Cameron Police Jury deciding on strategy after ‘in lieu of’ tax for jail, health unit fails

Cameron Parish, La. (KPLC) - Cameron Parish police jurors are deciding what they will do after an “in lieu of” tax proposal failed Tuesday.

Instead of putting a renewal of the jail and courthouse maintenance and health unit taxes on the ballot, they changed the proposal to consolidate the taxes and allow revenues to be used for other purposes too.

The sheriff objected because of the wording. Voters defeated the proposal, with 61 percent voting against it.

Juror Lee Faulk said the jury needs to put it before voters once they all agree on the wording.

“Sit down at the table, work this out. Get everybody united, talking about the same issue, same thing, everybody united. And I think if we do that, we’ll pass a tax,” Faulk said.

The parish administrator told jurors they would have to wait at least six months to put the tax on the ballot again, so October 2023 is likely the soonest it could be voted on.

The tax does not expire until 2024.

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