Pine Prairie residents set to vote on expired sales tax

A new sales tax set to appear on the ballot in March for Pine Prairie residents might not be so new after all.
According to Pine Prairie Mayor Quint West, the two percent sales tax is the same tax that has been in place for the last 20 years. This tax is dedicated for the purpose of construction, maintenance and repair of public streets and roadways within the village and was first approved in October 1997.
On the ballot in March the tax will read as a new sales tax due to the fact that it expired on January 1, 2018.
However, the issue with this tax seems to revolve around the fact that even after its expiration, the sales tax commission office continued to collect and distribute the tax to the Village of Pine Prairie.
According to the Mayor the oversight was first recognized when he was reviewing town accounts in an effort to see if the town could afford building a park. Mayor West said, “In my quest for funds to build a park in our community it was discovered that an expired sales tax has continued to be collected by the sales tax commission office for roads in our town.”
The mayor continued, “Upon discovery of this error, we immediately spoke with our village attorney Greg Vidrine, State Senator Eric LaFleur, and members of the sales tax commission to come up with a plan to address this matter.
“Thankfully Senator LaFleur has advised us through this entire process, and I am grateful for his due diligence on seeing to it that this matter is handled properly. He has worked overtime for the citizens of Pine Prairie to remedy this problem and I, along with our council members, appreciate the guidance he has given.”
Sales Tax Commissioner Mike Veillon said although his office has sales tax expiration dates on file, they do not notify municipalities or governing bodies when a tax is near its expiration date or when it has expired. Veillon said, “We keep collecting the tax until we are notified that it has expired.”
The reason Veillon said, is because the commission believes it is the taxing bodies “job to inform us if something changes.”
However, Mayor West said, “I believe there was just some confusion that has led to an unfortunate situation. However, this could have been so much worse, and I am just happy we caught it before it went any further.”
According to Senator LaFleur, within the last four or five years this situation has occurred in other municipalities as well. Those municipalities include, “Merryville, Arcadia, Castor, Gibsland, Rayville, Tangipahoa, Folsom, and some special parish ad valorem taxes in Caddo and East Baton Rouge.”
In these instances, the oversight was corrected, according to Senator LaFleur, in the following manner. “Once the tax collector (varies depending on the parish) realized the error and notified the political entity,” LaFleur said, “they called for election at the first available date.”
Currently, the sales tax is being collected and placed in an account where the money cannot be spent by the town unless the March ballot item is approved by voters.
Since this incident, the sales tax commission has also implemented a new form that will have taxing bodies’ expiration dates written on them so they will have easy access to this information.
In terms of the outcome of this election, Mayor West said, “Our main focus at this point is to see to it that the tax is on the March ballot. It is the same tax we have had for the last 20 years. If passed by Pine Prairie residents we can begin several roadwork projects within our community.”
He continued, “I have faith in the people of Pine Prairie and I know they understand how important this tax is for the survival of this village. So, we need to all come together to pass this in March.
“The residents of Pine Prairie elected me overwhelmingly in 2016, and I am now calling on them to assist us in correcting this matter. I enjoy serving this community and myself and our council have big plans for the future of our town and the people who live here. That is why this is so important. We ask that you help us give you all a better place to live by passing this tax.”
If passed, Pine Prairie is expected to collect approximately $135,000 for an entire year. The tax will last for 10 years.
Early voting for the March 30 election will take place from March 16 to March 23. Those who wish to early vote must do so at the Evangeline Parish Registrar of Voters Office located inside the parish courthouse. For more information on voting, contact the Registrar of Voters Office at (337) 363-5538.