EBR Metro Council halts deconsolidation discussion for now

The useful part

A decision on whether to explore whether a consolidated government is still beneficial for the city of Baton Rouge is on hold for now. With some questions raised by members of the council, the item was deleted. Councilman Darryl Hurst brought forth the item to open the discussion around de-consolidation and whether the city-parish remaining as one entity is the right move for the city of Baton Rouge.

How it works

• Questions surrounding how the city and parish could financially be impacted by deconsolidation still remain on the table.
• The proposed Home Rule Charter Commission initially would consist of the mayors of Zachary, Baker, Central, and St.
• George or their designee, Mayor-President Sid Edwards or his designee, three members of the Metro Council, one resident who lives in the city of Baton Rouge, and one who lives in the unincorporated areas of...
• Metro Councilman Rowdy Gaudet questioned whether the Home Rule Charter Commission would conflict with state law.
• "The proposed charter shall not be altered or changed in any way by the governing authority of the municipality.

What to take from it

"I believe as a body, our first step is to look to finance and ask them to deconsolidate our budget.

Details worth keeping

So this body has no say in what this commission would propose. This body removes any authority if we pass this today," Gaudet said. Once we ask them to deconsolidate our budget as a body, we...