“It doesn’t make sense to disagree with timing of the election or how it (the proposal) is structured,” Kelly said.

Several members of the black community, including mayoral candidate Ron Johnson and Councilwoman Lorri Burgess, expressed concern that the higher taxes would hurt the needy and elderly.

But Holden insisted his package will pump millions of dollars into the economy while correcting infrastructure deficiencies that have been ignored for decades.