6 days Ago
From left, Mayor-President Sid Edwards and District 10 council member Carolyn Coleman listen as District 9 council member Dwight Hudson speaks during a press conference, Tuesday, March 11, 2025, at City Hall in downtown Baton Rouge, La. Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sid Edwards' plan to shuffle funding from libraries and other agencies will appear before voters as four separate ballot items in November, parish officials said. After voters soundly rejected four constitutional amendments on Saturday, parish officials acknowledge they will need to work hard to make the plan clear to voters.
But they hope the approach will be simpler for voters to understand — and easier to approve. "The voters want everything to be split up and separated so that they can have the confidence that they know what they're voting for,” said Assistant Library Director Mary Stein. "That way it's not an all-or-nothing kind of vote.
The public doesn't care for that.” Edwards' administration is trying to fill a $40 million budget gap left by the incorporation of St. George.
After weeks of contentious negotiations, Edwards and the Metro Council worked out a deal that would rededicate some property taxes that currently go to libraries, the Council on Aging and mosquito control, along with an alimony tax to the city-parish general fund. Edwards and the council are hoping to place the plan — dubbed "Thrive! East Baton Rouge” — on a Nov. 15 ballot.
There are risks to putting four separate votes before the public. For example, some agencies could secure funding while others might not. But those involved in writing the measures, like District 9 Metro Councilman Dwight Hudson, say the best way to get the plan approved is by separating each piece so it can be clearly defined for voters.
"It deals with four different millages. So, the most logical way for voters to digest the four different millages would be four different items,” Hudson said. Louisiana has a 200-word limit for any ballot measures, which restricts how much a voter can read about a proposal before they cast their vote.
Because of this, those involved with the plan think separating the items gives voters a better idea of what they are voting on. East Baton Rouge Parish Library assistant director Mary Stein speaks during a meeting of the metro council, Wednesday, March 12, 2025, at City Hall in downtown Baton Rouge, La. In a statement Wednesday, Edwards spokesperson Falon Brown said the Mayor's Office is "focused on building strong relationships with key stakeholders” to ensure all four millages included in the plan are approved.
"It has been carefully negotiated and agreed upon by all parties, and the goal is to demonstrate its benefits to the entire city-parish,” she said. On Saturday, Gov. Jeff Landry saw all four of his constitutional amendments rejected by a wide margin, which Hudson said shows how important educating voters will be to get the plan passed.
"I think those lessons just tell you that you have to be really proactive about getting your message out to voters, and that whatever you put on the ballot has to be reactive to what the voters are asking for,” Hudson said. "In this case, the most contentious one would be the library, and in that case, we listened to what the voters were saying. They wanted a dedicated funding source for libraries that didn't cut services.
And so that's what we're providing in the plan.” Locally, voters rejected a plan of government in St. George on Saturday , and amendments to Baton Rouge's own home rule charter failed last November.
To Stein, this means the library, Mosquito Abatement, the Council on Aging, the Mayor's Office and Metro Council all need to be intentional in campaigning for "Thrive!” Stein said the amendments showed voters are skeptical of ballot items that try to cram complicated issues into small summaries. "When people are confused about something, they either don't vote or they vote no,” Stein said. "The concern is that all the other partners need to properly communicate what their funding will secure for the voters.
” The mayor's staff also sees messaging as the key to his first major initiative coming to fruition. "Our strategy is to inform voters clearly, showing that the initiative benefits the entire city-parish, while maintaining transparency,” Brown said. Hudson said he is confident all four will pass, but if any fail it would mean less funding for the overall plan.
Both the Council on Aging and Mosquito Abatement aren’t due for a millage renewal for another year, so if their millages fail, they would have time to try again before they lose their source of revenue. As for the library, "We would have to put something else on a ballot and on the next available election to get their millage, because they would not have a revenue source,” Hudson said. Hudson said he is hoping the plan will be ready to be introduced to Metro Council at the end of April, then would be heard and voted on by his colleagues in May.
If approved, it would then need approval from the state's bond commission before it is added to the Nov. 15 ballot..
