In my research of BREC, which spends $100 million dollars a year and is overseen by a commission with no elected members, I started wondering about the other boards and commissions that spend our tax dollars.
What has become clear is that most East Baton Rouge Parish residents have no idea how much money is annually collected by these organizations, how those public dollars are being spent, or the way these often unqualified political appointees operate and manage these 42 boards & commissions.
So, I contacted Tax Assessor Brian Wilson. Here is what he shared regarding property tax revenues select agencies will receive in 2024. Wilson noted that sales and property development typically generate a tax boost of 3% to 4% per year for all entities.
BREC
$88 million (plus self-generated and other sources will top $100 million). That’s $273,000 spent per day.
CATS
$25 million. That’s $68,493 a day for buses. CATS says ridership is now half of what it was prepandemic.
East Baton Rouge public schools (elected board)
$224 million in local taxes. This means we pay $613,000 daily for 83 schools, 5,000 employees and 41,000 students, including charters. Add in state MFP dollars and you get a $579 million budget in 2024. Divide that by 41,000 students, and it’s an average of $14,121 per student.
Council on Aging
$12 million. They operate 21 facilities and a fleet of vans and buses. State and federal dollars add $3 million, boosting the budget to $15 million. In 2017, the COA had a $3.2 million budget, a difference of almost 400% over seven years. After the Metro Council failed to roll forward COA’s tax rate, CEO Tasha Clark-Amar told The Advocate that the COA is already struggling with funding, and that now she will likely to have to turn away seniors. At $15 million spent, this demands investigation.
Library
$57.5 million. That’s $157,534 per day to operate 15 libraries open seven days a week and offer numerous services and four bookmobiles. There are 312,025 library cardholders. This agency is the best-run public entity in the parish, with the best-kept facilities and the strongest brand. The excellent taxpayer ROI comes down to strong leadership and team.
And more
There are other public boards and commissions that I didn’t list. Go to brla.gov, and under the “Government” tab click “Boards and Commissions” to see all 42. You will also see a link to upcoming “vacancies.” Maybe you are willing to serve. If so, apply here.
The Mayor and Metro Council have made some bad appointments, resulting in weak leadership, poor CEO hires and a lack of results for taxpayers.
We should look at these commissions’ accountability and the board service criteria. Evaluate all 42 and decide if each is still necessary. Maybe require annual reporting by each in a public forum. This is your government and your tax dollars.
In his column, McCollister also questions the collaboration and results from several organizations in North Baton Rouge and two NBR mayors over the last 20 years. And he shares his recommendations for the four Constitutional Amendments on Dec. 7 and his reasons why.
Read his full column here and send any comments to editors@businessreport.com.
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