Coach Sid’s Library Tax Plan Is Essential for Much-Needed Reform of City-Parish Budget

By Woody Jenkins, Editor Central City News

The controversy over funding the parish library system is just the beginning of a conversation that has to play out over the next few years in East Baton Rouge Parish.

The reality is this: Local government has plenty of money, enough money to provide a high level of services to the public for the next generation — without raising taxes!  Yet, there is a financial crisis looming.

Why?  Because the parish has a number of fiefdoms (little kingdoms) our tax dollars are locked into, and those funds are not available for the highest priority needs of the parish.

The parish library system is one but by no means the only example of this.  At this moment, the library system has an “embarrassment of riches.”

At a time when the City-Parish government is struggling to pay the bills, the library system is sitting on an $116 million surplus!

Try as they may to defend the obvious irrational use of our tax dollars, library supporters seem blind to reality. No one is proposing we close the libraries or cut them to the bone.  But there is no way the libraries — which are currently heavily overfunded — can barrel ahead at full speed while the rest of City-Parish government outside the fiefdoms is having to cut budgets by 10 to 15 percent.

The Library Board is proposing that the existing system continue by renewing the library tax, which is very high, for another 10 years and dedicating that money solely to libraries.  However, Mayor-President Sid Edwards has said, “Hold on! Let’s renew the tax at a lower level, put those funds in the City-Parish budget and prioritize our needs by adequately and reasonably funding all the legitimate needs of the parish, including libraries.”

The fiefdoms with their own sources of revenue operate outside any normal system of budgeting. These include the Library Board, BREC, CATS, and the Council on Aging, among others.

Each one is its own little government, operating as it pleases, outside the control of elected officials.  

All of these entities should be part of the annual City-Parish budget and have their spending appropriated by the Mayor-President and the Metro Council, just like the rest of government is funded. That is certainly not the case today.  The Baton Rouge Police Department could have its budget cut to zero, and the Library Board, BREC, and the others would still be flying high with 150 percent or more than is needed.

The reality is the City-Parish is losing $48 million or more a year because of St. George getting the 2 percent sales tax, which the people there voted to use for their own needs.

We cannot continue to operate the City-Parish the way it has been — with the fiefdoms in full swing.

The priorities of the City-Parish are police and fire protection, courts, blight and homelessness, roads and highways, drainage, mental health, and the parish prison.

The City-Parish government has many other needs and wants, and there is money for all the reasonable needs of the parish, but we have to be able to take all available tax dollars and prioritize their use.

Because so many of the fiefdoms have dedicated funds, things cannot be changed overnight.  It takes time to undo a very bad system.

The library system is first up, simply because their tax is up for renewal.  If we do what the Library Board wants, we will be locked into that part of the problem for another 10 years and basic city services like police will continue to suffer.

Coach Sid is proposing that the library tax be renewed but at a lower level, and that the funds produced by that tax be used not only for libraries but other vital services the people need as well.

The problem is, the library tax produces far more revenue than is needed for libraries, and it is not being controlled by elected officials who are responsible for the overall well-being of the parish.

This is NOT a new problem.

On July 13, 2017, the Central City News published my column entitled, “Pockets of Prosperity.”

The sub headline was, “Independent, Unelected Boards Skim Off Top.”  At that time, I said:

“We have a City-Parish government with a huge annual budget. Yet, much of the money is wasted. So the City-Parish is always short on money.  However, on the other side of the coin, local government in this parish has ‘pockets of prosperity.’ These are governmental agencies that seem to defy the laws of gravity.”  

“The City-Parish government may be struggling and unable to fund even the basics. Yet, these entities always seem to have plenty of money. They are flush with cash and have huge fund balances. Their employees are well paid, have top benefits, and get plenty of time off. Moreover, these entities are always building and adding more and more and more. They are indeed ‘pockets of prosperity’ in a sea of hurt.”

“Two of these entities are BREC and the Library Board.”

“Sometimes their arrogance gets away from them, such as when the Library Board decided to tear down a perfectly good library downtown and build another in its place.”

“Or BREC, which proposed tearing down the BR Zoo and moving it almost to Iberville Parish.”

“BREC has more than $100 million in surplus. Yet, its funds, like those of the Library Board, are NOT subjected to the City-Parish budget process.  They are their own fiefdoms.”

“Some of our City-Parish Council members and state legislators should sit down and come up with a plan to require these boards to come to their senses and pay their largess to the City-Parish government.”

“While making these plans, let’s add CATS and the Council on Aging to our list of ‘pockets of prosperity’ that need to share in paying for [the expenses of running the parish].”

Why do these agencies have so much money?  Because they are funded by specific millage rates that produce far more money than is needed to fund their operations. They are highly overfunded, while other agencies that have to compete for a share of the general fund are in some cases highly underfunded.

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So in reality, since 2017 nothing has changed, and nothing will change unless Mayor-President Sid Edwards succeeds in transferring the riches of the Library Board to the City-Parish budget.

The City-Parish government is caught between raising taxes or dramatic cuts in the highest priorities. Not because of a shortage of money but the inability legally to prioritize how that money is spent.  

There is no need for there to be such a dilemma.  We have the money.  It just needs to go into one pot and be prioritized.

The library issue is really a test.  Will we buy the shortsighted argument that we must separately fund the library and keep it in a separate pot out of the control of our elected officials, or do we begin the process of bringing sanity to how our money is spent in this parish?

This is really not about libraries but about common sense and fiscal responsibility.