Taxes – Confusion – Chaos

The Union Parish Police Jury (UPPJ) met last evening with vocal citizens expressing their anger and concern over the recent increase in taxes caused by the reassessment which the UPPJ imposed in August of this year.

The gathering was much larger than the normally small group attending most meetings. There was standing room only with extra security and overflow outside the room. Public participation has dwindled to almost nothing at the UPPJ meetings since it imposed a 3-minute limit per person and 15 minutes in total public comment period. This eliminates most meaningful public participation in government. Also making this meeting different was the decision to not live stream this meeting on Facebook, which is normally done by Chris Strickland, husband of UPPJ Secretary Paula Strickland.

Citizens speaking out were Danny Benoit, owner of two car dealerships in town, Johnny Dollar, Butch Sensley and Steve Auger, local businessmen, Johnny Creed, retired from Louisiana Department of Corrections, Lynn Taylor, local citizen and Lynn Ramsey, a local politically active citizen who attends most public meetings of the UPPJ.

The primary issue was taxes, and confusion, finger pointing, and disagreements ruled the evening. Acting President, Mike Holly threatened Benoit twice with having him removed from the meeting for speaking out.

This jury is deeply divided – and some of them seem confused. The excuses ranged from “the assessor made us do it so it’s his fault”, inflation; taxes haven’t really been raised and the citizens are misinformed and wrong.

Benoit pointed out that these taxes are killing businesses and this parish’s economy. Dollar pointed out that there was no emergency requiring immediate raising of taxes since the current millages do not expire for two more years and he itemized the tax increases that the reassessment the UPPJ adopted actually caused. Sensley pointed out that citizens cannot spend inflation and that there is disparity in spending on roads with Districts 1 and 9 being deprived of work on roads. Taylor pointed out that families are struggling and are suffering financially and need tax relief. Creed pointed out the looming and coming disaster to be expected from problems with the Union Parish Detention Center. Auger pointed out road problems and broken promises of jurors who had been elected this past election cycle.

Holly challenged Dollar saying there was urgency because the current millages expire December 31, 2025, not 2026. Dollar texted the assessor Lance Futch who confirmed during the meeting that Dollar was correct, not Holly.

Dollar pointed out that the assessment value was increased from some $195,000,000 to some $222,000,000 parish wide which according to the assessor results in an additional tax each year of $1,996,000 – call it two million. The immediate implementation of this by the jury this year lets them collect and distribute another $6,000,000 over this year and the next two years. And if the millage renewal set for vote on December 7, 2024, passes, that is another additional $20,000,000 over the following ten years. He also asked the jury to investigate whether the additional revenue for the school system under the blanket reassessment increase was needed since it appears that some $2,800,000.00 per year in taxes go to retiring bonded indebtedness on school construction over the last several years. If those bonds are at a fixed rate, then there would be no need to increase that revenue allocation by the $300,000.00 plus per year increase of funds to that purpose shown under the assessor’s millage recap.

Abercrombie made a motion to amend the agenda so the jury could take up the issue of taxes during the meeting. A roll call vote on that issue was as follows: Moses and Hutto were absent. Pilgreen and Holley voted against. Bridges, Wade, Hobbs, Abercrombie and Ford voted for it.

UPPJ attorney James Buckley informed the jury that a motion to amend the agenda must be unanimous, so the motion to amend failed. Therefore, Pilgreen and Holly were able to prevent the jury from taking that matter up during the meeting, making it clear that they want to keep the increased taxes in place.

What was made clear is that no one is advocating that the jury be completely deprived of road funding. The opposition was to the massive, unexpected increase in taxes flowing from the reassessment which the jury imposed over the objection of Abercrombie and without the input of Ford, who was absent on that vote in August of this year.

Lynn Ramsey then addressed the jury informing them that Juror Russell Wade had refused to let her speak in a committee meeting earlier in the afternoon but later let a man address them – thus, discrimination because she is a woman. Wade denied it and Bridges came to Wades defense, only to have Ramsey ask Abercrombie and Ford, who were witnesses to the event and both of them stated, on the record, that Mrs. Ramsey was correct, that she was rudely treated by Wade and deprived of the opportunity to speak at the public meeting.

So, was there an increase in millages? No.

Was there an increase in taxes? Yes, by $1,996,000 per year – call it two million.

Can it be undone? Maybe, but only if this jury takes it up and reverses or modifies its vote on the reassessment.

What happens if the renewals pass this Saturday? The governing entities will have effectively increased the tax to be paid by property owners in this parish over the next 12 years by some $26,000,000.00.

What happens if the tax renewals are not passed? During the next two years, discussions will be had as to how to come to some sort of compromise on what is a fair tax under the circumstances.

Note: the editor wrote this article in the third person.