Low voter turnout in the recent Presidential Preference Primary may have indicated voters believed that matter was not important. But voters will decide some important local issues on the Saturday, April 27, ballot when the School Board and Police Jury are asking continued tax support in specific areas.
The School Board is seeking approval of a 9.25-mill parishwide maintenance tax to support school operations throughout the parish. This represents a 1.1-mill increase from the 8.15 mill ad valorem tax that people have been paying for the past 10 years and even that is not enough to catch up with inflation over that decade, officials have stated.
Officials explain that the self-described maintenance tax is used exactly for that purpose, to maintain operations in the parish school system, all manner of things from air conditioning to routine maintenance and supplies.
There will also be a renewal of a 15-mill ad valorem tax for Consolidated District 11 (the Dodson/Sikes area). This question will appear on the ballot for voters in that district only. This renewal has been on the books for 20 years and April 27 will be another 20-year call. This issue brings in about $6 million annually and desired projects include lighting on the baseball and softball field, improved parking and air conditioning improvements.
Police Jury won approval for a half-cent sales tax in 2015 to support their road maintenance efforts. The parish governing body seeks a 10-year renewal of that tax which is set to expire June 30, 2025.
Monies are used to maintain, repair and improve public roads and bridges here. Included have been lease and purchase of equipment (plus its maintenance) and purchase of materials like fuel, gravel, dirt and asphalt, culverts and street signs. Tax revenues from the half cent have grown from $900,000 annually to $1.3 million through those years but so have costs, say officials.
Local residents who wish to take part but are not registered to vote may do so, only online, through this Saturday, April 6. This resource is available through the Secretary of State’s app Geauxvote.
Early voting will be held in the Clerk of Court’s Office in the Courthouse from 8:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. from April 13 through April 20 (except Sunday, April 14).
Absentee ballots may be requested until 4:30 p.m. April 23 and must be turned in by 4:30 p.m. April 26.
Election Day is Saturday, April 27, when traditional polling places will be open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m.