Rich residents of small town seek to secede from poor predominantly black residential area
The more affluent members of East Baton Rouge Parish are seeking to create a new city. The formation of the new city, St. George, would place a border around the much wealthier and whiter part of the parish.
The findings come in light of a new report commissioned by the Baton Rouge Area Chamber and Baton Rouge Area Foundation.
The formation of the new city of St. George could put the finances of the rest of East Baton Rouge Parish and its school district in peril [,] could cause a $53 million hit to the general fund of the city of Baton Rouge and the remaining unincorporated parts of East Baton Rouge Parish — a blow that report author and LSU economist James Richardson said could force the city-parish to raise taxes on those remaining outside of St. George. The report also says police and fire services in Baton Rouge are likely to be cut.
The report gives lawmakers the first systematic look at how a formation of a new city in the parish affects the rest of the area. Advocates of the new city say their central goal is to create a new school district.
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