Council to debate sales tax plan

By KEVIN BLANCHARD
Acadiana bureau
Published: Sep 2, 2006


The unincorporated areas of the parish could see about $54 million in road and drainage projects should they approve a new 1-cent sales tax proposal on the Nov. 7 ballot.

The City-Parish Council is scheduled Tuesday to decide whether to put the measure on the ballot. If approved, sales tax collected in the unincorporated areas of the parish would increase from 8 percent to 9 percent.

That particular sales tax is just one part of a large proposal being driven by City-Parish President Joey Durel — including a proposed new sales tax in the city of Lafayette, and possible similar proposals in Broussard, Carencro, Scott and Youngsville.

The council will also get a look at the feasibility study that describes what could be done with a $54 million bond program paid for with the new revenue.

A majority of the $48.5 million earmarked for roads would be used to extend or widen roads that connect the various city limits — such as North University Avenue, Louisiana Avenue, Verot School Road and Youngsville Highway.

Because many of the roads pass through different jurisdictions, a few of the projects listed in the feasibility study would still have to be complimented with matching funding from municipalities or the state in order to fully complete projects, Chief Administrative Officer Dee Stanley.
But having most of the needed money to complete roads in the rural areas is still a better option than the current situation — where almost no money exists for those projects, Stanley said.

Also included is $5.5 million for drainage projects in rural areas.

City of Lafayette voters, should the council place the measure on the ballot, will be presented with a $450 million, ten-year bond program for city roads.

The council is also scheduled to decide whether to put a 6-mill parishwide property tax for a new courthouse on the ballot.

The administration had initially tried to get agreement among the jurisdictions on a parishwide sales tax, but the smaller municipalities balked at having money collected parishwide being spent solely by the City-Parish Council, with no control from the smaller cities’ councils.

Councilman Lenwood Broussard, who represents a large portion of the unincorporated areas in the western part of the parish, had likened the first city-of-Lafayette-only proposal to “starving” the rural areas of the parish.

This week, after the administration expanded the sales tax proposal to include the rural areas and other municipalities, Broussard said he still has a problem with the proposal.

The administration should have made a parishwide, one-cent sales tax to fund all the needs of the parish — roads, drainage, a new courthouse, new jail, recreation and fire protection, Broussard said.

In Broussard’s proposal, each jurisdiction would keep what’s collected in its area, and first use those proceeds to pay their per-capita share of the improvements to the judicial system.

The chances of voters approving a new property tax for a courthouse are “slim,” Broussard said.

But a sales tax stands a better chance, he said.

Broussard acknowledged that much less could be done with a new penny of sales tax once it was carved up for so many uses, but that it’s the responsibility of the city-parish to look after the needs of the entire parish through unified, not “piecemeal” proposals.

Stanley said he respectfully disagrees with Broussard.

The administration decided to keep the courthouse and infrastructure measures separate because most of the input it’s received supports voters deciding which taxes they support.

Additionally, Broussard’s proposal would put a priority on the courthouse funding and leave the “leftovers” for road projects, Stanley said.
“We don’t believe roads should be given the money that’s leftover. We believe roads should be the priority,” Stanley said.
 
Story originally published in The Advocate

HOME