BATON ROUGE — The East Baton Rouge Council on Aging wants a measure on the summer ballot to renew its existing property tax after a plan to renew and rededicate taxes failed at the voting booth in November. 

The council says it has formally initiated the process to renew its parish-wide millage and request its presence on the June 27 ballot. The proposal, the council says, reduces the millage rate from 2.25 mills to 2.0 mills, which they say will provide savings to taxpayers while preserving essential services.

The funding, the council added, would go to serving more than 25,000 older adults who receive assistance through programs and services, as well as investing in long-term projects in senior housing and community revitalization.

“The renewal of this millage is essential to sustaining the services that thousands of older adults depend on each day,” said Tasha Clark-Amar, Chief Executive Officer of the East Baton Rouge Council on Aging. “We take our fiduciary responsibility to taxpayers seriously. Our clean audits during the current millage reflect a strong commitment to accountability and transparency. Continued funding allows us to protect vital services while remaining conscientious stewards of public tax dollars.”

Similar proposals have been requested from the East Baton Rouge Parish Library System and the East Baton Rouge Parish Mosquito Abatement and Rodent Control District, the other two parts of the failed Thrive EBR initiative.

These three tax renewals are all set to be introduced at the Metro Council's Wednesday meeting ahead of a public hearing on them on Feb. 11.