[CALL TO ORDER ]
[00:00:02]
UH, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WELCOME TO THE SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING FOR NOVEMBER 2ND, 2021.
UH, AT THIS TIME, WE'LL CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER.
UH, WE HAVE TWO ITEMS ON THE AGENDA.
[1. 21-01477 Receiving the Mayor-President's 2022 Budget Message. By Mayor-President. Introduce for public hearing/meeting on November 2, 2021 Public Notice - 2022 Annual Operating Budget ]
WILL START WITH OUR FIRST ITEM NUMBER 21 0 1 4 7 7.RECEIVING THE MAYOR'S PRESIDENT'S 2022 BUDGET MESSAGE BY MAYOR.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBERS, AND GOOD AFTERNOON TO ALL OF YOU ALL ON THIS BEAUTIFUL DAY HERE IN THE GREAT CITY AND PARISH OF BATON ROUGE IN EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH, UH, TODAY HONORABLE MEMBERS OF THE METROPOLITAN COUNCIL AND THE PEOPLE OF BATON ROUGE.
I RESPECTFULLY SUBMIT FOR YOUR REVIEW AND CONSIDERATION BALANCED BUDGET FOR THE 2022 CALENDAR YEAR FOR OUR GENERAL FUND AND SPECIAL FUNDS WITH DEV DEDICATED REVENUE STREAMS. WHILE OUR COMMUNITY CONTINUES TO FACE MANY CHALLENGES, WE CONTINUE TO BE RESILIENT.
OUR LOCALLY ECONOMY IS FUNDAMENTALLY STRONG AND HAS PERFORMED WELL.
POST PANDEMIC EXCEEDING OUR EXPECTATIONS.
DURING MY TENURE IN OFFICE, THERE HAS BEEN LITTLE OR NO REVENUE GROWTH FOR US TO EXPAND SERVICES.
THE ANTICIPATED SALES TAX GROWTH, ALONG WITH THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN.
FEDERAL FUNDING ALLOWS US THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE A SLIGHT INCREASE IN OUR GENERAL FUND BUDGET, WHICH IS WELL OVERDUE.
IF THE PANDEMIC PANDEMIC HAS TAUGHT US ANYTHING, IT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING ADEQUATE RESERVES SO THAT THERE WILL BE NO SERVICE DISRUPTIONS DURING ECONOMIC DOWNTURNS.
WITH THIS IN MIND, WE HAVE TAKEN MEASURES TO NOT ONLY MAINTAIN OUR RESERVES, BUT TO STRENGTHEN THEM.
MY ADMINISTRATION CONTINUES TO FOCUS ON DELIVERING COST EFFICIENT SERVICES, DEALING WITH PUBLIC SAFETY, DRAINAGE, TRANSPORTATION, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, EFFICIENT SERVICE DELIVERY, AND QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ALL PARISH RESIDENTS, BECAUSE PUBLIC SAFETY REMAINS A TOP PRIORITY.
ADDITIONAL TRAINING ACADEMIES FOR THE POLICE AND FIRE DEPARTMENTS WILL BE HAILED IN 2022 TO MEET OUR ONGOING RECRUITMENT NEEDS WORK ON OUR PARISHES.
FIRST STORM WATER MASTER PLAN IS NEARING COMPLETION.
WE HAVE UTILIZED THIS INFORMATION, OBTAINED IT TO MODEL AND EVALUATE OUR INFRASTRUCTURE, IDENTIFY CRITICAL DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS AND IDENTIFY AND CORRECT MAINTENANCE ISSUES IN OUR STORM WATER COLLECTION SYSTEM.
OUR COMMITMENT TO IMPROVING DRAINAGE IS EVIDENCE BY OUR PROPOSAL TO SPEND OVER $56 MILLION OR APPROXIMATELY ONE-THIRD OF OUR AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ALLOCATION ON ADDRESSING PARRISH DRAINAGE NEEDS.
IN 2022, WE WILL ALSO BE ESTABLISHING A STORM WATER DIVISION WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES WITH STAFFING SOLELY DEDICATED FOR THIS PURPOSE WORK WILL CONTINUE ON THE $740 MILLION IN DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENTS UNDERWAY, INCLUDING PROJECTS SUCH AS THE COLUMBIA RIVER DIVERSION PROJECT AND WORK ON OUR FIVE MAJOR TRIBUTARIES.
