After the Parish Council gave it the OK on Monday, voters will decide whether or not disabled veterans will be able to double their homestead exemption to $150,000.
The vote will take place on April 30.
On Nov. 2 of last year, the state passed a constitutional amendment that allows local governments to hold an election to consider increasing homestead exemptions for veterans that have a 100 percent service-related disability.
Parish President V.J. St. Pierre, who himself is a disabled veteran after suffering an injury in Vietnam, proposed the measure. He said it is unclear how much money the parish would lose out on in tax revenue if the measure is passed by voters.
“We tried to put a dollar figure on that so we could tell (the council) how much less in taxes the parish would receive, but they wouldn’t give us the name of the veteran, only numbers,” he said. “Some veterans live in $30,000 houses and some veterans live in $300,000 houses.
“I don’t think it would be that big of a decrease in what the parish receives, but it’s a beautiful way of saying ‘thank you.’”
According to parish officials, there are 66 veterans living in the parish that may meet the criteria.
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