Avoyelles Police Jury puts four road district taxes on Dec. 10 ballot

   On Dec. 10, every voter in Avoyelles Parish will have the opportunity to vote for or against a property tax to provide revenue to construct, improve and maintain streets and roads in their area.

The Avoyelles Parish Police Jury made it official at its Aug. 9 meeting, adopting the legal notice to place the four Road District taxes on the Dec. 10 ballot.

   Police jurors all agreed that the best, easiest and most efficient way to have funded its public works needs would have been with a parishwide tax -- possibly one being a combination of property and sales taxes. They also agreed that after three defeats in a row -- and with a new 1-cent state sales tax imposed by the Legislature and a parishwide 1-cent sales tax election for the Avoyelles Parish School Board already on the Dec. 10 ballot -- a new approach was needed.

  That new approach is four districts, drawn along the 11 ward boundaries. In an effort to spend taxpayers’ dollars closer to those taxpayers, the property tax revenues can only be spent in the road district where they are collected.

   For example, if Road District One’s tax passes, the estimated $814,242 a year the proposed 25-mill tax would generate could only be spent in Ward 2, which includes the City of Marksville. 

In addition to that, it could only be spent on “acquiring, constructing, improving, maintaining and operating public streets, roads, highways and bridges within the district, including ditches and drainage therefor, and acquiring, maintaining and operating machinery and equipment for such purposes, and constructing, operating and maintaining a material equipment center with the district.”

   That means that none of District One’s tax proceeds can be reallocated, “donated” or “loaned” for projects in another road district -- no matter how important that other district’s project might be.

If a road district’s voters reject the proposed property tax,  they cannot rely on the generosity of their fellow-jurors.

  All areas of the parish will continue to share other parishwide funds under the same system now in place. A road district that approves the tax will not be penalized because a road district that rejected its tax “needs the money more.”

   All four road district tax propositions contain the language included in the Road District 1 example. All four taxes would be collected for 10 years before being up for renewal.

   Road District 2, which includes Wards 6, 7,8 and 11 and the municipalities of Simmesport, Plaucheville and Moreauville, is seeking 30 mills, which would generate about $836,665 a year.

Road District 3, which includes Wards 1, 3, 4 and 5 and the municipalities of Mansura and Hessmer, is seeking a 25-mill tax that would provide $808,530 a year. Road District 4 includes Wards 9 and 10 and the municipalities of Bunkie, Evergreen and Cottonport. It is seeking 25 mills which would provide $827,632 a year for the district.

   Each road district will have a road commission made up of the jurors whose election districts include part of the road district and citizens appointed from that district. The commission will determine how the tax is spent, including determining road project priorities and whether the road district will operate on a pay-as-you-go basis or sell bonds to provide more money sooner and repay the bonds over the life of the tax proposition.