Baton Rouge Metro Council could nearly double its travel allowance under new law

The Baton Rouge Metro Council’s cap on travel allowances will nearly double in July under a new law passed by the Louisiana Legislature.

Act No. 471, authored by Rep. Barbara Freiberg, R-Baton Rouge, increases the Metro Council’s monthly travel allowance cap from $800 per member to $1,500 starting July 1. The allowance is limited to in-parish travel, and the Metro Council will have to decide on the final allowance amount after holding a public hearing.

The measure became an act Wednesday without Gov. Jeff Landry’s signature.

Mayor Pro Tem Lamont Cole said the council hasn’t seen an allowance increase since 1993, and that council members travel extensively to host community meetings, visit constituents and attend local events across the parish.

East Baton Rouge Parish is 455 square miles in area and the 48th largest parish in the state out of 64, according to the U.S. Census.

“You remember what gas cost in ‘93? I know for certain it was under a dollar,” Cole said. “That in and of itself is worthy of considering a raise on the travel.”

The Metro Council currently budgets $115,200 per year for travel, the maximum amount allotted under the previous law.

Freiberg said she authored the bill at the request of the Metro Council.

“Whether I liked the idea or didn’t like the idea, I thought the important thing was that we give them the opportunity to do with their money what they’d like to do,” Freiberg said.

Frieberg served on the Metro Council and East Baton Rouge Parish School Board prior to being elected to the Legislature. 

Cole sponsored a resolution in April to signal support for the bill, which passed by an 8-1 vote. Three council members, Denise Amoroso, Darryl Hurst and Aaron Moak, were absent from the meeting.

Rowdy Gaudet, the sole dissenter on the measure, said he objected because issues pertaining to council pay were already addressed in his proposed changes for the plan of government slated for the November election, which would remove stipulations on council members’ salaries and allow them to decide their own pay.