[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish Council OKs 3 propositions for December election

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish Council OKs 3 propositions for December election

Published: Tuesday, September 18, 2012, 6:39 PM     Updated: Tuesday,
September 18, 2012, 6:45 PM

 By Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, The Times-Picayune 

The St. Bernard Parish Council on Tuesday approved three propositions for
the Dec. 8 ballot: a 20-mill tax for Fire Department services, a
reallocation of the revenue of the current half-cent sales tax for garbage
services, and a measure to require new parish government employees to live
in the parish. The five councilmen at the meeting unanimously passed the
proposed ballot language. Councilmen Nathan Gorbaty and George Cavignac were
absent.

The 20-mill tax would be for 10 years and would pay "for acquiring,
constructing, maintaining, improving and operating fire protection
facilities and purchasing fire trucks and other firefighting equipment in
St. Bernard Parish." The tax is anticipated to bring in about $6 million
annually.

The largest drain on the parish budget is the fire department, which
operates at a $5.5 million annual loss.

Last month, the Parish Council unanimously passed a $32 monthly fee for
parish residents to pay for the Fire Department's operation from Sept. 1
through the end of the year so that the administration would not have to lay
off fire personnel.

That 20-mill tax would replace the $32 fee and would add about $90 - or
about $7.50 a month - to the annual tax bill of a $120,000 home that
qualifies for a homestead exemption. It would add about $250 a year, or
$20.83 a month, to the tax bill of a $200,000 home.

If the 20 mills are struck down, the $32 fee still only would last through
the remainder of the year.

The second proposition would let the parish shift about $3.7 million now
dedicated to garbage and waste disposal into the general fund. The idea is
that the current half-cent sales tax for garbage and waste disposal could
then be used to help pay for other parish services, besides fire, that are
draining the parish government's general fund balance, such as community
development, recreation, public works, mosquito control or road lighting
expenses.

If the sales tax for garbage and waste is rededicated, the parish might
start charging residents a fee for garbage collection. During various
meetings on proposed taxes, many residents said they'd prefer to pay for a
service they can see and that they can decide whether they want to use.

The third proposition would require all classified and nonclassified parish
government employees to be St. Bernard residents within six months of the
start of their employment. Although not in the ballot language, Councilman
Richie Lewis, who introduced the measure and pushed it forward, has said the
rule would apply only to new hires.

Although Council Chairman Guy McInnis voted in favor of the ballot language
and said the matter should be up to the people to decide, he questioned
whether it would tie the parish's hands by limiting the pool of applicants.
Parish Chief Administrative Officer Jerry Graces said he'd rather the
administration simply continue to hire people based on merit, no matter the
address.

In other business, the council approved a resolution allowing the parish to
take out a $5 million bond that parish Finance Director Beverly B. Gariepy
said is only out of "an abundance of caution" in case sales tax revenue in
the coming months declines further than expected and expenses cannot be cut
any more.

Also during the council meeting, McInnis spearheaded the introduction of an
ordinance that would require the administration to publish all bids for
parish contracts and the eventually executed contracts themselves on the
parish website.

........

Benjamin Alexander-Bloch can be reached at bbloch at timespicayune.com or
504.826.3321.



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