EAST BATON ROUGE — The ongoing debate over which services will be provided to the City of St. George during and after its transition, and how much it will cost, has now progressed to a formal proposal. This proposal is being eagerly anticipated by St. George leaders, who see it as a significant step forward.
East Baton Rouge is now prepared to begin paying the City of St. George $600,000 monthly, starting in September 2024, for a total of just over $7 million annually.
“My priority is to protect all of East Baton Rouge Parish taxpayers and to maintain the quality and consistency of services throughout this process,” said East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome.
WATCH NOW: Mayor Broome’s news conference
Mayor Broome called a last-minute news conference for 2 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 29, to present a “comprehensive proposal for a transition plan” to continue services for the newly incorporated City of St. George. The proposal, intended for media dissemination to East Baton Rouge residents, was sent to St. George Mayor Dustin Yates at approximately 1:45 p.m.
“I received what went out to everyone else only 15 minutes before everyone else received it, so our Transition Team will get together over the next few days, go through it and respond to the mayor next week,” said Mayor Yates. “I haven’t had enough time to digest all of this yet.”
This follows Mayor Yates’s letter to Mayor-President Broome on Aug. 28, outlining St. George’s requests and needs for beginning the separation from Baton Rouge.
In April 2024, the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled that the voter-approved City of St. George could proceed with incorporation. In a 4-3 decision, state supreme court justices found “legal error” and reversed lower court rulings that prevented incorporation. Since then, EBR city-parish requested a rehearing but in June 2024, the Supreme Court denied that request. Proponents argue the effective date for St. George’s incorporation is Nov. 23, 2019 given the Supreme Court reversed the Appeal’s Court decision.
St. George’s letter to Mayor Broome
The letter from the City of St. George reads:
Mayor-President Broome,
Following up on our conversation of earlier this week, I have included the requested information regarding the transition of services. I believe our conversation cleared up some of your concerns. I have also added some requests for information that have been previously requested through our City Attorney on behalf of St. George. I thank you once again for making time for the meeting, and your commitment to entering into an intergovernmental agreement to provide for this transition of services and tax revenue to the City of St. George.As indicated in the Petition to Incorporate St. George, the City of St. George hereby requests the City-Parish to continue the following services through the dates indicated below:
- Residential curbside garbage collection and recycling through the Consolidated Garbage Service District through the expiration of the current contract with Republic for the fees currently assessed to
residential property owners;- Sewerage through continuation of services through the East Baton Rouge Consolidated Sewer District in accordance with the fees currently assessed to residential property owners;
- Emergency Medical Services through the East Baton Rouge Department of EMS in accordance with current fees;
- 911 Services through the East Baton Rouge Parish Communications;
- Animal control and sheltering services for the same cost paid by other municipalities based on the most recent U.S. Census data in accordance with similar terms extended to the other municipalities within East Baton Rouge Parish;
- Staffing for applications for planning and zoning filed with the City-Parish for applications filed through September 30, 2024 to be reviewed by the St. George Planning Commission, St. George Zoning Commission and St. George Board of Adjustments for the application fees collected by the City-Parish;
- Floodplain management through March 30, 2025, for the documented costs of services;
- Building inspections for permits filed with the City-Parish through September 30, 2024, for the fees collected by the City-Parish subject to approval by the St. George Building Official;
- Maintenance of right of ways along local roads through March 30, 2025, for the documented cost of said services;
- Road maintenance for local roads through March 30, 2025, for the documented cost of said services;
- Drainage maintenance through March 30, 2025, for the documented cost of said services;
- Traffic signs and signal maintenance on local roads for the cost of services.
I hereby request delivery of or access to the following information by Noon on Friday, September 6, 2024 for the area within the boundaries set forth in the Petition to Incorporate St. George which was previously requested on behalf of the City of St. George:
- A map designating all roads as State, Parish or local and showing locations of traffic signals and indicating the entity responsible for maintenance of roads, signage, traffic signals and rights-of-ways;
- A listing of all pending building permit applications received by the City-Parish through August 28, 2024 with the current status of each application and the amount of fees collected by any department or agency of the City-Parish;
- A listing of all pending applications received by the City-Parish Planning Commission with the current status of each application and the amount of fees collected by any department or agency of the City-Parish;
- A listing of all applications received by the City-Parish Zoning Commission with the current status of each application and the amount of fees collected by any department or agency of the City-
Parish;- A listing of all applications pending before any other board or commission of the City-Parish including but not limited to the Board of Adjustments and Alcohol Beverage Control Board and the current status of each application and the amount of fees collected by any department or agency of the City-Parish;
- An itemization of the cost of each service provided within the City of St. George with General Funds from April 26, 2024 through August 28, 2024 and projected to be spent in St. George through
December 31, 2024.- Total amount of 2% sales and use tax collected in July 2024 within the City of St. George except in the disputed annexed areas.
