Letter: Timing poor for Holden projects

• Published: Jul 24, 2008 - Page: 10B - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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Mayor-President Kip Holden has some great ideas for improving downtown Baton Rouge and funding some other projects to the tune of almost $1 billion.

However, considering our present economy, his timing is poor.

Does he really think that his constituents want to pay 9‰ percent sales tax and accept an additional 30-year property tax?

How much would the final tab be once the interest on a BILLION dollars is factored into the equation?

Why not phase in the wish list and pay as you go instead of saddling taxpayers with debt for nonessential projects. Plus, interest is a non-productive use of money.

I haven’t seen any real details about Kip’s billion-dollar proposal, but a few items made me wonder:

• Why would the city of Baton Rouge tear down a perfectly sound parking garage and then rebuild it?
• How will the hotel and downtown River Center projects benefit your average taxpayer?
• Of the estimated 100 hotel jobs, how many will be much above minimum wage?
• How much does it cost to staff, procure the displays and run an aquarium?
• Doesn’t Chattanooga have an aquarium and IMAX as well as a beautiful river walk area?
• Doesn’t New Orleans have an aquarium and river walk?

We’ve had tremendous increases in our cost of living, including medical, education, food, utilities and energy, which has resulted in a decrease in almost everyone’s disposable income. As a result, most folks’ discretionary spending has slowed to a trickle, further heating up the inflation issue.

Taxpayers have bailed out the Katrina-levee failure uninsured/underinsured, the mortgage companies and banks that granted loans to unqualified individuals, and those folks who took out loans they could not afford.

While I sympathize with the impacted parties, I do not feel that taxpayers can afford to continue to bail out institutions or individuals who made poor choices. The cliché is, you made your bed, now sleep in it.

There are just too many needs in Baton Rouge to even entertain the idea of financing Kip’s billion-dollar bond proposal.

Oh, if only this proposal were about roads and bridges. These two areas need addressing more than the planned downtown extravaganza and would help to protect the thousands of people who cross our bridges daily from becoming fish food.

Marcia Bergeron
retired administrative assistant
Baton Rouge