How to fix Baton Rouge

[timelordnerd]

Baton Rouge is a city on the precipice of massive change, since Katrina the city has gone under massive growth and if the growth continues I firmly believe it will make Baton Rouge a major Southern US city. Yet a movement threatens this growth, this movement is the proposition to create a separate city out of un-incorporated land; this city known a St. George will untimely have negative effects for the parish. These negative effects will be the economic, social, and educational divides. We must find solutions to these problems and in this essay I will state why I am against incorporation and some of my ideas to fix the problems that have started this entire debate.

Economically the City of Baton Rouge is growing, with developments such as IBM, The River District, Perkins Rowe, Town Center, and the Water Campus Baton Rouge is booming. I firmly believe that this growth will continue in a healthy manner and that we will soon see a Baton Rouge unrecognizable from the one we live in today. The City of St. George threatens to divide an ever growing city budget and the economic growth the city is experiencing today. What makes the fight for St. George strong is that while the city is having massive growth including a growing budget, that money is not going towards South Eastern Baton Rouge instead it is going towards projects in the downtown area or run-down areas in North Baton Rouge. In my opinion there is a stronger way to respond than dividing the city in two.  I call this solution regional budgets, essentially what this would do is “divide” the city into three districts. Downtown BR, North BR, and South BR. These districts will be different school districts and economic districts for the city. Essentially they will allow for all taxes in those districts to only be spent in those districts, for a city wide project such as a light-rail system the city can ask all the districts to give money for the system. I believe that with some input and tweaking this system could work and provide a strong economic background for the city.

 

Ideas and input? 

 

 

 

[itsjustme3]

]Baton Rouge is a city on the precipice of massive change, since Katrina the city has gone under massive growth and if the growth continues I firmly believe it will make Baton Rouge a major Southern US city.

I dunno about that lol

I also stopped reading when you got to your St George rant. When you get out of high school and own a home and have children then you can come back and tell me why you feel the way you do. No offense but someone in school isn't going to sway the opinions of adults who have and are living through the problems that are going on today.

[Antrell Williams]

North Baton Rouge paying for themselves would only exacerbate the poverty and blight there. Your plan would further divide the metro area as some areas continue to improve while others decline.

[itsjustme3]

I'd love to see the "regional budget" for north Baton Rouge. Let me guess, that money would come from south BR? lol

[timelordnerd]

Well then what would you guys do so we don't divide the city into two. 

 

I dunno about that lol

I also stopped reading when you got to your St George rant. When you get out of high school and own a home and have children then you can come back and tell me why you feel the way you do. No offense but someone in school isn't going to sway the opinions of adults who have and are living through the problems that are going on today.

I know I may not know what life is like living in that area, What I do know is breaking off will cause more problems here and really damage growth. That's sad because our City Chamber could have avoided these events by creating a Public School system that works and by spending more money in one of the cities fastest growing areas. Bottom line is that we need a new educational system and budget plan. 

[itsjustme3]

That's sad because our City Chamber could have avoided these events by creating a Public School system that works and by spending more money in one of the cities fastest growing areas. Bottom line is that we need a new educational system and budget plan.

The city has been divided for a long time. It's just now that people want to physically divide it.

And your quote above about the poor schools is nothing new. It's happening in most big cities across this country. The reasons why are too numerous to list.

[dan326]

Well, I kind of think they should make a new city. BR can take L'Auberge and LSU, and St. G can have all the shopping centers. 

[timelordnerd]

Well, I kind of think they should make a new city. BR can take L'Auberge and LSU, and St. G can have all the shopping centers. 

That still cuts out a major portion of BR's tax base. Another problem I see with this is that St. George is not la different community from BR proper like Central or Baker was. Instead St. George is very BR, to see it split just seems like a very bad idea. 

[itsjustme3]

That still cuts out a major portion of BR's tax base. Another problem I see with this is that St. George is not la different community from BR proper like Central or Baker was. Instead St. George is very BR, to see it split just seems like a very bad idea.

What you just said makes no sense.

[timelordnerd]

What you just said makes no sense.

Sorry let me restate what I tried to say: Baton Rouge City officials and St. George advocates need to re-draw the city lines and limits to allow for both cities to have strong economic centers or hubs.

[itsjustme3]

Sorry let me restate what I tried to say: Baton Rouge City officials and St. George advocates need to re-draw the city lines and limits to allow for both cities to have strong economic centers or hubs.

Why would Baton Rouge want to help St George by redrawing city lines and BR losing tax revenue? They don't and won't. Why would St George want to work with Baton Rouge when all St George is just a cash cow for Baton Rouge? You act as if saying "BR and St George need to talk" is just some simple process and end result. It's not. This has been brewing for a very long time and the end result will be the city of St George or the continued fleeing of middle class families from BR to the outer parishes.

[Antrell Williams]

Baton Rouge should have annexed the area in the 50s. Baton Rouge should have been doing what it should have been doing since that time as well and this wouldn't be an issue. This is their own fault and St. George supporters aren't to blame. It will provide needed competition. 

 

It may be bad or good for both cities, nobody knows.

