Metro Council rejects proposed roll‑forward increases to multiple ad valorem millages

The East Baton Rouge Parish Metropolitan Council on March 26, 2025 failed to approve proposed roll‑forward increases to ad valorem tax millage rates affecting multiple fire protection districts and other taxing jurisdictions.

Council members considered an item (Item 90) to adopt increased 2025 ad valorem millage rates as permitted by Article 7, Section 23(c) of the Louisiana Constitution. The proposal included increases for the Baton Rouge Municipal Fire salaries and benefits rate, several fire protection districts (including Brownsville and Allison districts), and other local levies. The council attempted a motion by Councilman Dunn Jr. to approve the package as amended (removing a council on aging item) but the motion failed after votes were tallied.

The discussion included multiple public speakers from the local fire service urging approval. Jake Morgan, president of the Baton Rouge Firefighter Association (Local 3), told the council that rising equipment and personnel costs required the funding: "We need a certain amount of mills to operate our departments and pay our people, maintain our stations, maintain our trucks.... That's what we're here for. We need this money to continue to operate our departments the way we've been running in this parish." The council heard similar appeals from local fire chiefs who described rising truck and equipment costs and the need to maintain staffing, training and station upkeep.

Several council members expressed reservations. One council member described roll‑forward approval as an effective tax increase on an unrealized property valuation gain and said they could not support unilaterally raising taxes without a public vote. That objection was a central reason the motion failed; the meeting record shows the motion did not reach the eight votes required for approval.

Why it matters: roll‑forward millages allow previously approved millage rates to be adjusted after reassessment rather than re‑putting a specific tax amount to voters. Proponents said the adjustments preserve funding needed for emergency services as costs rise; opponents said increases should go before voters instead of being applied automatically to assessed value gains.

Council outcome and next steps: the motion to approve the roll forward as amended failed on the council floor. The council did not adopt the listed millage increases at the March 26 meeting; further action would require the council to reintroduce the item or to pursue alternative timelines or referenda if the executive branch or departments request reconsideration.

Clarifying details: the council cited Article 7, Section 23(c) of the Louisiana Constitution as the statutory authority to adopt millage rates for the 2025 tax roll. The specific millage changes proposed in Item 90 included, among others, an increase for Baton Rouge Municipal Fire salaries and benefits from 5.68 mills to 6 mills and increases for multiple fire protection districts (examples in the proposal ranged from 8.52 to 15 mills depending on the district). The exact list of jurisdictions and proposed adjusted millages was read into the record by staff during the meeting and is part of the official agenda packet.

Public testimony and council remarks were recorded on the meeting transcript. Jake Morgan and other fire officials urged passage on grounds of recruitment, retention, equipment costs, and public safety readiness; at least one council member countered that the roll‑forward functions as a tax increase on unrealized gains and preferred a voter decision.

Votes at a glance: the council motion to approve the roll‑forward package as amended (with the council on aging item removed) failed; the meeting transcript records the motion as "Motion fails." No roll call tally with named yea/nay counts was recorded in the public segment of the transcript for the failed motion.

Speakers quoted: Jake Morgan, president, Baton Rouge Firefighter Association (public testimony).