EBR tax, millage proposal vital to future, groups told

• By SCOTT DYER
• Advocate staff writer
• Published: Aug 26, 2008 - Page: 5B - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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Mayor-President Kip Holden was on the stump Monday, but not to garner votes for his Oct. 4 re-election bid.

Instead, Holden was pushing three groups to support his $989 million capital improvement proposal, which is slated to go before voters Nov. 4.

The program calls for a 9.9-mill property tax and a half-cent sales tax.

“I’m risking my political future,” Holden told A6, the Baton Rouge Growth Coalition and the Louisiana Associated General Contractors. “This is much bigger than what happens to me on Oct. 4.”

Holden faces fellow Democrat Ron Johnson and Republicans Dan Kyle and Wayne Carter in the Oct. 4 primary.

Holden said he’s pushing the proposed taxes in an election year because many parts of the program have been needed for years.

As an example, he noted that it’s been more than 50 years since a major drainage improvement has been done in East Baton Rouge Parish.

“If you don’t do anything to a house for 50 years, it’s going to deteriorate. In this case, Baton Rouge is our house,” Holden said.

In addition to protecting homes and businesses, Holden said, the proposed $208 million in drainage improvements will also open up land for future development in the parish.

“We can’t build any more if we don’t take care of the drainage. Where are you going to go?” Holden asked the contractors and developers.

The proposed drainage program would also replace 38 local bridges rated as bad or worse than the interstate bridge in Minnesota that collapsed last year. The local bridges could collapse if they aren’t replaced, the mayor said.

Walter Monsour, the mayor’s chief administrative officer, said that except for the riverfront tourist attraction, the program is designed to fix problems that existed long before Holden was elected mayor four years ago.

“It’s this administration that is trying to do something about it,” Monsour said.