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Started By
Message
After St. Tammany rejects public safety tax 5 times, leaders try a new tack with voters
Posted on 5/13/24 at 9:15 am
Posted on 5/13/24 at 9:15 am
LINK
quote:
In a latest attempt to resolve a long-running budget crunch, St. Tammany Parish will ask voters to free up taxes that it already collects to fund the parish jail and district attorney’s office.
The move follows several failed attempts over the past decade to renew different versions of a tax to fund the parish’s criminal justice systems. Now, rather than ask voters to pay a new tax, Parish President Mike Cooper and the council are proposing to extend the use of an existing sales tax, which currently can only be used for road and drainage improvements.
The measure would allow up to about a fifth of the funds collected through the sales tax, an estimated $15 million a year, to be put toward public safety agencies. Voters will be asked to approve the reallocation on the Nov. 5 ballot, which includes the presidential election.
quote:
Cooper has argued the parish has the funds to adequately fund each government agency. It just can’t access it because the revenue from this sales tax is dedicated to be used only for road and drainage improvements.
It's clear to many residents that there is still room for improvement on road and drainage, and people often appear before the parish council to complain about either traffic congestion or flooding (or both).
Cooper argues that the parish won’t lose the ability to expand roads and improve drainage if this reallocation is approved. By extending the sales tax through the year 2056, the parish could fund infrastructure projects by issuing municipal bonds, which it would repay through future tax revenues.
6
Posted on 5/13/24 at 9:16 am to WPBTiger
This kind of shite is why I had a lot opinion of Kip while he was in office, as he was trying to push Kippyland when the parish wasn’t having it.
When you keep getting told “no” yet you keep pushing for the same thing, people are eventually going to react in a bad way.
When you keep getting told “no” yet you keep pushing for the same thing, people are eventually going to react in a bad way.
Posted on 5/13/24 at 9:19 am to WPBTiger
WTF? They can't take no for an answer.
Posted on 5/13/24 at 9:24 am to WPBTiger
As a resident of St. Slammany, they can kindly stick that proposal where the sun don’t shine. NO MEANS NO
Posted on 5/13/24 at 9:33 am to WPBTiger
When is the last time any municipality or parish/county offered to solve a funding issue by CUTTING spending in other areas?
Are we to believe that all public entities are operating at maximum efficiency with no waste?
Are we to believe that all public entities are operating at maximum efficiency with no waste?
Posted on 5/13/24 at 9:40 am to Bjorn Cyborg
quote:
When is the last time any municipality or parish/county offered to solve a funding issue by CUTTING spending in other areas?
I wish our Federal Government would do this just once.
Posted on 5/13/24 at 10:15 am to WPBTiger
There's gonna be some long faces when this fails *and* they lose their public works slush fund.
Posted on 5/13/24 at 10:18 am to DVA Tailgater
Slush Funds sucks corruption lets face it
Posted on 5/13/24 at 10:26 am to teke184
quote:
When you keep getting told “no” yet you keep pushing for the same thing, people are eventually going to react in a bad way.
Many years ago I floated the idea of trying to regulate legislative bodies pushing legislation that had failed. It's a difficult concept to wrangle.
Posted on 5/13/24 at 10:35 am to WPBTiger
They don't have enough money but they keep building sub-stations all over the parish.
ETA. One of the things that really irks me is when a new Sheriff is elected they have to change uniforms and rebrand all of the vehicles. A huge waste of money IMO.
ETA. One of the things that really irks me is when a new Sheriff is elected they have to change uniforms and rebrand all of the vehicles. A huge waste of money IMO.
This post was edited on 5/13/24 at 10:39 am
Posted on 5/13/24 at 10:42 am to Bjorn Cyborg
quote:
When is the last time any municipality or parish/county offered to solve a funding issue by CUTTING spending in other areas?
Isn't that what they're proposing here? Cutting the roads funding to use for the public safety funding?
ETA: NVM, I see they're "extending" a current tax, which means adding a new tax just by different language.
This post was edited on 5/13/24 at 10:44 am
Posted on 5/13/24 at 10:46 am to imjustafatkid
quote:
Isn't that what they're proposing here? Cutting the roads funding to use for the public safety funding?
The idea is that the Parish collects enough taxes, but a lot of it is dedicated. They have more public works money than they know what to do with. Generally, they save it up until election years, and then divvy it up to the council and parish president to strategically "improve" roads, etc among important constituents, so they get reelected.
They should have done this 10 tries ago (exaggerating). Now, there is so much distrust that it may be too late.
Posted on 5/13/24 at 10:49 am to DVA Tailgater
Nah they're trying to extend a tax beyond when it would expire.
This part is nuts:
Sounds like you peeps in Louisiana need to make this state law go away.
This part is nuts:
quote:
the parish is legally required to first fund the court, the sheriff’s office, the clerk of court, and the district attorney before it can allocate money to other parish expenses — like salaries. The parish may be required to make painful cuts.
Sounds like you peeps in Louisiana need to make this state law go away.
Posted on 5/13/24 at 10:55 am to imjustafatkid
quote:
Sounds like you peeps in Louisiana need to make this state law go away.
Sounds like St Tammany may end up having to cut some bureaucrats.
Posted on 5/13/24 at 10:55 am to imjustafatkid
quote:
Sounds like you peeps in Louisiana need to make this state law go away.
Then how do you propose to fund the justice system? The Parish got used to having the millage money that was for building the justice center, and I guess they never imagined that it would not be renewed. Justice center is built and paid for, so why would the voters vote to renew?
Then you have the aspect of the Parish "crying wolf" since Brister originally tried for the renewal that we would "lose our quality of life." The problem is, the average citizen hasn't seen a change. Business has gone on as usual.
There are a lot of "lifers" in Parish government that have been on a Department Directorship carousel living high on the hog.
Posted on 5/13/24 at 10:57 am to DVA Tailgater
quote:
Then how do you propose to fund the justice system?
Don't know, but courts being in charge of telling your localities that they must fund the courts is a bad system.
Posted on 5/13/24 at 11:57 am to imjustafatkid
I can't think of a tax vote that St. Tammany has passed in the last 15 years.
Posted on 5/13/24 at 11:59 am to imjustafatkid
In Slammany, It's not as though the Sherriff and the jail are underfunded and prisoners are breaking out. Randy Smith likes his money....he used to have a deal with the State to house prisoners.
If the money could be truly dedicated to roads and drainage, no problem.....59 needs more work in particular
If the money could be truly dedicated to roads and drainage, no problem.....59 needs more work in particular
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