Three Calcasieu tax renewals on Nov. 8 ballot

Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) - Three parishwide tax renewals are on Calcasieu’s ballot in the Nov. 8 election.

KPLC reached out to the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury for information on the propositions.

All three are renewals of tax propositions that have been on the books for more than 50 years.

The health unit proposition on the ballot was originally approved by voters in 1951, the road and drainage tax was originally approved in 1953, and the juvenile justice services proposition was first approved in 1967.

The 4.06-mill, 10-year road and drainage proposition brings in an estimated $10.8 million per year. Of that, $1 million is diverted annually into a trust fund for road and drainage projects which have received matching funds from the federal, state, or local level.

The money goes toward maintaining more than 1,267 miles of roadways and 144 bridges in the parish, as well as the ditches related to those roads, according to the parish.

The parish says the Road and Drainage Trust Fund funded the following projects in recent years:

• David/Lightner Watershed Drainage Improvements - Town of Iowa
• 2022 Street Rehabilitation Program (Ashley, Brandi, and Tillman Streets) - City of Sulphur
• Buxton Creek Lateral Improvements - Consolidated Gravity Drainage District No. 1 (West Calcasieu)
• Fifth Avenue and Broad Street Lateral Channel Reconstruction - Consolidated Gravity Drainage District No. 2 (East Calcasieu)
• Hayes Street Drainage Improvements - City of DeQuincy
• Lateral W-34/Garfield Street Drainage Improvements - City of Westlake

The tax will cost about $10.15 per year for a residence valued at $100,000 with a homestead exemption.

The Juvenile Justice Services tax brings in an estimated $9.2 million per year, which the parish says goes toward the Juvenile Justice Services Center.

The money collected is used to operate the Juvenile Probation Office and the new Juvenile Detention Center, which can house up to 38 juveniles who require short-term secure placement.

Also, among the services funded through the tax are the parish’s teen court and juvenile drug court, case supervision and management, the truancy center, and counseling services. For more services funded through the tax, click HERE.

The tax will cost an average of $8.72 per year for a home valued at $100,000 with a homestead exemption.

Lastly, the health unit proposition is a 2.48-mill, 10-year property tax, estimated to bring in $6.5 million per year.

The money funds the Calcasieu Parish Health Unit, which has clinics in Lake Charles and Sulphur.

For a list of programs funded by the tax, click HERE.

For a residence valued at $100,000 with a homestead exemption, the average cost per year will be $18.60.

Wondering what a mill is and how it applies to your property taxes?

First off, a mill is one-tenth of one cent.

Tax Assessor Wendy Aguillard gave us an explanation in 2016.

Using the 4.06-mill, road and drainage proposition as an example, let’s say your home is valued at $100,000.

Take your property value, subtract any exemptions: $100,000 - $75,000 (homestead) = $25,000.

The assessed value of your property will be 10 percent : $25,000 x .10 = $2,500.

Now, multiply by the millage rate: $2,500 x 4.06 mills = $10,150.

Divide by 1,000: $10,150 divided by 1,000 = $10.15 per year.

For more on what’s on your ballot and where to vote, click HERE.

For more election news, click HERE.

For a list of items on Calcasieu’s ballot, click HERE.

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