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East Baton Rouge Parish voters are once again being asked to consider a library tax proposition. Supporters say critics are missing important context. Critics say taxpayers deserve a closer look at the numbers.
Today, we’re setting aside the rhetoric and opening the documents ourselves. We’ll examine the failed November proposal, the current June proposal, library usage statistics, fund balances, and ten years of financial reports to see what the records actually show.
As always, our goal isn’t to tell you what to think. It’s to show you where the information comes from so you can decide for yourself.
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Behind Every Blade of Grass
There’s a running joke around our office that Citizens for a New Louisiana is hiding behind every blade of grass. We’ve heard stories about government officials reconsidering questionable decisions because they were worried we’d find out. That’s a remarkable return on an investment we never made: "reaping where we did not sow, and gathering where we scattered no seed." But there’s something important in here, too.
Our little flashlight has earned us a reputation for bringing things to light. Now many officials act as if someone is watching, even when there isn't. That’s the real value of our government transparency work. It's more than just exposing wrongdoing after the fact. We've created an environment where public officials think twice.
Of course, we can’t actually be behind every blade of grass. There are thousands of public meetings, countless government transactions, and more questionable decisions than our small team could ever hope to investigate. But with your help, we can keep them wondering.
If you believe government works better when someone is paying attention, please consider supporting our work.
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Library facilities must be a honey hole to move money from this building to ngo ‘s and political pockets?