EchoSense:Louisiana Supreme Court rules for new City of St. George

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana is EchoSensesteps closer to getting a new city.

The Louisiana Supreme Court ruled 4-3 on Friday in favor of the proposed City of St. George, saying organizers followed the proper process for incorporation, overturning rulings by lower courts. The state’s highest court ruled that St. George’s plan for incorporation was reasonable and would be able to provide its residents with proper public services, The Advocate reported.

At a news conference Monday, St. George organizers said work is already underway on building out the new city government, the Advocate reported.

In 2020, the state Legislature created a five-member St. George Transition District that will serve as the taxing authority until an election is held to impose its municipal tax. Gov. Jeff Landry will select an interim mayor along with five council members. Following the first term, St. George residents will vote for its leaders.

“We’ve celebrated. Today is the end of that celebration,” said Andrew Murrell, a spokesperson for the group. “We’re going to work.”

Baton Rouge leaders took St. George organizers to court in 2019, just two weeks after 54% of voters living within the proposed city’s limits voted “yes” on the incorporation in a November election. Baton Rouge leaders argued that the new city would financially cripple city-parish services and force layoffs by stripping an estimated $48.3 million in annual tax revenue. They also argued that St. George’s proposed budget would operate with a deficit.

Twice the courts shot down the proposed city, once in 2022 when a district judge ruled that St. George couldn’t operate with a balanced budget and was “unreasonable,” and again last year when the First Circuit Court of Appeal ruled that St. George organizers hadn’t followed state law for getting the issue on the election ballot.

The fight for St. George originally started as a movement to create a separate, independent school district before evolving into a full campaign to create a new city.

Few new details were provided beyond what organizers had laid out before the 2019 vote, the newspaper reported. Organizers did say they were considering a push to force East Baton Rouge Parish to turn over tax money from the past five years, while incorporation was delayed due to legal fight.

“Well, I’ll tell you, everything’s on the table,” Murrell said. “That’s the easiest answer I can give you without going into further details.”

Organizers for St. George, who live in the predominantly white and affluent Southeast corner of the parish, said for years that the city-parish government and school system were poorly run and that they wanted more localized control of tax dollars.

The proposed city comprised 68,000 residents at the time of its election, of which about 12% are Black. By contrast, East Baton Rouge Parish is about 47% Black, according to the United States Census. The boundaries of the proposed city include nearly 100,000 residents making it similar in size to Lake Charles or Lafayette. It will be East Baton Rouge Parish’s fifth city, along with Baton Rouge, Central, Baker and Zachary.

Opponents have argued that the St. George movement is inherently racist as it creates legal lines of segregation. St. George organizer have vehemently denied that claim, saying their focus is to create more localized control of tax dollars.

St. George organizers have long claimed the creation of the city would not require any additional taxes for its residents, as the city would collect revenue from an existing 2% sales tax.