Early Tax Voting Complete
BOBBY ARDOIN
St. Landry Now.com Editor
Just over 600 ballots were cast last week as early voting in connection with the Opelousas city special sales tax election concluded on Saturday.
St. Landry Parish Registrar of Voters Byron Stelly indicated during a Monday telephone interview that 614 people voted during the early voting period.
A breakdown for the early ballots shows that 374 voted in person while another 240 mail-in votes were counted.
Stelly said there are 9,943 registered individuals who are eligible to vote this Saturday in the election that determines whether the city will be able to reinstate the sales tax, which expired May 31 without any action by the city administration or Board of Aldermen.
City officials have said the tax annually generates about $6 million annually in operating budget funding used for municipal salaries and departmental expenses.
Failure to reinstate the tax for another 50 years, according to city officials, will result in substantial citywide budget cuts and reduction of services.
Mayor Julius Alsandor gave no explanation for allowing the current tax to expire.
However Alsandor in a public message and during two Board of Aldermen meetings, took responsibility for the tax expiration.
During regular meetings since May, members of the Board of Aldermen have stated they had no idea the tax was scheduled to expire, despite expiration warnings that are contained in annual city audits, which the Board approved.
Each member of the Board is provided with a copy of the city audit.
Stelly said he had no specific expectations about the number of early voters.
Based on social media interest, Stelly added that he anticipated a larger turnout of early voters.
