Four tax renewals on ballot July 19

• By DEBRA LEMOINE
• Advocate Florida parishes bureau
• Published: Jul 14, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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A 1-cent sales tax renewal for parish government and a 3-mill property tax renewal for the libraries are the two parishwide measures on the ballot.

The 1-cent sales tax is considered for renewal every four years, and 75 percent of it funds parish road maintenance and improvements and 25 percent of the tax funds other parish services, such as employee salaries, according to the Parish Council resolution authorizing the election. The tax brings in $13 million to $15 million annually for the parish’s $30 million annual budget.

The library tax is a 10-year, 3-mill tax that pays for the operation, maintenance and improvements at the parish’s seven branches, according to a Parish Council resolution. This tax brings in about $1.6 million a year for the library’s $2 million annual budget.

Tangipahoa Parish Gravity Drainage District No. 4, which covers areas inside and surrounding the city limits of Amite, seeks renewal of a 10-year, 2-mill tax, according to a council resolution. The tax brings in about $100,000 a year for the district’s $130,000 annual budget.

Tangipahoa Parish Fire District No. 1 also seeks renewal of a 10-year, 10-mill property tax. The district serves areas from south of La. 10, north of Brickyard Road in Independence, west of the Tangipahoa River, and east of the parish line.

The tax brings in about $285,000 a year for the district’s $900,000 annual budget.

A taxpayer with a home with an assessed value of $100,000 with the state’s homestead exemption would pay $25 a year for the tax.