Tax Decision Moves Forward
BOBBY ARDOIN
St. Landry Now.com Editor
Now it’s up to the voters.
The Opelousas Board of Aldermen approved a resolution on Thursday night which allows the city to proceed with an Aug.16 special election that decides whether the city can collect a 1-cent sales tax for another 50 years.
Five of the six elected members on the Board voted to hold the election.
District B alderwoman Delita Broussard voted “no.” During a public hearing, Broussard said her vote against was based on the sentiments of her constituents.
The current 1-cent tax is scheduled to expire May 31. The expiration of the current tax requires the Board to take action on applying to the State Bond Commission in order to hold a new election and collect the same amount of sales tax.
If the tax proposition receives voters’ consent, it becomes effective Oct. 1, said City Attorney Travis Broussard.
Mayor Julius Alsandor prefaced the meeting by taking responsibility for letting the current tax expire.
“I’m the CEO and the mayor, so that goes on my shoulders. That’s on me,” said Alsandor.
At the end of the meeting, Alsandor made a commitment that he and city employees will “do better.”
Alsandor also alluded to the importance of passing the tax.
“If you think we have an uphill battle now, you can just imagine what will happen (if the tax fails.”)
The 90-minute meeting allowed those attending the meeting and members of the Board to provide comments.
Board members Marvin Richard, John Guilbeaux, Sherrell Roberts and Chasity Davis-Warren all spoke at length about the necessity of passing the tax.
Richard, Guilbeaux, Roberts and Davis-Warren each emphasized that the city is already struggling financially. Failure to pass the tax in two months will deny the city nearly $6 million of existing revenue and cut into the wages of city workers, all four of the board members said.
Davis-Warren said the tax election should not be confused with holding her and other city officials accountable.
“We (the Board of Aldermen and mayor) have our election next year. Even if you have a new mayor, do you want that mayor to go into office without about one-third of the budget?” Davis-Warren asked.
Richard said it’s obvious that the city has infrastructure problems. However Richard said those difficulties shouldn’t be a reason to vote against the tax.
Derrick Comeaux and Rachel Reed, who also addressed the meeting, said individuals opposed to the tax are skeptical about where the tax proceeds will be directed.
Reed said there is about $211,000 of COVID revenue that the city still hasn’t used to make repairs at the city library.
Alsandor said the library improvement money is already part of the city budget.
Comeaux said he and other voters feel the city should use the tax revenue with some accountability.
“I’m not against (the tax). I want responsibility,” said Comeaux, who added that he has met individually with elected city officials and explained the municipal budget to some of them.
Paul Gennusso said it is necessary to hire a city comptroller. Gennusso added that members of the Board of Aldermen have asked the city administration to hire a financial administrator,but that hasn’t been done.