THESE MAJOR PROJECTS WILL GREATLY REDUCE POTENTIAL FLOOD RISK FOR MANY RESIDENTS AND BUSINESSES, IMPROVING TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY IS ESSENTIAL TO THE CONTINUED GROWTH OF OUR CITY AND PERISHED THE MOVIE BR PROGRAM.
THE LARGEST INFRASTRUCTURE MOBILITY ENHANCEMENT AND TRAFFIC MITIGATION PROGRAM IN THE PARISHES HISTORY IS WELL UNDERWAY.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IS CRITICAL TO EXPANDING OUR REVENUE BASE.
ACCORDING TO LOCAL ECONOMISTS, THE BATON ROUGE METROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREA WILL RECOVER ALL JOBS LOST IN THE PANDEMIC BY THE END OF 2022, ADDING OVER 16,000 JOBS IN THAT YEAR AND MORE THAN 5,000 ADDITIONAL JOBS IN 2023 WORK TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ALL OUR RESIDENTS OF OUR PARISH REMAINS A CONSTANT PRIORITY.
AND I LOOK FORWARD TO ATTENDING ALL OF THE MUSIC, CELEBRATIONS, THE FESTIVALS AND OTHER EVENTS THAT MAKE BATON ROUGE, A UNIQUE PLACE TO LIVE AS WELL AS VISIT.
WE WILL CONTINUE OUR EFFORTS TO ELIMINATE ALL EYESORES AND POTENTIAL HAZARDS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
FUNDING IS INCLUDED IN THIS BUDGET FOR EACH COUNCIL
[00:05:01]
MEMBER TO ADDRESS BLIGHT ISSUES IN THEIR DISTRICTS, THROUGH PARTNERSHIP AND COLLABORATION WITH PUBLIC PRIVATE AND NON-PROFIT COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS.WE WILL CONTINUE TO INVIGORATE AND REJUVENATE OUR COMMUNITIES.
I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH ALL OF YOU AS WE GO OVER THIS BUDGET.
AS YOU REVIEW THIS PROPOSED BUDGET, I REMAINED STEADFAST AND MY VISION TO BUILD A COMMUNITY OF PEACE, PROSPERITY, AND PROGRESS FOR ALL PEOPLE IN CLOSING, I WOULD BE REMISS IF I DID NOT ACKNOWLEDGE AND PAY HOMAGE AND HONOR TO OUR FINANCE DEPARTMENT AND ALL THE HARD WORK THAT THEY HAVE DONE TO COMPLETE THIS BUDGET.
WOULD YOU PLEASE SHOW YOUR APPRECIATION FOR, AND UH, MR. ACTING PROTEIN, THAT ENDS MY THANK YOU, MAYOR BROOM.
AND WE ACCEPT THE PRESENTATION AND THE BUDGET PROPOSAL FOR 2022.
AT THIS TIME, WE'D LIKE TO OPEN THE FLOOR TO ANYONE FROM THE PUBLIC, MAKE ANY COMMENTS, ANYONE FROM THE PUBLIC AND ANY COMMENTS FROM OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS.
[2. 21-01478 Receiving the Preliminary Current Expense Budget and Capital Budget for the City of Baton Rouge and Parish of East Baton Rouge for the year 2022. By Mayor-President. Introduce for public hearing/meeting on November 2, 2021 Public Notice - 2022 Annual Operating Budget ]
MOVING ON TO ITEM NUMBER 2 21 0 1 4 7 8 RECEIVING THE DEPLOYMENT PRELIMINARY CURRENT EXPENSE BUDGET AND CAPITAL BUDGET FOR THE CITY OF BATON ROUGE AND PARISH OF EAST BATON ROUGE FOR THE YEAR 2022 BY MAYOR, PRESIDENT BROOM.ANY OTHER COMMENTS? THAT ROOM? ALRIGHTY, ANY OTHER PUBLIC COMMENTS, ANY COMMENTS FROM THE COUNCIL? ALL RIGHT.
UH, BOTH ITEMS HAVE BEEN RECEIVED AT THIS TIME.
THE NEXT THING ON THE AGENDA IS MOVED TO ADJOURN.