St. George City Hall and Transition District Meet, Approve December Tax Election

ST. GEORGE – St. George’s emergency meeting Thursday resulted in a unanimous vote to set a Dec. 7 election allowing St. George to take control of a 2 percent sales tax.

The meeting followed another emergency meeting Monday in which the St. George Transition District voted to ask East Baton Rouge government to transfer 2 percent of its sales tax revenue. If the tax transfer is approved, St. George could collect nearly $50 million in sales tax from East Baton Rouge.

Despite requests to the East Baton Rouge City Council, parish and city officials insist they have not been in contact with St. George officials. Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome said there have been no conversations with administration about providing services to the citizens of St. George.

“I will work diligently and cooperatively with the representatives of St. George to find a fair balance that is fair to all members of our parish, ensuring that services to citizens are not disrupted (sic) and that money from taxpayers not be wasted,” Broome said in a statement Thursday.

St. George Mayor Dustin Yates responded to the claim that there was little communication between the two cities. He says Thursday afternoon he and Mayor Broome spoke and he hopes to move forward with the best interests of the citizens in mind.

“These conversations are happening and so far they have been agreeable and cordial,” Yates said. “I can only expect that they will continue to do so. At the end of the day, we all live in the same parish. We all want the same things. We want big government. We want safe streets for our children and our families and we want a good place to live.”