Lafayette council sets meeting on tax plans
By KEVIN BLANCHARD
Acadiana bureau
Published: Sep 16,
2006
The City-Parish Council is scheduled Tuesday to approve placing a
series of sales tax proposals on the Nov. 7 ballot that, if voter approved,
would be used to fund road and drainage projects throughout the parish.
The council has already placed a 1-cent sales tax increase on the ballot for
city voters.
On Tuesday, the council will tackle similar 1-cent increases for the
unincorporated areas of the parish and the smaller municipalities.
The 1-cent increases would have to be approved by voters in each separate
jurisdiction.
Funds collected in each of the different areas would be spent where they were
collected, but the legal oversight on how to spend the funds would be the
City-Parish Council.
Some of the smaller municipalities have balked at the idea of not having
control over funds collected within their boundaries. To remedy this, the administration has said it will draw up inter
governmental agreements with the smaller municipalities, which would allow those
councils to direct the funds.
The Duson Town Council formally approved the idea at a special meeting
Friday. The councils in Scott, Broussard and Youngsville have not taken
action. The Carencro City Council is scheduled to act on the matter at its meeting
Monday.
It’s not clear whether the City-Parish Council would agree to place a sales
tax measure on the ballot in a municipality that has not agreed to the
proposal.
The administration plans on using sales tax proceeds in the city of Lafayette
and unincorporated areas of the parish to fund about $500 million in bonds to
use for streets and drainage projects.
A maximum of 20 percent of the proceeds of those new 1-cent sales tax could
be used for maintenance and operations.
All areas of Lafayette Parish have an 8 percent sales tax, except for
Youngsville, which stands at 8.5 percent.
The council meets at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in City Hall on University Avenue.
Story originally published in The
Advocate
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