Mayor Broome’s response to St. George
Mayor Broome responded to the letter with a news conference saying, “My goal as the parish president is that I look out for all the citizens of our city and parish.”
She explained that the allocation of revenue and government services to St. George will continue without interruption. However, the proposal is just that—a proposal that must be approved by the EBR Metro-Council, St. George City-Council, and St. George Transition Team.
“It is being proposed to transfer $600,000 per month, $7.2 million annually, to the City of St. George which will reduce the City-Parish’s anticipated sales tax collections that support governmental expenses. The City-Parish will initially utilize the designated budget stabilization account within the General Fund to offset the transfer of sales tax collections that will allow for the transition without undue disruption to governmental services,” read the proposal.
According to Mayor Broome, the $600,000 payment to St. George could begin as early as September 2024, based on an incorporation date of July 1, 2024. The proposal also noted that certain areas within the parish are still part of an annexation lawsuit, making it unclear whether they fall within St. George or the city-parish. Currently, the city-parish is paying for all services to those areas, and depending on the outcome of the annexation lawsuit, this may need to change.
The proposal also stipulates that St. George must contribute to the City-Parish’s retirement system, known as the City of Baton Rouge and Parish of East Baton Rouge Employees’ Retirement System (CPRES).
“With respect to CPERS retirement benefits, the most recent estimate of required annual payments ranged from $5.2 million to $7.5 million commencing in January of 2026. The City Parish does not yet have an estimate for St. George’s share of the cost funding obligations for Other Post Employment Benefits,” per the proposal.
“At this point in the process, to simply send those dollars to representatives of a new city who do not have a plan in place to continue the vast majority of those services would be irresponsible and a dereliction of my duty to the taxpayers. This proposed intergovernmental agreement is the responsible next step in leading our parish and the City of St. George forward. I remain ready and willing to continue negotiating amicably and in good faith in the best interest of all of our East Baton Rouge Parish residents,” said Mayor Broome.
In response, Mayor Yates told UWK, “We’ve had a plan since we put it on the petition to incorporate the City of St. George. It required a plan. We put a plan on the actual petition that people signed.”
Mayor Broome’s proposal also included some questions she and her team answered:
How did you arrive at the $600,000 monthly figure?
$600,000 is the difference between the monthly amount of parish taxes estimated to be collected in the St. George area and the cost of the current direct and indirect services the City-Parish continues to provide to that area. In essence, that amount is the difference in the estimated amount of parish tax dollars collected in St. George and the cost of services City-Parish is providing to St. George. Those basic governmental services will continue to be provided by the City-Parish until St. George provides notification under a negotiated agreement that they are ready to start providing that service and the revenue will go to the entity providing the services.
How does St. George Transition District’s recent vote to authorize their lawyers to sue the City-Parish to get money affect this proposed agreement?
As Mayor-President, I am offering this proposal in good faith and stand ready to continue these negotiations. I regret that the head of the St. George Transition District does not want to participate. I believe that the leaders of St. George who are working in the best interests of their city’s residents and who seek an efficient transition of the delivery of services there will move forward in negotiation with the City-Parish in a spirit of cooperation.
The proposal asks for an incorporation date of July 1, 2024, but St. George says it should be a 2019 incorporation date. What is your response to that?
We believe that, under the law governing a contested incorporation, a court ultimately must set the date of incorporation. The law governing the St. George Transition District also references that, in the circumstances confronting us today, the Transition District will cease to exist twelve (12) months after the incorporation becomes final. (La R.S. 33:3079(D)(5)). Thus, it would seem counterproductive for St. George to seek approval for any 2019 incorporation date. In the best interests of the citizens of St. George, this proposed agreement offers for St. George’s consideration a Joint Motion in which both the City-Parish and the City of St. George could together potentially seek approval for a July 1, 2024 incorporation date. That would give the St. George Transition District one year from that date to exist.
What services will the City-Parish provide to St. George?
The City-Parish remains and has been the sole provider of governmental services in the City of St. George to date. The City-Parish plans to continue delivering each of those services that residents are receiving now until the City of St. George notifies City-Parish when they wish to begin offering that particular service and a negotiated intergovernmental agreement allows a smooth transition of the delivery of that service. This proposed agreement contemplates a way to make that happen. The City-Parish will continue to use the tax dollars collected in St. George to pay for the ongoing services provided there, until such time as St. George is ready to begin providing those services under a negotiated intergovernmental agreement.
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