On Tuesday, Feb. 27, the Shreveport City Council approved an April ballot to approve a proposed $256 million package of bond projects. The vote was 5-2, with council members James Green and Tabatha Taylor voting "no".
Before the vote most politicos predicted that Grayson Boucher, Jim Taliaferro, and Gary Brooks would support the package. Likewise, it was anticipated that Green and Taylor would oppose an April ballot, much like they have opposed most initiatives by Mayor Arceneaux.
How council president Alan Jackson and council member Ursula Bowman would vote was a question to most observers. Both had acknowledged the need for infrastructure improvements, but the timing of the ballot vote and the composition of the bond packages was subject to conjuncture.
The "yes" votes by Jackson and Bowman confirmed their confidence in the City and in the safeguards that the Arceneaux administration agreed to put into place to ensure the timely and appropriate spending to bond revenues.
The council also passed a companion resolution that included hiring project manager(s) to oversee construction, continuation of existing water and sewer project manager for similar bond projects, quarterly reports by project managers to the council, and development of website with dashboard for citizen monitoring of projects.
The council vote allows Shreveport voters to make the final decisions on the bond proposals: $124 million for streets and drainage projects; $49 million for police, fire, and other public buildings; and $82 million for water and sewer projects. The safeguards that have been put in place are important to voter approval. The council and the administration are to be commended for taking these measures.