Goodness...hasn't Shreveport been down this road before?
Remember all the ballyhoo that Shreveport was the new "Hollywood of the South"?
This false hope/dream/fantasy was as ludicrous as former mayor Cedric Glover's proclamation that Shreveport would become "The Next Great City of the South."
There were valid reasons why the short-lived flurry of movie productions in Shreveport vanished almost as fast as it arrived. It’s called film tax credits and unavailability of production studios south of I-10, especially the latter.
The Louisiana Legislature will meet next month in a special session dedicated to tax reform. All sources report that Louisiana's film production tax credits will be greatly reduced if not eliminated. How this plays out is only a matter of a few weeks.
In today's KSLA's "Morning with the Mayor" broadcast, Shreveport Mayor Tom Arceneaux confirmed that the film tax credit elimination/reduction was a matter of concern to both him and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson. Mayor Arceneaux stated that he would be visiting with the local delegation and the governor on the proposed state tax package.
Arceneaux said that Jackson was very concerned about the possible adverse legislation, and that they have been in discussions with Jackson since the announcement of the special session. Arceneaux said that he did not know what Jackson's plans would be if the film tax credits are eliminated.
It's notable that Jackson has been low profile, as in NO profile, locally since his Humor & Harmony Festival. There has been no meaningful activity on G-Unit Studios nor on the many new real estate purchases by Jackson. Even his wealth advisor Orville Hall has gone underground.
Thank goodness Shreveport's new economic director Bill Sabo, who starts to work on Nov. 1, has stated that his initial emphasis will be on supporting local existing businesses. Sabo believes that small locally owned businesses are important of the economy and chasing economic whales is not the way to move the city's economic engine.
Hopefully, Mayor Tom will pull the proposed lease of Expo Hall/Stageworks to Jackson--even if the tax credits survive the tax session. The City has been wasting time on proper utilization of this facility for way too long and the idea of a cheap lease to Jackson is ludicrous. It’s time to forget the get rich ideas of Jackson's apron strings and get back to sound fiscal planning with a city facility that has been upgraded with substantial public dollars.