The Octopus of the Red River has drawn attention from a pair of lawmakers who see a need to bring greater accountability to, if not clip the wings of, it on behalf of Caddo and Bossier Parish citizens.
Since a law a few years ago gave the Port of Caddo-Bossier expanded economic development powers, its nine commissioners have flexed their muscles to exert power over parish residents, such as in bringing deals, that could remain confidential until the bottom lines were signed, within the entire two-parish area that allowed override of local government taxing authority. Citizens have no direct accountability over the Commission, as its members are selected by all of Shreveport (4), Bossier City (2), Caddo Parish (2), and Bossier Parish (1) governing authorities for staggered six-year terms (except for one Shreveport appointee who serves concurrently with the mayor) with the city appointees needing their respective city council confirmations.
Republican state Rep. Danny McCormick wants to change that. His HB 667 would make the commissioner posts elective for four-year terms concurrently with state legislative offices, running in nonpartisan, at-large fashion combined between the parishes.
This certainly would bring direct citizen control over commissioners, and there certainly is a principled case for that. Besides its vast powers over land use in the entirety of both parishes and ability to deprive local governments of tax revenues as a result of deals it can make, it also clips property owners for 2.5 mills of ad valorem taxes annually, worth about $8 million. It doesn’t need it (except perhaps to pay with benefits its executive director Eric England nearly $500,000 annually, the highest-compensated port commission employee in the state by about $100,000 and the highest in any level of government, period, except for a couple of higher education administrators): it last made (fiscal year 2025) about $12 million before depreciation and amortization and still cleared about $2.5 million even backing those out, leaving about $195 million in total assets of which about $40 million is in cash or cash-like instruments.
The Port’s profligacy and hoarding might be checked with elected commissioners directly accountable to the people, and even perhaps lead to cutting its excessive tax levy, but this arrangement also would be unprecedented. Nowhere in Louisiana government is there a special district government (other than school districts) that has elected officials, which the Port and its allies may use as an argument against the bill.
(McCormick, who represents the northern part of Caddo, has somewhat of a fallback position with his HB 502. That bill would give oversight to Caddo Parish entities over any Port deal that would deprive them of property taxes, handing them a veto power. As well, he is pursuing HB 713 that would limit Caddo-Bossier port directors’ compensation to the average of the top ten state port directors’ compensation, which would give England’s remuneration a big haircut.)
Another effort takes a more conventional, if uncommon and somewhat compensatory, tactic to rein in Port autonomy. SB 170 by GOP state Sen. Thomas Pressly, whose district is in Caddo Parish, would give the Senate confirmation power over all members and mandate that the selected members have expertise in economic development, transportation, logistics, or commercial real estate.
Unlike McCormick’s bills which still sit in committee, Pressly’s has made its way out and is scheduled for floor debate. That didn’t come without complaints from Shreveport city councilors, who confirm the mayoral appointees, whining that it denigrated the city’s role.
But it’s not unprecedented. For example, the Greater Krotz Springs Port Commission has members appointed from various cities within and by St. Landry Parish, all subject to Senate confirmation.
However, whether this will bring any significantly greater public accountability seems unlikely. When local appointments are made, the Senate usually defers to area senators, granting them essentially a veto power (sometimes exercised, as a Bossier Parish example from 2024 shows). Under this arrangement, maybe the Port Commission becomes more accountable to four senators, but then it’s a quite a leap to have the public gain greater control over the panel.
Note that Pressly authored the 2021 act that multiplied the Port’s power and footprint, so maybe this is belated and diluted atonement for that. Still, it’s better than nothing if special interests can defeat McCormick’s version, perhaps in doing so taking advantage of the outlier condition its success wherein would place the Port’s selection process. But that seems unlikely to deter in any meaningful way the Octopus of the Red River from heading down a path, if it so chooses, that in its growing even more powerful encourages increased detachment from the interests of Caddo and Bossier publics.
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