BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Since it was unveiled 17 months ago, the proposed city of St. George has steadily shrunk. Big commercial properties such as the Mall of Louisiana and L'Auberge Casino have been annexed one by one into the city of Baton Rouge.

In the process, The Advocate reports the tax base for the would-be city has deteriorated to the point where opponents argue that tax increases are inevitable, an assertion St. George supporters hotly dispute.

If the St. George movement is successful, some parish residents and property owners will pay the city of Baton Rouge for fire, police and other municipal services but pay schools taxes to the new St. George school system.

The first step, a referendum to incorporate St. George, could go to voters as early as May 2.

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Information from: The Advocate, http://theadvocate.com

 

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