[StBernard] Suit against St. Bernard Parish alleges $32 fee for Fire Department is unconstitutional

[Westley Annis]

Suit against St. Bernard Parish alleges $32 fee for Fire Department is
unconstitutional

Published: Thursday, September 20, 2012, 5:30 PM     Updated: Thursday,
September 20, 2012, 5:36 PM

 By Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, The Times-Picayune 

Peter Rupp, who lost a runoff for a St. Bernard Parish Council seat by 16
votes last fall, filed a suit on Thursday in state court alleging that the
Parish Council's recent passage of a $32 monthly fee for parish residents
should be nullified and its collection prohibited. Last month, the Parish
Council unanimously passed the fee to pay for the parish 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.

Rupp's suit is against both St. Bernard Parish and the Parish Council,
naming Parish President Dave Peralta and all seven councilmen. It says the
fee violates the Louisiana Local Government Budget Act, the Parish Charter,
the Louisiana Constitution, the U.S. Constitution, and various state
statutes.

Initially, Rupp, of Arabi, listed himself as the only petitioner but he
later added the language that the suit also is "on behalf of all others
similarly situated." He filed the suit in the Chalmette courthouse Thursday
afternoon. An initial hearing is set for 9:30 a.m. Sept. 28 in front of
Judge Robert Buckley.

The Parish Council on Tuesday approved a Dec. 8 ballot proposition for a
20-mill tax for fire department services that would be for 10 years and is
anticipated to bring in about $6 million annually. Whether that 20-mill tax
is passed or not, the $32 fee only would last through the remainder of the
year.

The cash-strapped parish government has stated that the Fire Department is
the largest drain on the parish budget, operating at a $5.5 million annual
loss.

The suit is not Rupp's first. Last fall, following his close loss to
incumbent District A Councilman Ray Lauga in the Nov. 19 runoff, Rupp asked
the courts to declare the District A runoff results void and order a new
district election.

Rupp filed a lawsuit alleging that 40 voters should not have been able to
cast ballots because they had homestead exemptions in St. Tammany Parish or
listed residences in St. Bernard that shouldn't qualify as intended
domiciles.

That lawsuit failed in both district court and on appeal.

C 2012 NOLA.com. All rights reserved.