BATON ROUGE — Four members of the Louisiana Supreme Court on Friday completed a task that thousands of voters began more than a decade ago — forging the state's fifth-largest city in the southeastern corner of East Baton Rouge Parish.

Justices ruled Friday that the effort to incorporate a new city of St. George was valid, despite objections by Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome and others. The Supreme Court said lower courts that had tossed out the results of a 2019 election were wrong on several levels and opted to decide the case on its own. 

"We find legal error, review the matter de novo, reverse the denial of incorporation, and render judgment in favor of the incorporators and electors," the justices said in their 4-3 decision. The court had heard arguments in January.

With the ruling, St. George is soon to become Louisiana's fifth largest city, behind New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Shreveport and Lafayette. At the time of the incorporation vote, it was estimated the new city would have about 86,000 residents. The area has grown in population since the vote 4.5 years ago.

In a dissent, Chief Justice John Weimer said St. George's backers didn't follow the law when they placed the issues before voters and that his colleagues in the majority were using a "procedural ruse" that "achieves a result masquerading as an opinion."

"This dissent is not intended to defy the will of the majority of voters but rather to insure (sic) the law enacted by the legislature is applied as written so voters can cast an informed vote," he wrote. 

St. George would also be the fifth incorporated community in East Baton Rouge Parish, joining Baker, Baton Rouge, Central and Zachary.

Broome said at a news conference Friday afternoon the city's only option was to ask the justices to reconsider their decision. In the meantime, she said, she was obligated to ensure the smoothest transition possible.

"As the mayor-president, I do have a responsibility to thoroughly examine the financial implications of this historic decision and safeguard the vitality of our over-200-year-old city," she said outside her office at City Hall. "In the days ahead, I will proceed to have conversations to determine the best course of action in compliance with the court's final decision."

In October 2019, 54 percent of voters within St. George's boundaries approved creating a new city. Broome and Metro Councilman LaMont Cole sued, claiming that the petition to place the issue on the ballot was flawed, that St. George wouldn't be able to adequately provide services and that the incorporation would harm the parish's tax base.

After an eight-day trial, a special judge rules that the incorporation petition "minimally satisfies" the requirement to create the new city, then found incorporation unreasonable. He also said St. George would open with a $3 million deficit, impacting the availability of municipal services.

It also said the incorporation would cost Baton Rouge about 35 percent of its general fund, "a substantial adverse effect."

The 1st Circuit Court of Appeal largely upheld the ruling, determining that the incorporation petition didn't lay out how St. George would provide services. "Accordingly, the court of appeal affirmed the denial of incorporation without discussing whether incorporation is reasonable," the majority of the justices said Friday.

Broome was removed as a plaintiff early in the process, but as a council member, Cole had standing to sue based on St. George's impact on Baton Rouge. The Supreme Court noted Friday, however, that no one from inside St. George had challenged the incorporation petition.

"Cole neither resides in nor owns property in St. George," the court said. "He did not, and could not, vote in the election. ... Because no one from within the incorporated area objected to it, the court of appeal erred in considering the sufficiency of the petition. Thus, we reverse."

But rather than send the case back to the lower courts, as typically happens, the justices opted to decide the case itself.

"In the interests of judicial efficiency, time-sensitivity and because we have a fully developed record, we review those decisions and render judgment," the justices wrote.

In a question-and-answer session filed as part of its decision, the court said St. George had a unique identity and that its residents had a right to band together, just as businesses asked to be annexed into Baton Rouge as the issue developed. The court also said the outline of potential services to be offered was sufficient for voters to make an informed decision.

"The conclusion that St. George cannot, in all probability, provide its proposed public services within a reasonable period of time is not supported by the record," the justices said.

If the justices leave their decision in place, St. George will be created from unincorporated areas of southeastern East Baton Rouge Parish and does not involve anyone "leaving" Baton Rouge. Broome will remain the top administrative officer of the parish, even for the new community.

"We are all members of this parish — comprising over 450,000 citizens," Broome said. "I am committed to serving the residents of St. George just as I serve the residents of Baker, Central and Zachary." Up for re-election this year, Broome asked the public to keep an "experienced and trusted leadership" in place.

Justice Scott Crichton joined Weimer's dissent and added that his colleagues were wrong to throw out the lower courts and make their own decision directly. 

"There was no 'legal error' at all," he wrote. He said the special judge's decision that St. George "in all probability" could not provide services in a reasonable amount of time was a reasonable observation, and not one that warranted the Supreme Court taking over the case.