[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish voters approve Sheriff's Office property tax

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish voters approve Sheriff's Office property tax
Print By NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune 
on April 06, 2013 at 10:00 PM

St. Bernard Parish voters approved a 15-mill property tax increase Saturday
for the St. Bernard Sheriff's Office. The Sheriff's Office said it sought
the additional money to keep from having to drastically reduce services and
staffing.

In pushing for the new tax, which the Sheriff's Office said would bring in
around $4.5 million annually, St. Bernard Parish Sheriff Jimmy Pohlmann said
he has worked hard to trim the sheriff's budget since taking office.
Pohlmann said he has cut about $2.5 million in spending, but that the office
still runs at a deficit.

The Sheriff's Office had about $16.6 million in revenue, expenses of nearly
$21 million in 2012. The $2.5 million in cuts brought expenses down to about
$18.5 million, but that still left the Sheriff's Office in a nearly $2
million hole, Pohlmann said.

The sheriff said those cuts include reducing the number of employees by 50.
But, he stressed during his push for the millage's passage that without
additional revenues more drastic cuts in staffing might be required.

The additional money also would allow the office to replace its aging fleet,
among other things, he said. To read more about the tax, click here.

38 of 38 precincts                     %                   Votes
Yes                                            61                   2,390
No                                             39                   1,531