re: Budget comparisons between St George & other Louisiana cities

i hate being the last post on a page

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My guess is they wouldn't mind paying more, if they actually got something in return and saw a better use of their tax dollars.

Why is this so hard to understand.

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It's hard to understand because you won't specify what increased services you are expecting to receive.

St George has adequate public works and police. St George has received more road improvements and infrastructure investments than any other part of the parish. Look at all the roads that were widened + shoulders or flat out extended.

Be specific as to what services you want.

Kip is giving his annual State of the Parish speech today, I think.

Before you compare expenditures for each city, it's fair to tell us what is in each budget.

For instance St. George's proposed budget doesn't include any money for fire protection because the area already has fire services provided by other entities.

Review the St. George budget LINK and it tells you what they include.

Now I am not going to tell you or anyone else whether it's realistic or whatever; but I think before you start comparing budgets of each city it is best to see what they include.

For instance I did a quick check and Lake Charles includes fire protection in their budget. Wouldn't that be a factor when you look at expenditures per capita? Sure it would be a factor.

Now, I do agree that St. George's numbers should be carefully checked and that they are very important, but looking at other cities and then saying that per capita St. George's numbers are bogus isn't sound financial analysis.

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In fact they've been clear that there is "no guarantee that taxes won't need to be raised".

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That is the exact opposite of what is stated on their website.

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Q: Will my taxes go up if we incorporate?

A: Taxes shouldn’t have to be raised to support a new city.

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LINK

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That is the exact opposite of what is stated on their website.

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And the organizers should be challenged on that fact. If a tax increase is inevitable voters should know that.

But your budget comparisons don't prove that because they fail to look at the entire picture.

St. George won't be providing fire protection, garbage pick up, sewer treatment or any of the other services which are already provided by other organizations.

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If you truly believe they are lying about this, you should be doing something other than posting on TD about it.

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How do you know I'm not doing something about it other than posting on TD?

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For example, providing this information to them and telling them to their faces to stop lying.

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That will be done before a vote is held.

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Also, did you just say that EBR's budget is more than 10 times greater than that of Lake Charles?

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Yes, so? Lake Charles is a city. EBR is not just the city of Baton Rouge.

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Q: Will my taxes go up if we incorporate?

A: Taxes shouldn’t have to be raised to support a new city.

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You have interwebs. You can look up St. George meetings and educate yourself. People have asked that same question as you numerous times. The response of organizers is that there is "no guarantee that taxes won't increase".

Organizers think that they can incorporate without raising taxes. I have not seen any evidence that proves their estimates as illogical. I do think taxes will have to increase to pay for public schools. Public school districts will occur independent of incorporation....at least a year after, perhaps more.

My conclusion through everything I've read about this issue is that St. George organizers are probably correct in their calculation that incorporation won't require a tax hike. After incorporation, public schools will be the first major push of this new city. I think a tax hike to pay for much needed public school infrastructure in the southern part of the parish is next to impossible to avoid - especially if East Baton Rouge Parish is successful in stealing sales tax revenue generated in the new municipality or if Baton Rouge annexes Bluebonnet and Siegen (which will upset voters in Zachary, Central, and St. George).

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StG effectively has taxation without representation in the current scenario. It's incredibly frustrating. The disparity between %of tax dollars paid and % of benefits is great. Simple things like # of libraries and parks are a microcosm of the problem. 2 of EBR's 20 libraries are in STG, but it represents somewhere between 62and 73% of the revenue depending on what source you look at.

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Can you provide your sources for these claims??

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Before you compare expenditures for each city, it's fair to tell us what is in each budget.

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The St George 'budget' is so lacking in details I don't know what it really includes. Just look at the "Public Services" line. It's a mystery what all it includes or how the numbers were derived.

As I've posted before, I don't see where their budget includes any funds for street or bridge construction. ZERO funds. Want a new turn lane built so you can turn right on red? Sorry, no money. Want a new bridge to get into your subdivision to replace the one that's falling down? Sorry, no money.

My OP was an attempt to measure the "reasonableness" of the SG budget not its absolute accuracy. It is in no way a detailed analysis of every city's budget.

I compiled the numbers on other Louisiana cites and not one of them even came close to the per capita numbers for SG. Not within 50% of their per capita numbers. Some cities were more than triple the per capita spending rate of SG. I knew those numbers would be criticized so I deleted them from my spreadsheet.

If SG residents want to believe that their city is so unique that the new government can supply adequate city services as the residents in other La. cities receive from their city government at a 50%+ discount in taxes, then I have a bridge over the Mississippi River I'd like to sell them.....for them to use in their new city, of course, that is if they can find the money in their budget to buy it.

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You can look up St. George meetings and educate yourself. People have asked that same question as you numerous times. The response of organizers is that there is "no guarantee that taxes won't increase".

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So what they say at meetings is not consistent with what they have on their official website. What does that tell you about them?

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I have not seen any evidence that proves their estimates as illogical.

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Okey, dokey.