Tax Proposition Passes
BOBBY ARDOIN
St. Landry Now.com Editor
A 50-year, city wide one-cent sales tax reinstatement was approved overwhelmingly by Opelousas voters on Saturday during a special election, according to complete but unofficial returns.
Only 2,046 of the nearly 10,000 registered voters who were eligible turned out to cast ballots.
However, 1,382 or 67.55 percent of those who went to the polls on Saturday or during the early voting period voted “yes,” while 664 voted against reinstating the tax which expired on May 31.
Alderman-at-large Marvin Richard thanked the voters who agreed to reinstate the tax.
“Those who voted for (the tax) showed their love for this city and that they are willing to continue moving the city forward. I think there were enough voters who understood that it was necessary that this tax had to pass,” Richard said during a Saturday night telephone interview.
Richard said the tax proposition vote was not necessarily a mandate for any of the elected city officials or those in administrative positions.
“I think the people understood the difference. This election was an election for the city and not for or against any of those who are elected,” Richard added.
St. Landry Now.com was unable to contact Opelousas Mayor Julius Alsandor for comment on the election outcome.
If the tax had not passed, city auditors and Alsandor said the city would have been positioned to lose approximately $6 million annually in operating budget revenues.
The city administration, members of the Board of Aldermen and municipal employees also made it evident to prospective voters that normal city services were in danger of being severely curtailed if the tax had failed.
Those who were opposed to the tax complained about crumbling sections of infrastructure inside the city and criticized city officials for recent, high water bills and lethargic responses to those complaints.
Alsandor admitted earlier this year that he was primarily responsible for allowing the sales tax to lapse.
St. Landry Now.com has been able to ascertain through sources that the city was contacted in December that the tax was set to expire May 31.
If the city administration had acted in a timely manner, the sources said, city officials would have had enough time to place a renewal proposition on the March 10 ballot.
Allowing the original tax to expire created an emergency electoral time frame that required the city to request the special Saturday election date through state legislation and approval by Gov. Jeff Landry.
