NORTH BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – Residents of North Baton Rouge’s Glen Oaks neighborhood may need to pay an extra tax if the initiative to establish a crime prevention and improvement district passes legislation.
The crime prevention and improvement district would include three major components: crime prevention, beautification, and youth programming.
What residents say
Glen Oaks resident, Issac Smith said he’s lived in the community for over 43 years and witnessed many changes.
Smith, who is also a father of five, told BRProud that his car was burglarized not too long ago, and he wants to make sure he and his family are as safe as possible.
If the legislation passes, Smith said he’d vote to make sure Glen Oaks becomes a crime prevention and improvement neighborhood.
“It’s a definite plus for the neighborhood,” Smith said. “Having more cameras and police patrol is a good thing.”
If approved through the Louisiana Legislature, the proposal would next go to the people for a vote. This would put the power into the hands of the community.
What community leaders say
Christopher Richard, President of the Glen Oaks Association, said the goal is to foster community involvement with the aim of helping the neighborhood get into a better place.
“The real push is to try and get our neighbors, our residents, young, old, no matter what,” said Richard, “Get them involved!”
At this time, Baton Rouge has four crime prevention and improvement districts. These include the Monticello, Park Forest East, Park Forest, and Forest Heights neighborhoods.
Councilman Darryl Hurst has already created a crime prevention and improvement district within several areas of North Baton Rouge.
Councilman Hurst said when he took office, the area was rocked by nearly, “a murder a week in Zion City.” But he added that after establishing the L.I.V.E program, he’s seen major improvements. According to Hurst, there hasn’t been a murder in the area in about 300 days.
Councilman Hurst said it’s time for Glen Oaks to reach its full potential.
“What our goal to do, is to organize communities that have been disinvested in,” he said, “to make sure that they can take their communities back.”
The possibility of paying an extra tax
If the legislation passes, the community will need to pay an extra $8.33 per month for the program.
“We tell them $8.33 a month is our goal,” said Councilman Hurst. “So, asking people for a Happy Meal, to allow them to feel safe in their current home.”
This included new cameras, police patrol, landscaping, and youth programs.
The monthly tax fee would generate over $440,000 annually in revenue, and the money would be managed by the community board.
Councilman Hurst will lead three community meetings to address how the initiative will work.
A list of meeting times and locations are below. Each event will feature free food and beverages.
March 14 Community Meeting
The meeting held on March 14 only applies to the 70805 zip code
Time: 6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Location: Charles R. Kelly Community Center, 3535 Riley St., Baton Rouge, LA 70805
March 16 Community Meeting
The meeting held on March 16 only applies to the 70814 zip code
Time: 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Location: Greenwell Springs Branch Library, 1330 Greenwell springs Rd, Baton Rouge, LA 70814
March 23 Community Meeting
The meeting held on March 23 only applies to the 70811 and 70812 zip codes
Time: 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Location: Charles R. Kelly Community Center, 3535 Riley St., Baton Rouge, LA 70805
Leave a Reply