2009-0308
INTRODUCED BY: DENNIS NUSS, COUNCILMAN, DISTRICT VII
ORDINANCE NO.____________
Title
An ordinance to roll back the Parish Government millage rate by 6.06 mils for tax payers in St. Charles Parish under the jurisdiction of the said governing authority. This reduction in ad valorem property tax rate is to keep total collection of taxes the same as in 2004, to reflect the increased tax collection due to higher assessed property values.
Body
WHEREAS, property tax collection increased from 2004 (pre-Katrina) through 2008 for all taxing authorities in St. Charles Parish as follows:
Assessor $ 354,986.95
Sheriff $ 8,544,967.68
Hospital $ 1,358,442.62
School $14,647,975.26
Parish $ 5,774,856.33
and,
WHEREAS, the Parish President has submitted a proposal on August 3, 2009, to keep millage rates the same or roll forward without any proposal to reduce costs on the expenditure side; and,
WHEREAS, only one tax increase has been voted on by the people of St. Charles Parish since 2004 (for the Sheriff); and,
WHEREAS, there was an unintended windfall due to the reassessment of 2007; and,
WHEREAS, reserve funds for Parish Government and other taxing authorities are high, in some cases exceeding six months of operating expenses to be used for an emergency; and,
WHEREAS, the 2009 tax assessment will result in an undue burden on working families, early retirees, and fixed income residents, creating a windfall for public bodies and squeezing the middle class; and,
WHEREAS, the appraised property values in St. Charles Parish have come down in the past year and the taxing authorities have not adjusted the taxation to reflect the market value of the same, resulting in excessive tax collection; and,
WHEREAS, sales tax collections in the preceding years have increased post-Katrina resulting in a windfall to taxing authorities in the Parish.
THE ST. CHARLES PARISH COUNCIL HEREBY ORDAINS:
SECTION I. The excess funding of all taxing authorities in St. Charles Parish rightfully belongs to the tax payers of today.
SECTION II. The total collection amount for St. Charles Parish Government is to be rolled back to 2004 levels since assessed value of property has increased substantially in the last five years.
SECTION III.
Roll back the following:
(a) General Parochial millage roll back from authorized and levied 3.21 mils to 2.38 mils
(b) Road Lighting District No. 1 millage roll back from authorized and levied 1.45 mils to 1.08 mils
(c) Library Service District No. 1 millage roll back from authorized and levied 4.79 mils to 3.55 mils
(d) Road Maintenance Program millage roll back from authorized and levied 5.83 mils to 4.32 mils
(e) Recreation Program millage roll back from authorized and levied 2.96 mils to 2.20 mils
(f) Mosquito Control Program millage roll back from authorized and levied 1.08 mils to .80 mils
(g) Council on Aging Program millage roll back from authorized and levied .97 mils to .72 mils
(h) Fire Protection millage roll back from authorized and levied 1.54 mils to 1.14 mils
(i) E-911 Telephone System millage roll back from authorized and levied .98 mils to .73 mils
(j) Health Unit (2000) millage roll back from authorized and levied .64 mils to .47 mils
SECTION IV. The total millage reduction is 6.06 mils, amounting to a collection of roughly $21,447,278, which is similar to ad valorem property tax collection of 2004.
SECTION V. The Council requests other taxing authorities of St. Charles Parish examine their expenditure side of the ledger and the fund balance in their reserve accounts, and consider reducing the total tax collection to the level of 2004.
SECTION VI. A copy of this ordinance is to be sent to the Governor, State Senator, and State Representatives asking them to give relief to families and businesses by requesting the Louisiana Tax Commission roll back property millage rates throughout the State.
Vote
The foregoing ordinance having been submitted to a vote, the vote thereon was as follows:
And the ordinance was declared adopted this day of __________, 2009 to become effective five (5) days after publication in the Official Journal.
MILLAGE ROLLBACK 2009 revised
SECRETARY:_________________________________________
DLVD/PARISH PRESIDENT:_____________________________
PPROVED:______________ DISAPPROVED:______________
PARISH PRESIDENT:__________________________________
RETD/SECRETARY:___________________________________
AT:_______________ RECD BY: _________________________