Police jury explains usage of 2% sales tax

During an Evangeline Parish Police Jury meeting Monday, Juror Sidney Fontenot gave a detailed explanation as to how the parish’s two percent sales tax has been utilized for roads and drainage throughout the parish.
This information was shared a week after a letter to the editor ran in the Ville Platte Gazette questioning where the money is being spent.
“There have been some questions about the building of new roads,” said Fontenot. “And, I think a lot of the public doesn’t realize how this project was set up.”
The police juror for the Basile area continued, “When the second tax call was passed, it was $28.5 million that was bonded to do road work. With the sales tax that comes in each month we are paying off that debt.”
Fontenot further explained the police jury uses that money to pay for work that has already been done.
According to the EPPJ’s secretary-treasurer, Donald Bergeron, the two percent sales tax collection on average this year has brought in $286,000 each month. He also shared the note for the bond and the cost to operate the drainage equipment is $260,000 leaving the jury with an on average cushion of $26,000 a month for roads.
EPPJ Public Works Director Chester Granger, the EPPJ Engineer Ronnie Landreneau and Police Juror Lamar Johnson then shared figures for what it cost to built a road.
According to Johnson, a chip seal road costs approximately $70,000 per mile, while Granger said one mile of soil cement asphalt road cost approximately $120,000. This amount could vary however according to Landreneau who shared the price depends on “if we are cutting 21 feet width or if we are cutting 16 feet width depending on the existing road.”
The limited amount of money left for the jury after paying its note and paying for drainage equipment could become even more limited after Granger shared the state has changed its requirements for rating bridges.
According to Granger, in the past bridge ratings were done for free by the state. However, parish governments will now be required to either hire a private company to do the rating or pay the state $5,000 for each bridge rating.
If the state performs the rating, the money used to pay for the work will come from federal money that is given to the state, which the state then provides to the parishes for bridges.
If the parish hires a firm to do the rating, the money from the two percent sales tax could be used to pay for the work. Therefore, the amount of money left after paying for the jury’s bond and drainage equipment Bergeron said, “The bridge inspection is going to eat it up.”
According to Granger, any time you “structurally mess with the bridge, it has to be rated.”
He also shared the parish has until June 30, 2020 to re-rate all bridges. This task, he said, will cost the jury approximately $65,000.
Look for a story in Sunday’s edition of The Gazette for more information from Monday’s meeting including information on the possibility of an animal shelter opening in Evangeline Parish, the success the jury has had with collecting delinquent sewer bills, and the jury’s discussion regarding the coyote problem in the parish.
Items approved at the meeting:
•Appointment of Jay Gielow to the tourism board replacing Brenda Saucier.
•Appointment of Paula Darbonne to the tourism board.
•Hiring of Doug Deville, who is the current right of way agent for the jury, to fill the newly created position of compliance officer to handle nuisance and blighted property enforcement.