RS 9097.20 - Goodwood Homesites Crime Prevention and Neighborhood Improvement District
A. Creation. There is hereby created within the parish of East Baton Rouge, as more specifically provided in Subsection B of this Section, a body politic and corporate which shall be known as the Goodwood Homesites Crime Prevention and Neighborhood Improvement District, referred to in this Section as the "district". The district shall be a political subdivision of the state as defined in the Constitution of Louisiana.
B. Boundaries. The district shall encompass the area known as Goodwood Homesites, Section 3, Lots 101 through 433; Goodwood Homesites, Lot 11-A of square 11 and Lot 1 of square 12; Goodwood Homesites, Lot M-2, N-1-A, and N-2; and Lots A through H-2-A of the Joe Roppolo Tract.
C. Purpose. The purpose of the district shall be to aid in crime prevention and to add to the security of district residents by providing for an increase in the presence of law enforcement in the district and to serve the needs of the residents of the district by funding beautification and improvements for the overall betterment of the district.
D. Governance. (1) The district shall be governed by a board of eleven commissioners, referred to in this Section as the "board". The board shall be composed as follows:
(a) The president of the Goodwood Homesites Civic Association, Inc., referred to in this Section as the "association", shall be a member.
(b) The board of directors of the association shall appoint two members.
(c) The member of the governing authority of the city of Baton Rouge, parish of East Baton Rouge, whose council district encompasses all or the greater portion of the area of the district shall appoint three members.
(d) The member of the Louisiana House of Representatives whose district encompasses all or the greater portion of the area of the district shall appoint three members.
(e) The assessor for the parish of East Baton Rouge shall appoint two members.
(2) All members of the board shall be residents of the district.
(3)(a) Board members serving pursuant to Subparagraphs (1)(b) through (e) of this Subsection shall serve four-year terms after initial terms as provided in this Subparagraph. Two members shall serve initial terms of one year, two shall serve initial terms of two years, three shall serve initial terms of three years, and three shall serve initial terms of four years, as determined by lot at the first meeting of the board.
(b) The member serving pursuant to Subparagraph (1)(a) of this Subsection shall serve during the term of office as president of the association.
(c) Any vacancy in the membership of the board, occurring either by reason of the expiration of the term for which appointed or by reason of death, resignation, or otherwise, shall be filled in the manner of the original appointment. If the appointing authority responsible for the appointment of a member fails to fill a vacancy within thirty days, the remaining members of the board shall appoint an interim successor to serve until the position is filled by the appointing authority.
(d) Any board member may be removed for cause by a majority vote of the board.
(4) Board members shall be eligible for reappointment.
(5) The board shall elect from its members a chairman, a vice chairman, a secretary, a treasurer, and such other officers as it may deem necessary. The duties of the officers shall be fixed by the bylaws adopted by the board.
(6) The minute books and archives of the district shall be maintained by the secretary of the board. The monies, funds, and accounts of the district shall be in the official custody of the treasurer. The board may hire paid or unpaid administrative support staff.
(7) The board shall adopt such rules and regulations as it deems necessary or advisable for conducting its business affairs. Rules and regulations of the board relative to the notice and conduct of meetings shall conform to the Open Meetings Law. The board shall hold regular meetings as shall be provided for in the bylaws and may hold special meetings at such times and places within the district as may be prescribed in the bylaws. The board shall also be subject to the Public Records Law and the Code of Governmental Ethics.
(8) A majority of the members of the board shall constitute a quorum for the transactions of business. The board shall keep minutes of all meetings and shall make them available through the secretary of the board.
(9) Each member of the board shall have one vote, and the vote of a majority of the members of the board present and voting, a quorum being present, shall be required to decide any question upon which the board takes action.
(10) The members of the board shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for their reasonable out-of-pocket expenses directly related to the governance of the district.
E. Powers and duties. The district, acting through its board, shall have the following powers and duties:
(1) To sue and be sued.
(2) To adopt, use, and alter at will a corporate seal.
(3) To receive and expend funds collected pursuant to Subsection F of this Section and in accordance with a budget adopted as provided by Subsection H of this Section.
(4) To enter into contracts with individuals or entities private or public.
(5) To provide or enhance security patrols in the district, to provide for improved lighting, signage, or matters relating to the safety and security of the district, to provide for the beautification of and improvements for the district, or to provide generally for the overall betterment of all participating districts.
(6) To enter into contracts and agreements with one or more other districts for the joint security, improvement, or betterment of all participating districts.
(7) To provide for such services and make such expenditures as the board deems proper for the upkeep of the district.
(8) To acquire or lease items and supplies which the board deems instrumental to achieving the purposes of the district.
(9) To procure and maintain liability insurance, as deemed necessary by the board, against any personal or legal liability of a board member that may be asserted or incurred based upon his services as a member of the board or that may arise as a result of his actions taken within the scope and discharge of his duties as a member of the board.
