Baton Rouge council approves intergovernmental and tax-collection agreements with Saint George after hours of debate

The Metropolitan Council of the City of Baton Rouge and Parish of East Baton Rouge on April 23 approved an intergovernmental services agreement with the newly incorporated City of Saint George and a separate sales- and use-tax collection agreement, clearing immediate steps to avoid disruption of public services while members continued to debate unresolved financial and liability issues.

The actions approved by the council allow the mayor-president of the consolidated government to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with the City of Saint George to provide uninterrupted governmental services during Saint George’s transition to a fully functioning municipal government, and a separate collection agreement for the collection and distribution of sales and use taxes to Saint George.

Council debate focused on four unresolved components that several members said were not included in the documents before the council: an incorporation effective date, language releasing the parish from liability for alleged owed funds dating to 2019, a sewer-collection agreement, and a tax-collection agreement. Councilman Dunn Junior said the draft “does not identify a incorporation date” and noted the sewer and tax collection agreements were not included in the item as…