Council trims $1.5 million
The East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council made an unprecedented number of changes to Mayor-President Kip Holden’s proposed budget — stripping the administration of discretionary economic development funds, granting raises to two agencies and almost completely defunding a local nonprofit group.
In all, the council moved more than $1.5 million in Holden’s proposed $746 million city-parish budget for 2012.
Following the 3½-hour budget meeting, Holden said the council “put us in probably the worst financial situation we’ve ever been in.”
“They’ve submitted a very reckless budget that could lead us to lay people off and furlough people,” he said. “I think down the line, the consequences will be very devastating for Baton Rouge.”
In a 9-3 vote, the Metro Council moved $535,000 of the city-parish’s reserve fund, to give to the Constable’s Office, the District Attorney’s Office and the Baton Rouge Alcohol and Drug Center.
The Constable’s Office will receive $135,000 to give officers raises, bringing them closer to the city police officers’ pay grade.
The District Attorney’s Office and the Baton Rouge Drug and Alcohol Center received $250,000 and $150,000, respectively. Last year, the council also shifted money in Holden’s budget to provide additional funding to the two agencies, but this year the additional funds were not replenished by Holden.
District Attorney Hillar Moore III said last year the funds were used to offset health-care plan increases, and without the same allocation this year, his office would be even worse off.
Holden and the city-parish’s finance director warned the council that dipping into reserves could have a detrimental impact on the city-parish’s credit rating. That affects its interest rates and ability to sell bonds which pay for important road and sewer projects.
“They went into our reserves so heavily, and I’m sure Wall Street will be looking at that,” Holden said. “We have a strong possibility of our bonds being downgraded based on what happened tonight.”
The city-parish’s reserve fund has about $14 million.
Council members Trae Welch, Ulysses “Bones” Addison, Chandler Loupe, Ronnie Edwards, Donna Collins-Lewis, Mike Walker, C. Denise Marcelle, Tara Wicker and Rodney “Smokie” Bourgeois supported the change. Scott Wilson, Joel Boé and Alison Gary voted against the change.
The council also stripped $716,350 from the mayor’s discretionary economic development program account and another $92,500 from his special programs account with an 8-4 vote.
The funds were moved into a new account under the Metro Council administrator’s budget which gives the council control of the funds.
Loupe, who made the motion, said his intent was to send the mayor a message about his spending priorities, while “preventing the mayor from wasting it on catered events at his discretion with no oversight.”
The economic development funds include $310,000 to continue a contract with a governmental lobbyist; $100,000 for the Baton Rouge Area Digital Industries Consortium which puts on the Red Stick Animation Festival; and $100,000 for a collaborative agreement with other parish agencies to fund a truancy center.
The special programs account included several smaller grants for nonprofit agencies such as $10,000 to the Greater Baton Rouge Literacy Coalition, $2,000 to Alzheimer’s Services and $1,000 to the Society of St. Vincent DePaul.
Loupe said the shift means Holden will have to seek approval from the council for the allocations, but he said the council will not be reallocating the money for its own pet projects.
Only Welch, Boé, Wicker and Gary voted against the change.
The council also voted 9-2, with one abstaining, to remove $115,000 from the Baton Rouge Center for World Affairs, a local nonprofit with a total operating budget of $150,000.
The nonprofit is closely tied to Holden’s office, and according to its website serves as the “link between Baton Rouge’s international visitors (from tourists to diplomatic or economic foreign delegations) and the Mayor’s Office.”
Holden serves on the group’s board of directors.
Councilman Addison asked the council to move the funds into a new line item to fund an inner-city youth organization.
The motion passed with only Gary and Boé voting against it. Wicker abstained because she is also a board member.
The council also approved 6 percent raises for the Mosquito Abatement and Rodent Control District, by using $80,000 of the agency’s own surplus funds.
The pest control department’s budget is independent of the city-parish general fund, and comes from a property tax and service charges.
Union representatives pointed out that the agency has a strong reserve fund of more than $8 million, which is more than the agency’s entire operating budget of $4.9 million, and has had consistent yearly budget surpluses in recent years.
Finance Director Marsha Hanlon said the council-appointed board to oversee the agency did not recommend raises. She also said city-parish policy does not recommend raises for single agencies or departments — rather it waits until it can do across-the-board raises for all employees.
The city-parish still provides 3 percent annual merit increases. But union representatives argued that the increases don’t apply to all employees, and merit increases are being absorbed by health insurance plan increases.
Several council members said if departments were saving money then they should be rewarded with raises.
“If we wait until everyone can get a raise, then we’d be waiting for eternity,” Collins-Lewis said. “If the money is there, then I’m not willing to punish one department just to wait for everybody else.”
Loupe said he resented the administration’s fear tactics throughout the year indicating that the city-parish is out of money, while the mayor allocates funds to items he said were low priorities.
“The mayor’s personal budget has doubled from 2005 to 2011 from $2.3 million to $4.3 million. If the city is in dire straits, then wouldn’t you think the mayor would cut back his own budget to lead by example?” Loupe said. “The sky is not falling. The problem is we’re not spending money on the right things.”