LMR_November

Feature
LMA Executive Director John Gallagher talks to Governor John Bel Edwards about local issues.
ically pushed down a significant level of financial responsibility
to its municipalities and other political subdivisions. Therefore,
the state has reserved to itself the authority to regulate and intervene
in municipal affairs, but has not borne the responsibility
for providing adequate financial support or technical assistance
to its municipalities.
This inconsistent policy of state-municipal relations could
benefit by the concept of home rule, in which the citizens of a
municipality define and regulate its powers and duties. Municipalities
have the ability to begin down the road of home rule
by adopting the home rule charter form of government. We
currently have about 25 municipalities of various sizes operating
under such a charter form of government. Those municipalities
wishing to exert more control of their paths can do so by taking
advantage of home rule.
Louisiana’s municipalities have generally been unable to generate
an adequate amount of revenue from locally-levied taxes
and fees because of tax exemptions and exclusions and statutory
constraints imposed by the state. For example, the state limits
the percentage of sales tax that a municipality may impose, even
though municipal taxes may only be levied after an affirmative
vote of the people. Municipalities must then seek legislative
permission to levy their own taxes that exceed the threshold. So
under the current system, municipalities are forced to receive
financial assistance from the federal and state government, especially
in the funding of K-12 education, which represents the
vast majority of state funding of local governments.
Based on the limited municipal tax base, if the federal government
reduces its role in the fiscal support of local governments,
the state government must increase its financial support of municipal
governments. If the state is unable to provide this support,
it should grant, through proper legislation, the opportunity
for local governments to raise revenues for their own needs.
As a direct result of the advocacy work by the LMA and the
Police Jury Association of Louisiana (PJAL), for the first time in
a few years, the LGAP (Local Government Assistance Program)
and CWEF (Community Water Enrichment Fund) programs have
been funded at $5 million each for FY19. Towns like Jonesboro
who have been awarded Delta
Regional Authority (DRA) grants
for water system improvement,
can now couple that with LGAP
and CWEF funds that enable them
to make critical infrastructure
improvements.
In 2018, the LMA Legislative Team
endured four different legislative
sessions over a four-month
period. Through diligence, hard
work, and partnerships with other
local government stakeholders,
LMR | November 2018 Page 19