BATON ROUGE – After a Wednesday evening vote, rubber-stamping the voter-approved tax to support the EBR Council on Aging, Metro Councilman Matt Watson released a statement dealing with his concerns about the management of the organization.

Watson abstained from voting on the agenda item that approved a November 2016 property tax passed by voters. Governing bodies always have to sign off on elections, usually with little to no fanfare. However, the Council on Aging vote became the center of controversy amid a series of reports about allegations of mismanagement by the agency's director.

Watson said he could not vote against accepting the tax, since it was “the will of the people,” but said he had concerns over the agency's leadership.

He added, though, it was “impossible for me to vote in good conscience” in approving the vote because of his concerns with the agency's directors, so he didn't vote at all Wednesday night.

 The tax is a 2.25 mill property tax for 10 years that would create more than $7 million annually to operate the organization's programs that assist the elderly. Programs that would benefit from the tax are programs such as Meals on Wheels, wellness programs and personal care assistance programs.

The Metro Council did include in its measure moving the tax forward that the city-parish governing body must have oversight of the Council on Aging.  

Read Watson's statement HERE.

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