On Tuesday, President Nick Bruno hosted a media roundtable to present “Vision 2031,” a plan to grow ULM and the Ouachita parish through a property millage tax.

Parts of the plan include establishing Ouachita parish as a medical/ research hub, providing scholarships for Ouachita  parish traditional and non-traditional students and expanding doctoral programs like Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy.

The plan also includes upgrading the Fant- Ewing Coliseum to Ouachita Multi-purpose complex for an estimated budget of $32 million.

Renovations to the coliseum would include: building facilities to accommodate sport medicine programs, a full-service community pharmacy, lab for all clinical programs and establishing ADA compliance among others.

The plan also includes enhancing Brown Theater to accommodate larger audience and travelling theater groups.

Decision to add the tax to the fall ballot will be made by the Ouachita Parish Police Jury on Tuesday.

If the tax is approved by the voters, according to “Vision 2031,” property owners would pay $5 a year on an $85,000 home, $63 a year on an $200,000 home or $213 a year on a $500,000 home.

Media outlets were also provided with an infographic that showed the economic value of ULM for the fiscal year of 2017-18.

According to the study conducted by Economic Modelling Specialists International, ULM contributed $566.8 million to the northeast Louisiana economy in fiscal year 2017-18.

One out of 18 jobs in Northeast Louisiana is supported by the activities of ULM and its students as stated in the infographic.

Bruno sent out an email to ULM employees on Thursday at 6:31 p.m. updating them on the status of the proposal.

The email also contained contact information for  Ouachita Parish Police Jurors.

As a state employee, one can express their stance on the proposal but only through their personal email/ social media accounts, personal devices and outside of work hours.

According to an attachment in the email, employees are also encouraged to include, “These are my personal opinions and do not reflect those of the university.”