Tax Increase of 33.5% Led by Mayor Crow

Johnny Dollar

Recently the town administration, led by Mayor Crow, without voter input, approved increasing property owners taxes by 33.5 per cent by voting to apply that factor a year earlier than otherwise would have happened. The Mayor’s phone number, per his Campaign Disclosure Filing, is 318-366-3215. It is small wonder that businesses in Farmerville are closing, unable to meet the cost of higher taxes. The Union Parish Police Jury did the same, both accepting the Assessor’s recommendation without question when they both could have reduced that impact.
On average, this means that if taxes were $1,000 last year in the town, that tax now will be $1,333.50. In the parish, that will be $1,224.00. All without voter approval. This hits those most unable to pay because those taxes are passed down to renters and consumers.
Last week the Gazette reported that the special election being held on December 7, 2024, will ask the voters to – parish wide – renew three taxes totaling $21,503,000 over a ten-year period beginning in 2027. If the taxes are defeated, this leaves time for the governing authority to regroup, perhaps reduce the “ask” and ‘put it to the voters again’,pun unintended.
The three taxes requested seek (for the ten-year term) $8,064,000 for road construction and improvements; another $9,667,000 for road maintenance; and $3,772,000 for operation of the parish library.
Leaving aside the library for the moment, which most agree is very important to our parish, the road and bridges millages raise questions considering how the parish raises and spends this money, where it is spent and when it is spent.
Twenty per cent of the road millages are paid by the property owners within the Town of Farmerville. Under the proposal, property owners within the town would pay $3,467,794.00 of the total $17,731,736.00 “ask”. None of this money is spent on roads within the town, it is all destined for outside the town.
The town does have its own street department, so it assesses a millage on property within the town for, among other things, street repair, maintenance and construction. Farmerville assesses an Alimony Millage of 8.8 mills and a Special Millage of 7.9 mills from which its’ streets are maintained. That is 16.7 mills or $16.70 per thousand dollars of assessments. Thus, within the town, a $100,000 assessed property’s owner will pay $1,670.00 per year in taxes. The property owner outside the town does not pay that tax.
However, currently the property owner in town does pay the parish assessment for roads and bridges, totaling 11.28 mills [5.13+6.15 mills]or $11.28 per thousand of the assessed value. Assessed value is the estimated value times the percentage of assessment for that type of property. That means that, on the above example of a $100,000 assessed value property in town, the owner is required topay another $1,128.00 in taxes, which go to the parish, for its road program. Now, the tax cost alone to this owner for roads and streets is $2798.00 per year, with no benefit for the parish millage which is not being spent within the town on its streets.
Why would citizens of the town support the parish road millage renewal? Likely they will not if they understand this double tax hit.
Another important factor is that this year is a “reassessment year”. The Assessor is required every ten years to reassess the property values. The governing authorities have the option to apply all of the millages to the new – usually higher -assessments for the reassessment year. Both the town and parish voted to do so when they had the option to not do so. This increased taxes by the amount of the increased reassessment applied to the millages.
Parish-wide this resulted in an increase in the reassessment base by 22.4 per cent and a corresponding increase in the taxes.
Within the town of Farmerville it was even more –a 33.5 per cent increase.
This means that for this year, taxpayers saw a dramatic increase in their tax burden, with the money going into the town and parish coffers. This windfall could have been delayed a year but both the town and parish took the money from the taxpayer.
Equally as important is that these millages being sought to be renewed are now applied to an inflated assessment base as compared to the last ten years, so those millages will result in increased tax revenue just by application of the millage to a higher assessment base. In this case33.5% more in town and 22.4% more across the parish.
This is yet another factor to consider on whether these millages should be renewed or defeated – if defeated, the officials will need to reassess the needs of their respective offices and then bargain with the voters on what they ultimately get.
Finally, the question arises as to how the reassessment numbers were determined. This is a function of the Tax Assessor, Lance Futch. Mr. Futch was asked this question by The Gazette and he responded thusly:
“The values are based on sales for the different areas. For new construction we use Marshall and Swift cost files.  Also, Included in the values are the business personal properties. The majority of business personal property is located inside the town of Farmerville and at Foster Farms”. 
Ultimately, it is the elected Tax Assessor who submits his recommendations to the governing authority for approval. The findings are rarely challenged by any elected official. Citizens may file a protest but will rarely prevail and even then, at substantial expenditure of costs opposing the assessor and his counsel and appraisers, paid for by whom? Yes, you the taxpayer.
Controlling assessment determinations is the lifeblood of all public entities dependent on that income.
Union Parish is one of the most heavily taxed parishes in the State of Louisiana.
More next week.
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