[richyb83]

The lack of annexation has long been a mystery & discussed here many times here on UP. BR's City Limits resembles a jagged pork-chop. Many out-of-towner's have a hard time comprehending the Bluebonnet(Mall of La)/Siegen area is NOT in BR. Then the large hole in the center on the Wittier property/Towne Center as well....

 

Torn on this St. George proposal....I happen to live in this newly proposed city; just a stone's throw from the BR City Limits. There seems to be some pro's & con's on this. Too long to go into detail

[timelordnerd]

The lack of annexation has long been a mystery & discussed here many times here on UP. BR's City Limits resembles a jagged pork-chop. Many out-of-towner's have a hard time comprehending the Bluebonnet(Mall of La)/Siegen area is NOT in BR. Then the large hole in the center on the Wittier property/Towne Center as well....

 

Torn on this St. George proposal....I happen to live in this newly proposed city; just a stone's throw from the BR City Limits. There seems to be some pro's & con's on this. Too long to go into detail

I'm kinda with you, hard to prove whether this will be good or not. I'm leaning more to the fact that it would not be positive for the city and that just annexing the whole thing would be better and prevent this from happening again.

[all2neat]

St George as a whole will never incorporate into BR.

[BRPJ]

The lack of annexation has long been a mystery & discussed here many times here on UP. BR's City Limits resembles a jagged pork-chop. Many out-of-towner's have a hard time comprehending the Bluebonnet(Mall of La)/Siegen area is NOT in BR. Then the large hole in the center on the Wittier property/Towne Center as well....

 

Torn on this St. George proposal....I happen to live in this newly proposed city; just a stone's throw from the BR City Limits. There seems to be some pro's & con's on this. Too long to go into detail

I was torn at first, and maybe even for St. George, but now I'm leaning toward keeping Baton Rouge together.  A city the size of Baton Rouge would do better growing as a whole. The split would be beneficial to St. George(and only in the sense of creating schools), not for Baton Rouge in any way.  It would cut tax dollars out of Baton Rouge schools and make them even worse.  I can never support anything that hurts the city Baton Rouge.  BR is the center, the core of the region. If BR suffers so does "St. George" and everyone else.  A large part of what makes Baton Rouge attractive is because of what the southeast area offers in shopping and quality of life, demographics etc.  If you make that technically separate from Baton Rouge, then what is Baton Rouge? where is its wealth? Where is its shopping?   etc?

 

Has anyone thought about dissolving what we know as EBRPS and trying a charter system?  It seems to have worked well in New Orleans, considering.

[steve3n8]

Couldn't have said it better than that BRPJ

[timelordnerd]

I was torn at first, and maybe even for St. George, but now I'm leaning toward keeping Baton Rouge together.  A city the size of Baton Rouge would do better growing as a whole. The split would be beneficial to St. George(and only in the sense of creating schools), not for Baton Rouge in any way.  It would cut tax dollars out of Baton Rouge schools and make them even worse.  I can never support anything that hurts the city Baton Rouge.  BR is the center, the core of the region. If BR suffers so does "St. George" and everyone else.  A large part of what makes Baton Rouge attractive is because of what the southeast area offers in shopping and quality of life, demographics etc.  If you make that technically separate from Baton Rouge, then what is Baton Rouge? where is its wealth? Where is its shopping?   etc?

 

Has anyone thought about dissolving what we know as EBRPS and trying a charter system?  It seems to have worked well in New Orleans, considering.

Perfectly said. 

[dan326]

One thing that might be good about the incorporation is  Baton Rouge will have a large, really suburb city, that people outside the area will know about, which might be good for people moving to the area.

[ehyfield]

More commuters...?. :-/

[timelordnerd]

One thing that might be good about the incorporation is  Baton Rouge will have a large, really suburb city, that people outside the area will know about, which might be good for people moving to the area.

Maybe, but wouldn't the benefits be better if it was one large city? 

[Antrell Williams]

Maybe, but wouldn't the benefits be better if it was one large city? 

That's exactly how it's seen right now. Only locals know what's Baton Rouge and what's not.

[itsjustme3]

Maybe, but wouldn't the benefits be better if it was one large city?

It's already one large city with poor schools.

[dan326]

Not necessarily,  I mean,  just think of how many people actually move to New Orleans,  Houston or Dallas proper?  It may be a radical thought,  but... it may even help BR strengthen its brand since the older part won't be diluted by the newer part,  in people's minds. 

[timelordnerd]

It's already one large city with poor schools.

Yeah...in my mind that should be Kips #1 priority, not the government street stuff, or Miss USA. While I do talk about the city hosting larger events and fixing run-down areas schools could go a long way in getting those types of projects off the ground. Just wish Kip realized that. 

Not necessarily,  I mean,  just think of how many people actually move to New Orleans,  Houston or Dallas proper?  It may be a radical thought,  but... it may even help BR strengthen its brand since the older part won't be diluted by the newer part,  in people's minds. 

Yet if you look at Dallas and Houston Proper they are roughly the size of BR and St. George combined. We are not large enough to support two cities that would be in such close proximity and economic competition. Like I told it'sjustme3, we need to fix the school system and our schools.