East Baton Rouge Residents will decide on two tax renewals for Baton Rouge Recreation and Commission (BREC) on Nov. 5.
Proposal 1 is 3.253 mills, a 20-year tax that would fund “Imagine Your Parks”, BREC’s 10-year master plan. It is a continuation of a 20-year tax–passed in 2004 and renewed again in 2014–used to finance the creation of 12 large city parks, the city’s zoo, and restoring LSU lakes. The former projects helped earn BREC a gold medal distinction for the best large city park system in the country.
Proposal 2 is 6.2 mills, a 10-year property tax split between operations and capital improvements, a millage that has been on the books in some form since 1974.
The ad valorem taxes are expected to generate $55 million in the first year, about 65% of the commission’s budget. They would cost a household earning $200,000 a year with a homestead exemption of around $118 annually.
“I like to say it's the biggest year in BREC history,” said Corey Wilson, superintendent of BREC. He believes the tax is crucial to maintaining a quality standard of living in Baton Rouge. According to a 2023 study by the Trust for Public Lands on BREC’s website, the parks bring in over $300 million annually in economic benefits by raising property values and attracting tourism.
The commission currently operates and maintains over 180 parks in East Baton Rouge–the highest per capita in the country. Yet over half of those parks are labeled “in poor condition” by BREC, and the majority of EBR residents have signaled they want to see an emphasis on quality over quantity for their parks.
“They're old, they're outdated,” said Wilson.”The majority were built in the 70s, even 60s.”
He says a major focus on the “Imagine Your Parks” plan funded by the 3.2 mills will go towards upgrading outdated facilities. The plan is centered around equity and investing in historically underfunded areas, he said, including the creation of a 13th community park on Airline Highway and a shift away from high-cost facilities.
BREC is comprised of nine unelected commissioners. Rolfe McCollister, a Baton Rouge businessman and columnist for BR Business Report has told residents the only way to hold them accountable is to vote no on the ballot. He’s called the number of parks in Baton Rouge “insane” and believes the system is mismanaged and outdated.
“You’ve got to send a message to BREC,” said Mccollister in a recent interview on Talk Louisiana. “You’ve got to sell some of these properties, you’ve got to consolidate, you’ve got to raise the standard.”
Wilson noted that although BREC cannot donate public lands, it is working to sell outdated facilities and underdeveloped properties, including land bought for $90,000 that sold for $4 million.
McCollister has also called BREC a “fool’s gold operation,” pointing to a 2021 audit from the agency that wasn’t filed until last summer, almost two years past its deadline. In the audit, multiple deficiencies and inadequacies were noted by legislative auditors, including $70,000 stolen from three different employees. It caused a backlog in processing the 2022 and 2023 audits, which Wilson says should be completed soon.
“Every audit completed for the agency during my 12-year career at BREC has all been unmodified, the cleanest audit an agency can receive. Delay does not equate to mismanagement as Mr. McCollister claims,” Wilson said in an email.
BREC experienced a series of challenges that contributed to the audit delay, including staff turnover and shortages, a change of ownership of its external audit firm, and the death of its first chief financial officer, according to the email.
When the first 20-year tax was passed in 2004, the commission used the tax to finance bonds for multiple major projects, set to be fully repaid within the next one to two years. If the 3.2 mill proposal passes in November, Wilson says BREC likely won't use it to issue bonds.
“We are going to pay as you go,” he said. “About $15 million a year.”