Budget abbreviations do not stop projects in the center of Baton Rouge – WAFB

Baton Rouge, La. (WAFB) – Although the Center’s development area does not receive the same amount of funding from the city and Parish this year, they use other resources to make sure that projects are still doing.

Over the last 15 years, DDD has helped invest almost $ 2 million in Baton Rouge through various projects. To do everything, Executive Director Whitney Hoffman Sayal is used to working on a strict budget.

“Every year we look and see what we have, and it hesitates on the size of the tax collections we receive from our stakeholders in the city center for what we can do, so it is really on an annual basis,” Sayal explained.

This year, they are reduced by about $ 125,000.

“Our budget decreases by 9% in our urban development, so reducing our ability to do some of the things we usually do,” Sayal said.

Sayal now said they are turning to other sources of revenue to ensure that projects for this year are being funded.

“In the last few years, we have not been fully staff, so we want to take those savings we have in those previous years and direct them to projects,” Sayal explained.

Projects small as increasing street lights, replacement of garbage bins and improving the alerts to find the road or as big as the increase in safety in the Spanish city and the creation of a project for the arts in Beauregard for the new civil rights path.

They are all placed in one of the three categories; Marketing, street amenities or neighborhood projects; And they are priority based on need and funding.

In addition to joining the savings, Sayal said the renewal of a 9.5 milling property tax would help them continue to finance more projects for years to come.

“Our organization is the one who looks at everything and says well that this is where we have to prioritize and these are some areas we can continue, so we really use these dollars to make sure that we will achieve Things in the city center, “Sayal said.

The DDD tax renewal will be on the agenda of the Subway Council on Wednesday night. If approved, people living in the city center will see it on their ballots in October.

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