Retired DHH Secretary Kathy Kleibert
The meeting of the Baton Rouge Press Club (BRPC) of Monday, December 3, 2018 entailed proponents of a 1.5 mil property tax to fund a mental health facility in East Baton Rouge Parish stating their case for passage of the tax. The election is on Saturday, December 8, 2018.
Proponent speakers included retired DHH Secretary Kathy Kleibert, DA Hillar Moore, Coroner Dr. William “Beau” Clark, and Baton Rouge Police Chief Murphy Paul. Kleibert touted the facility’s return on investment (ROI) via reduced costs to incarcerate mentally-ill patients or treat them in hospital emergency rooms. However, despite this return on investment, Kleibert stated that state funding, which she indicated previously existed for such a facility, “dried up.”
Upon the Q & A, Sound Off Louisiana founder Robert Burns quizzed Kleibert entailing why a lucrative ROI would be declined by the State of Louisiana as evidenced by her admitting that funding “dried up.” Burns was curious as to why the coalition supporting the tax, which includes DA Hillar Moore (a Democrat), EBRP Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome (a Democrat), and Baker Mayor Darnell Waites (a Democrat) could not impart upon Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards to see fit to fund this facility but instead are having to ask EBRP voters to foot the bill at the local level via the proposed 1.5 mil property tax, which is estimated to generate $6 million a year for the 10 years of the tax’s duration should it pass.
Here’s a brief clip of Kleibert touting the benefits of the center, followed by Burns’ questioning of her:
Kleibert touts proposed facility then responds to Burns’ question of why, given the ROI is so high, the state permitted funding to “dry up.”
CLICK HERE for proponents’ presentation in its entirety.
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