Bossier City Councilman Chris Smith said the proposed Entertainment Development District was the result of more than a year of discussions about economic development, infrastructure and private investment before he ultimately withdrew the proposal from consideration.

In a lengthy social media post, Smith outlined the history of the proposal, saying the effort began in July 2025 as an idea for creating a more cohesive entertainment destination around Bossier City’s East Bank, Boardwalk, casinos and riverfront.

“This project DID NOT begin with a tax,” Smith wrote. “In fact, when this started, there wasn’t even a plan.”

Smith said the initial concept focused on how existing assets could work together, including casinos, the Boardwalk, East Bank, riverfront, hotels, restaurants, publicly owned property, entertainment venues and highway access.

“There was no EDD proposal,” Smith wrote. “There was no tax proposal. There was no governing board. There was no finished plan.”

During the summer of 2025, Smith said he worked with the Bossier Chamber of Commerce, Metropolitan Planning Commission and other officials to examine potential economic development tools, including incentives, zoning, federal programs, grants, city funding, private investment and public-private partnerships.

In August, Smith said he met with Mike Busada of Butler Snow, an economic development and public finance attorney, to discuss potential financing and development mechanisms.

By October, Smith said the concept had advanced enough to present to then-Chief Administrative Officer Amanda Nottingham. He said Nottingham recommended involving professionals who work in economic development.

Rocky Rockett of the Greater Bossier Economic Development Foundation and Bump Skaggs of the Coordinating & Development Corporation subsequently became heavily involved, Smith said.

Over approximately three months, the group studied economic development mechanisms, other communities, financing, boundaries, incentives, governance and infrastructure needs.

By early 2026, Smith said discussions expanded to casinos, Bass Pro Shops, Boardwalk management, East Bank property owners, restaurants, retailers, developers and small businesses.

The feedback was mixed.

“Some people loved the concept and told us to move forward,” Smith wrote. “Others liked the overall goal but saw problems with specific pieces. Others didn’t like it at all.”

Smith said the proposal was repeatedly modified based on feedback. He said more than 100 individual or small-group conversations took place, businesses within the proposed district were notified by mail three times and three public meetings were held.

The proposed EDD eventually included two districts generally encompassing the East Bank, Boardwalk and casino areas.

Under the proposal, an assessment of up to 2% would have applied to certain food, beverage, retail and entertainment transactions within the district. Smith said it was not a property tax and estimated the district could generate approximately $1.5 million to $1.8 million annually.

Smith said the revenue would have remained within the district for reinvestment rather than being transferred to the city’s General Fund.

Potential uses included public parking, infrastructure, streetscape improvements, beautification, events, marketing, public safety enhancements, entertainment programming and pedestrian improvements.

“The plan included a new tax,” Smith wrote. “I have never tried to hide that.”

Smith acknowledged that the proposal presented a philosophical challenge given his political views.

“And as a Republican and someone who generally believes government should take as little money from people as reasonably possible, that required me to think seriously about whether the policy made sense,” he wrote.

Smith said the theory behind an entertainment development district was that reinvestment could help attract visitors, businesses and private investment, potentially increasing economic activity within the district.

The proposal also envisioned a public-private governing structure involving government, small businesses and the casino industry.

Smith said the governing board would have operated publicly, meetings would have been subject to open meetings requirements and finances would have been audited annually. He said expenditures ultimately would have been visible through the city’s Bossier Checkbook transparency initiative.

On Sept. 1, the City Council considered the first step in the formal process of establishing the district.

Smith emphasized that the vote did not impose a tax.

“The September 1 vote did not impose a tax,” he wrote. “It began the legal process of establishing the district and its boundaries.”

Smith said additional steps would have been required, including another reading of the creation ordinance, separate votes on any proposed tax and finalization of a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement.

However, opposition to the proposal increased following the Sept. 1 vote, Smith said.

He said some business owners organized against the proposal, political opposition intensified and some people who had previously supported the concept became opposed.

“Within a matter of days, it became obvious that the proposal no longer had the support necessary to move forward successfully,” Smith wrote.

Smith said he ultimately chose to withdraw the proposal rather than continue pursuing it without sufficient public and private-sector support.

“I pulled the proposal from the September 22 agenda,” he wrote.

Despite the withdrawal, Smith said he does not believe the underlying concept was wrong.

“I still believe the objective was right,” he wrote.

Smith said he believes Bossier City’s casinos, Boardwalk, Bass Pro Shops, East Bank and riverfront should function as complementary parts of a larger destination rather than as isolated assets.

He also said several economic development initiatives that emerged during the process will continue regardless of the EDD proposal.

Those include the East Bank’s Cultural District designation, efforts related to Opportunity Zone 2.0, B-4 zoning and the city’s ongoing Comprehensive Plan and Unified Development Code rewrite.

Smith said the EDD proposal is no longer moving forward, but he does not believe Bossier should abandon efforts to develop the area.

“Maybe the next idea looks completely different,” he wrote. “Maybe it happens incrementally. Maybe private investment takes the lead. Maybe another funding mechanism emerges.”

He said the process provided lessons about economic development, public-private partnerships, incentives, political pressure, communication and leadership.

“Sometimes saying no to an incentive saves taxpayer money,” Smith wrote. “Sometimes saying no means the investment, and the jobs that come with it, simply goes somewhere else.”

“The responsibility of elected officials is figuring out which is which.”

Smith said he remains supportive of efforts to develop Bossier City’s entertainment district, even though the EDD proposal has ended.

“The EDD as currently written is finished,” he wrote. “The work of making Bossier better isn’t.”

He also thanked officials, economic development organizations, businesses, casinos, property owners, developers, community leaders and residents who participated in the process, as well as those who opposed the proposal.

“I would rather attempt something ambitious, put it in front of the public, have it scrutinized, learn from it and change course than become so afraid of criticism that we stop proposing big ideas altogether,” Smith wrote.

Smith concluded by saying he remains optimistic about the city’s future.

“Bossier’s brightest days are still ahead.”

He also addressed speculation about divisions among council members, saying, “We are a team. We may sometimes disagree but at the end of the day we will prevail together. Because we know that we are better together.”