LIVINGSTON PARISH PRESIDENT, LAYTON RICKS DISCUSSES THE SUCCESS AND CHALLENGES OF LIVINGSTON PARISH, LOUISIANA
Guest: Livingston Parish President, Layton Ricks, Show #166
On this episode of Legal Lines, Livingston Parish President, Layton Ricks discusses both the success as well as the challenges faced by Livingston Parish, Louisiana. Ricks has been in politics for some time now, holding a variety of positions. He is originally from Kentwood, Louisiana and has been a resident of Denham Springs, Louisiana for over 35 years.
Livingston Parish is one of the fastest growing parishes in the State of Louisiana. The parish has high quality schools, a low crime rate, and wonderful residents. Following Hurricane Katrina in 2006, Livingston experienced a 39% growth rate and has continued to grow ever since. According to projections, the population of Livingston is expected to double over the next 20-25 years. Along with the many positives of growth come many issues for the community.
In this episode, Mr. Ricks discusses some of the issues that the Parish faces. One of the main problems is keeping the infrastructure up to speed with the population growth. Revenue is another difficult issue for the Parish. Livingston simply doesn’t have the industry to share in the tax revenue burden, therefore, the burden mainly falls on the residents; homeowners in particular. Ricks and his team are doing all that can be done from a Parish standpoint. The individual cities in the Parish are facing the same issues and doing the best they can, as well.
Ricks is making a concerted effort to attract business to Livingston Parish. He discusses with Locke Meredith in this episode all that Livingston is doing to move forward with the Parish Master Plan. Recounting the success of bringing Bass Pro into the Parish, Ricks discusses the benefits of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) in getting developments off the ground. He has high hopes for the near-complete preliminary work needed for a major development in Livingston called Juban Crossing.
Layton Ricks discusses a number of other topics with Locke Meredith in this informative episode of Legal Lines.