A resolution appeared, but was deferred, on the Parish Council’s August 21 meeting agenda which would call for an election to levy 15 mills on residents of Pelican Point Golf Community. Already deferred from July, the council had targeted November 15 for the vote which would generate monies toward maintaining infrastructure in the decades’ old subdivision. The PROPOSITION:
Shall Pelican Point Golf Community (#IDD-2024-02) (the “District”) be authorized to levy a tax of fifteen (15) mills on all property subject to taxation within the District (an estimated $544,200.00 reasonably expected at this time to be collected from the levy of the tax for an entire year) (the “Tax”), in perpetuity, beginning with the year 2025, for the purpose of maintaining all public infrastructure including, streets, drainage, bridges and culverts within the District?
The parish is not on the hook for those infrastructure elements, never having taken them into Ascension’s Maintenance System. The proposed tax would, if adopted by voting residents, change that.
Without a dedicated road tax, the Parish Council (the 2014 iteration which included two of the current membership) pushed for legislation creating Road Infrastructure Development Districts. Authored by former State Senator Jody Amedee, Revised Statute 33:4690.13 did just that during the 2014 Regular Session of Louisiana’s Legislature.
Ascension Parish adopted a parallel policy; it would refuse to take new roads into its maintenance system without the imposition of the 15-mill property tax.
In practice, it is not a subdivision’s homeowners who vote the tax into being. It is the decision of a developer who owns the subject property pre-development, i.e. prior to selling residential lots, and there are generally no qualified electors residing in the proposed tax district.
NOTE: Subsequently, Senator Ed Price authored legislation during the 2024 Regular Session that added “other drainage facilities” to infrastructure eligible for funding by the tax revenue generated pursuant to the legislation.
No date was set for the Council to revisit the tax proposition.
Coincidentally, the Council Transportation Committee met prior to the meeting of the full council last on August 21, accepting 2.5 miles of new road into the Parish Maintenance System.
Christy Place Subdivision (Two roads totaling 1,682 ft)
Delaune Estates – First Filing (Five roads totaling 4,661 ft)
Pelican Crossing – 6th Filing (Five roads totaling 3,488 ft)
Windmere Crossing Subdivision (Four roads totaling 3,548 ft)
That makes five miles of new road accepted since the current council took office in January 2024.
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