BATON ROUGE — A group of south Baton Rouge pastors said that the city-parish should not be voting on a motion that would move a portion of the East Baton Rouge Parish Library System’s budget to a general fund for use by police and other programs.

The Prophetic Voices Coalition released a video earlier in the week in response to Mayor-President Sid Edwards’ plan for the library budget, which will go to voters in October if it is put on the ballot by the Metro Council.

The group says that the entire parish should not be voting on a matter that specifically affects the Baton Rouge area.

“This effort directed at the library board should fail also and quickly. It's a miscalculation to ask that the entire parish vote on a matter that concerns Baton Rouge Police Department salaries, while Baton Rouge citizens do not vote for Baker, Zachary, Central or St. George employee salaries,” Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church pastor Fred Jeff Smith said.

They also suggest the Metro Council communicate with agencies before making decisions on their funding.