(10) To perform or have performed any other function or activity necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of the district or for the overall betterment of the district.
F. Parcel fee. The district, acting through its board, may impose and collect a parcel fee within the district subject to and in accordance with the provisions of this Subsection.
(1) The amount of the fee shall be as provided by duly adopted resolution of the board. The fee shall be a flat fee per parcel of land not to exceed two hundred dollars per year for residential parcels, five hundred dollars per year for commercial parcels, and ninety dollars per year for parcels the owner of which qualifies for and receives a special assessment level of ad valorem taxes as provided in Article VII, Section 18(G)(1) of the Constitution of Louisiana.
(2) The fee shall be imposed on each improved parcel located within the district. For the purposes of this Section, improved parcel is defined as a lot upon which a residence, commercial building, or other structure is situated.
(3) Repealed by Acts 2014, No. 209, §2.
(4) The owner of the parcel shall be responsible for payment of the fee.
(5)(a) The fee shall be imposed only after the question of its imposition has been approved by a majority of the registered voters of the district voting on the proposition at an election held for that purpose in accordance with the Louisiana Election Code. The amount of the fee may be changed by duly adopted resolution of the board, not to exceed the maximum amount authorized in this Subsection. No other election shall be required except as provided by this Paragraph.
(b) The fee shall expire at the time provided in the proposition authorizing the fee. The fee may be renewed if approved by a majority of the registered voters of the district voting on the proposition at an election as provided in Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph. Any election to authorize the renewal of the fee shall be held only at the same time as a regularly scheduled election in the parish of East Baton Rouge. If the fee is renewed, the term of the imposition of the fee shall be as provided in the proposition authorizing such renewal, not to exceed ten years.
(6) The fee shall be collected at the same time and in the same manner as ad valorem taxes on property subject to taxation by the parish of East Baton Rouge are collected.
(7) Any parcel fee which is unpaid shall be added to the tax rolls of the parish of East Baton Rouge and shall be enforced with the same authority and subject to the same penalties and procedures as unpaid ad valorem taxes.
(8)(a) The proceeds of the fee shall be used solely and exclusively for the purpose and benefit of the district.
(b) The sheriff of the parish of East Baton Rouge shall remit to the district all amounts collected not more than sixty days after collection; however, the district may enter into an agreement with the sheriff to authorize the sheriff to retain a collection fee.
G. Additional contributions. The district may solicit and accept additional voluntary contributions and grants to further the purposes of the district.
H. Budget. (1) The board shall adopt an annual budget in accordance with the Local Government Budget Act, R.S. 39:1301 et seq.
(2) The district shall be subject to audit by the legislative auditor pursuant to R.S. 24:513.
I. Miscellaneous. It is the purpose and intent of this Section that any additional security patrols, public or private, any other security or other services or betterments provided by the district shall be supplemental to and not be in lieu of personnel and services to be provided in the district by the state of Louisiana, the city of Baton Rouge, parish of East Baton Rouge, or their departments or agencies or by any other political subdivision of the state.
J. Dissolution. (1) The district may be dissolved without the vote of the registered voters of the district if a majority of the area covered by the district becomes included in another district that serves similar purposes but includes additional parcels of property adjacent to the district, if approved by the affirmative vote of not less than six members of the board. If the district is dissolved in accordance with this Paragraph, the funds of the district that relate to the portion of the district that is included in the new district, together with any other funds collected by the parish of East Baton Rouge pursuant to this Section that relate to such portion of the district, shall be transferred to the new district to be used for purposes of the new district. The remaining portion of funds, if any, shall be transmitted by the board to the parish of East Baton Rouge and such funds shall be used only for law enforcement, security, improvement, and beautification purposes of the area that was formerly within the district but is not included in the new district.
(2) If the district is dissolved pursuant to Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, the authority for the imposition of the parcel fee provided in Subsection F of this Section shall cease.
K. Indemnification and exculpation. (1) The district shall indemnify its officers and board members to the fullest extent permitted by R.S. 12:227, as fully as if the district were a nonprofit corporation governed thereby, and as may be provided in the district's bylaws.
(2) No board member or officer of the district shall be liable to the district or to any individual who resides, owns property, visits, or otherwise conducts business in the district for monetary damages for breach of his duties as a board member or officer, provided that the foregoing provision shall not eliminate or limit the liability of a board member or officer for any of the following:
(a) Acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law.
(b) Any transaction from which he derived an improper personal benefit.
(3) To the fullest extent permitted by R.S. 9:2792 et seq., including R.S. 9:2792.1 through 2792.9, a person serving the district as a board member or officer shall not be individually liable for any act or omission arising out of the performance of his duties.
Acts 2013, No. 143, §1, eff. June 7, 2013; Acts 2014, No. 209, §§1, 2; Acts 2019, No. 63, §1, eff. June 3, 2019.