Local citizens gathered Tuesday at the Central Library for “A Citizen’s Guide to ITEP (Industrial Tax Exemption Program) in Calcasieu.” The discussion was led by Broderick Bagert, founder of Together Louisiana, a grass roots social justice organization.

“Mostly, what I do is work with citizens to help them with how to organize — which is something they know because organizing is life.” Bagert said. Spurring true change, he said, requires deliberate actions that “translate into being able to effect decision making on a large scale.”

A diverse group of citizens were present for the meeting, including students, underemployed graduates, business owners and retirees — all with a unified desire to seek answers regarding the region’s economy and the varied effects of the Industrial Tax Exemption Program.

“I watched an area that was beautifully in the marsh, quiet and serene turn into nothing but traffic,” a retired pipefitter said.

“It’s disheartening to no be receiving tax incentives as a business person because I don’t qualify for whatever the case may be,” a local business owner expressed.

“We are a state that loves to shame the poor,” a McNeese State University student said. With a median household average of $43,000 in Calcasieu parish, she said, “We’re literally handing billions of dollars in corporate welfare that could help lift these individuals out of poverty… In my opinion, we don’t have a economic problem. We have a moral problem.”

“I could not find a job in my field despite the fact that there were countless jobs that were hiring for those positions,” a McNeese State University engineering graduate said.

Throughout the course of the evening Bagert gave a brief history and overview of the program ultimately stating that citizen involvement is the key to enacting lasting changes which may address the expressed concerns of the evening. Across the state, Bagert said communities are beginning to clearly define citizen-centric guidelines on which ITEP applications will best serve the community’s interests.

“Whether it’s job requirements or making sure it’s something that is moving in, the goal of citizens is to establish, ‘What do we want our officials to say is the best interest of the state?’” Bagert said.

Once such parameters are defined, he said, “Put that into an ordinance or a resolution and declare it to the hilltops so that everyone knows what the deal is. That’s when they (industry) have certainty.”

Implementing a clearly defined process with citizen voices is much more similar to what industries are used to working with in states like Texas which exempts only $2.4 billion in property taxes annually compared with Louisiana which exempts $80.4 billion from local property tax rolls, according to Bagert.

For more information on future ITEP concerned citizens events and correspondences, email Dr. Alan Hinton at ahintonmd@yahoo.com .