East Baton Rouge Parish voters face a big decision on Election Day, Nov. 5, and, as Rolfe McCollister writes in his latest column, it’s not the choice for president. Top billing, he says, belongs to the mayor-president’s race, a referendum on two-term incumbent Sharon Weston Broome.
Broome is well known, and McCollister writes, “most folks have made up their mind about her job performance.” There is honor in serving and Broome gave it her best shot. However, she has failed, McCollister says, and “a clear majority of voters are looking elsewhere for a candidate. I don’t know who that person should be. But Baton Rouge: It’s time for a new leader.”
Parish voters must also decide whether to approve two tax measures that, if approved, would generate $700 million in property tax dollars. Should voters trust the BREC leadership to manage $100 million annually and provide residents with excellent parks and recreation?
McCollister is emphatic: No.
He writes that the facts shared in his September column regarding BREC’s financial mismanagement should raise alarms. BREC remains years behind on filing audits with the state and is on a “noncompliance list” with the state treasurer, which prohibits the organization from receiving state appropriations. The “designation of incompetence” has prevented BREC from receiving $679,000, and it’s also costing it federal funds, which are also frozen.
BREC is spending $570,000 over a four-month window on TV ads and marketing to convince voters it’s a gold medal parks department, but McCollister counters that it’s fool’s gold. In addition to the financial mismanagement, McCollister notes that BREC Superintendent Corey Wilson hired his first cousin this summer to serve as the agency’s CFO, and that the state attorney general is investigating BREC over a possible open meetings violation.
No one argues that parks and recreation are essential to our quality of life, McCollister says, insisting that is not the point. The columnist writes that state and federal governments are telling BREC no more money until the issues are rectified, and voters should do the same.
McCollister argues that if any agency deserves more public funding, it’s the East Baton Rouge District Attorney’s Office, which had nearly 15,000 active cases when September began. The DA’s office, he reports, doesn’t have the money to hire more prosecutors or raise the pay of staff attorneys.
Fighting crime is a near-unanimous citizen priority in this parish. District Attorney Hillar Moore, whose budget is only $16 million, may request a new property tax in the future, saying his office needs an additional $4 million to $5 million. Ironically, BREC recently gave itself a $5 million raise with its millage rate roll-forward. McCollister says an underfunded DA’s office is more deserving of our tax dollars than a mismanaged and incompetent parks department.
McCollister does support the state constitutional amendment on the ballot and a local measure to change the city-parish government plan, including creating a city manager position.
Finally, he applauds the launch of The Alliance, a membership-based nonprofit created by Baton Rouge entrepreneurs to connect small businesses with resources, relationships and coaching to foster growth and community impact. Read the full column.
