City-parish officials are calling for a precautionary tax election to reinstate the only property tax dedicated to the Baton Rouge Police Department, as the question over whether the tax is legal plays out in court.
At issue is whether East Baton Rouge Parish citizens should have to vote for the tax, which has been levied since 1949 but was never authorized by a public vote. A judge recently ruled that it is illegal, but city-parish officials are appealing that ruling.
Parish Attorney Lea Anne Batson said in a memo to council members this week that the 0.87-mill “three-platoon tax,” dedicated to police, was originally authorized by the 1921 state constitution.
However, the updated 1974 state constitution didn’t include authorization for the tax—which was also levied in New Orleans, Lake Charles and Shreveport—and instead created a statute for such special property taxes. The next year, lawmakers repealed that law.
While New Orleans retained the authority to levy the tax without a public vote, Lake Charles decided to hold an election in the ‘90s to levy its tax. Shreveport is planning on holding an election next spring and is waiting to see how the Baton Rouge case shakes out.
The Louisiana Legislative Auditor, which is in charge of certifying local property taxes and had been reviewing them in localities throughout the state, told Mayor Sharon Weston Broome’s administration earlier this year it would sign off on the tax for 2017, but not for next year.
“We don’t have a dog in the hunt,” says Jenifer Schaye, general counsel for the Legislative Auditor. “We just can’t certify a tax if we don’t see a statute or constitutional provision.”
City-parish attorneys then filed suit seeking a declaratory judgement from the 19th Judicial District Court, where judge Tim Kelley ruled last month the tax was illegal.
Now Batson says her office is appealing the ruling to the First Circuit Court of Appeals. If the case doesn’t go their way, the tax will fall off the rolls unless voters approve it in April. The Metro Council still has to sign off to allow the tax election to go forward.
The tax—which is the only property tax dedicated solely to BRPD—raises around $1.7 million per year for the department, a fraction of the roughly $90 million yearly police budget. It is expected to raise around $1.8 million next year. The East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office also receives a 4.5% commission for collecting the tax.
—Sam Karlin
