by Jeff.Cooksey
Property Tax Increase – Do You Approve ?
10:16 pm in legislation, News, Uncategorized by Jeff.Cooksey
The Ouachita Parish Police Jury is proposing a 3.1 mill property tax increase from 9.2 to 12.3 mills for funding of increased operational costs of the Ouachita Correctional Center. Apparently the operational costs of this facility are exceeding the present revenue generated. This proposition will be on the April 30th ballot.
NELTP wishes to provide the Police Jury with some feed back from some of the property owners that will be affected by this tax increase. If you are not familiar with this proposal nor the financial details impacting the revenue deficits of this facilty, please research this issue in order to come to an informed conclusion. The following links are a couple of places to begin:
OCC Millage on Agenda at Tonight’s OPPJ Meeting
Police jury considers property tax increase to fund correctional center
Sheriff cracks down on costs
To cast your vote to approve or disapprove of this tax increase click here
Enter your informed comments in the box to the right and indicate your approval (thumbs up) or disapproval (thumbs down) by clicking beside “Your Vote” to make a selection. Click on the “Post Comment and Vote” button when you are finshed.
NELTP wishes to provide the Police Jury with some feed back from some of the property owners that will be affected by this tax increase. If you are not familiar with this proposal nor the financial details impacting the revenue deficits of this facilty, please research this issue in order to come to an informed conclusion. The following links are a couple of places to begin:
OCC Millage on Agenda at Tonight’s OPPJ Meeting
Police jury considers property tax increase to fund correctional center
Sheriff cracks down on costs
To cast your vote to approve or disapprove of this tax increase click here
Enter your informed comments in the box to the right and indicate your approval (thumbs up) or disapproval (thumbs down) by clicking beside “Your Vote” to make a selection. Click on the “Post Comment and Vote” button when you are finshed.
NOTE: You must be logged-in with your user name and password to comment and vote (you will not see the vote selection nor comment box). To log-in click here. Then return here to make a comment and cast your vote.
I just returned home from the Tax Rally at the W. Monroe conventon center and I must say that I was really disappointed. I invited a friend to come and I assured him that we were gathered there to voice our opinions against more taxes. Well, all we heard was the same info that we here on Fox News everyday. No objections whatsoever about the upcoming tax elections. WAKE UP folks ! Why are we members of the TEA PARTY ? I really doubt that I will be back, and as for my guest, I know he won't ! Charles Many
CUT expenses or use inmate labor more effectively
I am somewhat uncertain about a yes or no to this issue. An easy soulition is always to just raise taxes. Question is will we even have enough police to patrol the streets with a proposed cut in their pay. Seems like all the government officals should be required to experience an equal decrease in their pay and therefor lead by example. There must be another soulition besides additional taxes. Lets follow the Arizona lead and put the inmates in un-air conditioned open Army tents to reduce costs. It is afterall supposed to be a punishment for the crime. Guess I vote NO.
Looking at this strictly from a standpoint of an additional tax the answer from me is a resounding...HELL NO!!! What benefit is it to the community to house them in that neighborhood? What degree of threat does it impose on the neighborhood in question? Are they being asked to do anything in return to defray any of the expenses or will we be asked to bear the entire burden while they watch cable tv? It doesn't matter what the questions are the answers to them will be spun and again we will be left with a new tax that will continue forever with no end in sight. Again, my answer is NO!!!
-70% of budget is personnel. - Personel budget increase from $3.3 to $7.7 million in 10 years. -major cause of increased budget costs are "mandated" increased pension costs. - 283 of 931 prisoners (30%), caused by slow court system ie increase in pre-trial detainees. - The Fire Marshall shuts down prison tents. Where is the taxpayer's "mandated" prosperity? In my business we are doing twice the work with the same employee's, ie have cut our personel budget in half. Salaries and retirement have been slashed in the private sector as well. It's time for the government to follow suit. We have all had to tighten our belts. Until our Federal government learns the abc's of economics and we achieve economic growth, our local governments are going to have to make do with less. Perhaps if we weren't taxed so heavily at the federal level there would be more available for our local government.
First of all, I vote against any tax increase anymore regardless of what it is intended for. The gov. gets enough of my money. They need to speed it more effectively & be more efficient. Also, they should stop spending it on many of the things it is spent on. Secondly, even if it were a justified need for revenue increase, why should the full burden be on property owners? Anyway, most of the people that this facility processes probably aren't property owners.
It's time to stop treating prisoners better than law abiding citizens. Let Prisons be Prisons , not Holiday Inns !
I'm sick and tired of our politicians thinking that the answer to everything is a new tax or a increase in tax. We're Taxed Enough Already (TEA)! Let them do what I would have to do at my house; turn off the cable, wash their clothes in cold water and ONLY when they need washed, take shorter showers. You know "CUT BACK" on expenses! We have made it way to easy on these people. There is NO incentive for these people to really not want to go there! I think our Police Jury and Sheriff needs to call up Sheriff Joe Arpaio from Arizona and see if he will come teach them a class on how to run a detention center for "CRIMINALS". Wake up Ouachita Parish!
I'm not in favor of this tax. We need to make changes , by getting these people through the courts faster, and freezing salaries and pensions. We got screwed on the v-vehcile tax. I feel that tax should be put back up for another vote as the company did not meet it's promise. The tax should be void.