Parish’s fire, road, health tax renewals pass

Voters decided to renew property taxes that will support the St. Charles Community Health Center, the fire departments and road construction.

Only five percent of the parish’s population turned out to vote.

The proposals asked taxpayers for permission to levy .65 mills to support the health center, 1.58 mills for fire protection and 5.98 mills for road construction.

The amount of mills that residents voted on Saturday is the maximum amount that the Parish Council can choose to levy in 2010. The parish council has the authority to levy either these maximum amounts or roll tax rates back to reflect revenues from the previous year. Currently, the health unit gets .64 mills, road maintenance receives 5.83 mills and 1.54 mills are levied for fire protection.

For the last several years the council has rolled back the millage rate to match the previous year’s revenue.

Voters renewed the 1.58-mill tax that generates about $1.54 million a year for the parish’s nine volunteer fire departments, with 71 percent voting yes. Voters also approved a .65-mill property tax that generates about $640,000 a year and is used to pay down debt and help with building maintenance of the health center in Luling, with 66 percent voting yes.

Lastly, voters approved a 5.96-mill property tax used in acquiring, constructing and maintaining public roads and bridges and getting the necessary equipment to do so.

The tax, which passed with 68 percent voting yes, generates around $5.8 million a year.

The renewed taxes will last for 10 years.