Since 2004, parish tax revenue has increased by almost $17 million, allowing focus on drainage improvements
From 2004 to 2008, yearly sales and property tax revenue collected by the parish has increased by almost $17 million – from $41.7 million to $58.6 million – which has allowed Parish President V.J. St. Pierre and the Parish Council to take an aggressive approach to upgrading infrastructure.
“We’ve done all we can to budget tax dollars wisely with an emphasis on infrastructure,” St. Pierre said. “The council meetings reflect that with all the construction and engineering contracts on the agenda each month.”
In 2008, more than $20 million was budgeted to public works/wastewater projects. Of that total, $3.6 million went to road projects, $16.9 million was budgeted for drainage and $2 million was set aside for wastewater. An additional $10 million was budgeted for West Bank Hurricane Levee control structures.
Almost half of the road money is targeted for the construction of a paved bicycle and pedestrian path on the levee from Hahnville to Luling, and the extension of the East Bank bike path from West Harding in New Sarpy to Apple Street in Norco.
St. Pierre says that the construction of the West Bank bike path will allow families to spend quality time together on the weekends, stay in shape and enjoy the scenery of the Mississippi River.
As well as giving parish families a place to relax, the parish also wanted to keep them dry, with a majority of the drainage budget spent on improving existing infrastructure. The parish spent $576,416 to replace a collapsing culvert on Maryland Drive and also began making improvements to the Ama, Boutte, Cousins, New Sarpy, Paradis, Schexnayder and Walker pump stations – at a budgeted cost of more than $9 million.
Public works also gave those pump stations some much-needed help by cleaning miles of drainage canals, and St. Pierre said that the parish is looking into getting a blanket permit for canal cleaning instead of acquiring them one at a time, which will save the parish thousands of dollars.
Wastewater, which operates solely on user fees, got a big lift when the council decided to allocate $3.5 million of the general fund for capital outlay, which is defined as equipment, repair work and the construction of new structures. Waterworks got $8 million of the general fund, resulting in the water treatment plant now under construction in New Sarpy. The project, as well as the under-river waterline crossing that was recently opened, will relieve the burden on the parish’s already taxed treatment plants.
But the parish hasn’t just spent money on upgrading and creating infrastructure for public works/wastewater. St. Pierre and the council also turned an eye towards the parish’s many aging ballparks.
The recreation department, which received almost as much in property taxes as the parish did in its general fund, began making various infrastructure upgrades that included the addition of a T-ball field to Dow Field and a new parking lot in Killona. That wasn’t all. New Sarpy also got a newly-painted pavilion, new horseshoe pits and bleacher pads. The East Bank Bridge Park received a new backstop and improvements to outfield fences, while a new batting cage was constructed at the West Bank Bridge Park.
The baseball fields in Boutte, Ama, Killona and Mimosa were also reconditioned.
Though those are just some of the many projects undertaken by the parish, many residents feel like more could be accomplished with $58.6 million. However, that money doesn’t all go to the parish’s general fund or infrastructure.
About half of that figure represents the parish’s operating costs, including maintenance, utilities and salaries. $26.4 million is from property taxes, which is set aside for parish departments such as the recreation department, the library system, road maintenance and mosquito control.
Only $3 million in property taxes in 2008 was put into the parish’s general fund, which is the only money from property taxes that is not dedicated to a specific purpose.
On the other hand, the parish received $32.2 million from sales taxes last year, but more than half of that money is also set aside for specific departments, such as road lighting, drainage and fire protection. Only a third – or just over $11 million – went into the general fund.
But even though the parish’s general fund may not be as large as it seems, the overall money the parish receives from both property and sales taxes has continued to rise over the years, largely due to the effects of Hurricane Katrina.
In 2004, parish taxpayers paid $87 million in property taxes, with $21 million collected by parish government. In 2008, that total was more than $114 million, with a parish government portion of $26 million, a school system portion of $56 million and a Sheriff’s Office portion of $21 million.
Parish sales tax revenue was $20 million in 2004 and jumped to $32 million last year, again due mostly to the effects of Hurricane Katrina since more people were either staying in St. Charles Parish because they couldn’t return home, or making purchases inside the parish because of stores being closed elsewhere.
And as the dollars rise, so do the projects the parish plans to accomplish.
In 2009, the parish has set aside $29.4 million on public works projects and $12 million for the West Bank hurricane protection levee.
“It’s hard to compare what we can do now that we couldn’t have done in 2004 because different administrations have had different priorities,” St. Pierre said. “There have been increases in the price of construction, materials and even employee pay.
“I believe infrastructure, whether large-scale projects like the West Bank Hurricane Protection Levee or smaller-scale work like ditch cleaning, should continue to be this parish’s No. 1 priority. It’s important to use tax dollars effectively in this area now to avoid infrastructure emergencies in the future.”
In the coming weeks, the Guide will publish similar articles on both the school system and the Sheriff’s Office.
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