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Parish "Thrive" millage renewals pitched as fix for deficit; Baker master plan, stormwater funding discussed
Summary
An assistant to the parish mayor presented a multi‑agency plan to roll forward millages for the library, mosquito abatement and council on aging to pay down a reported parish deficit and allow a reset of municipal budgets; Baker officials and residents asked how the plan would affect local priorities, including stormwater projects.
Christopher Toombs, introduced by the mayor as an assistant director with Mayor Sid Edwards, told the City Council that a package called "Thrive" would roll forward existing millages for the council on aging, mosquito abatement and the library to address the parish's budget shortfall and pay down legacy debt. He said the measures would appear on the Nov. 15 ballot and emphasized that the millages would be renewed on behalf of the named agencies rather than as a single new tax.
"When you go into the vote, you will not say Thrive. You will be renewing a millage for the council on aging. You'd be renewing a millage for the mosquito abatement. You'd be renewing a millage for the library," Toombs said. He added the intent was to eliminate the parish deficit and allow officials "to go to a 0 budget" so they could set new priorities.
Toombs provided figures for the funding he said would be available under the roll‑forwards. He said the two 2.5‑mill items for mosquito abatement and the council on aging would "equate to about 16,240,000" and he cited the library payment as roughly "52,400,000." He said those payments would not reduce the operating budgets of the agencies named in the plan.
Residents and council members pressed Toombs on what Baker would receive. He said Baker has its own master plan and that parish leaders intend to combine parishwide priorities with local plans when allocating funds. He also highlighted a stormwater master plan as a local priority and said about $4,200,000 "should be available" toward stormwater planning, while cautioning that that amount alone would not complete construction.
Toombs repeatedly declined to tell residents how to vote, saying, "I can't tell you to vote for drive. I'm not telling you to vote. I can't strive. All I'm saying is the items on the agenda in the, voting booth will say 1, 2, 3." He offered to take questions after the presentation.
Why this matters: Baker is part of East Baton Rouge Parish, and a parish‑level roll‑forward of millages can shift how regional services are paid for and how limited parish resources are allocated to cities inside the parish. Council members and residents asked how Baker's master plan priorities would be represented in any allocation decisions; Toombs said local priorities would be taken into consideration.
What remains unclear: Toombs described the amounts he expected to be available and the proposed uses, but did not provide a detailed breakdown of how much of the planned payments, if approved by voters, would be allocated directly to the City of Baker. The speaker said the plan was subject to decisions that would be made by parish leadership and cooperating agencies.
