In his latest column, Business Report Publisher Rolfe McCollister says it’s not fair that the BREC Board of Commissioners could boost its coffers later this month by raising property taxes—to the tune of nearly $1 million—without a public vote.
Via a proposed “rolling forward” of the existing 14.218 mill property tax from which BREC benefits, the board will consider increasing the tax to 14.463 mills. BREC officials say the parks and recreation department needs the extra $936,998 million per year that the extra 0.245 of a mill is expected to generate.
“BREC already collects one of the highest property taxes in the parish and is on track to rake in about $52 million this year. However, that amount of money apparently isn’t enough for the folks at the parish’s parks and recreation system,” McCollister writes in his column. “It’s a bit complicated to explain. But because of growth in the parish’s tax base, the millage rate BREC requested and voters approved a few years back to finance BREC’s operations wound up generating more money than BREC sought.”
Millage rates are rolled back, or reduced, to take from property owners only the amount of money requested and approved in an election, McCollister says.
“However, BREC commissioners can vote to ‘roll forward,’ or raise, the millage to the rate that voters approved, which would generate almost $1 million in additional tax money for BREC—or more than the amount you approved,” he writes. “That means you will pay more.”
McCollister notes the BREC board voted against such a “roll forward” move in 2012 when BREC managers pushed it, and says they should do the same this time around.
“One of the new BREC commissioners says he favors the tax increase because BREC has been ‘a good steward of its tax revenue,’” he writes. “But is that even the issue here—or is the issue one of raising taxes without the voters’ approval?”
Read the full column, in which McCollister also highlights recent national rankings reflecting Louisiana’s economic strength and he gives his take on a number of bills lawmakers are considering that would affect city judgeships.
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