CADDO PARISH, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – Caddo Parish voters will decide whether to renew several tax millages that affect parish services.
There are four millages on the November 8 ballot related to property taxes that voters will consider renewing. These are not new millages or increased taxes. Three are a renewal of existing millages the other is a bond proposition the parish said relates to the quality of life.
Proposition Three is a millage renewal for detention facilities. It is a 5.52 millage to fund 88% of operations at Caddo Correctional Center. The parish said it is greatly needed to maintain, which struggles with outdated infrastructure. The facility was built in 1995 and houses upwards of 1,500 inmates. It would cost homeowners whose property is valued up to $300,000 – $10.33 per month and adjust based on your home’s value.
For example, if the home is $200,000, then it would cost a home $5.75 per month.
“So this jail is over 20 years old, and every given day, the drains are clogged up. There’s maintenance to be done on the boilers and water heaters. They provide water to over 1,500 people,” Arcadio Miranda, Caddo Correctional Center Facility Manager, said.
Proposition Four is for Public Works for roads, drainage, and garbage disposal. It is a 5.96 property millage that would continue costing homeowners whose home is valued at $200,000 – $6.25 per month.
Proposition Five is for 1.3 property millage for Public Health to continue funding the parish health units, mosquito and rodent control, and animal control facilities.
Proposition Six is a bond initiative to expand and upgrade the Walter B. Jacobs Nature Complex. The park was built in 1975 and can no longer accommodate the volume of visitors they receive.
“We would really like to be able to meet the needs of more citizens and more requests. But currently, we have to turn down a number of those requests because we don’t have the capacity or available staff to accommodate everyone’s request,” Rusty Scarborough, Walter B. Jacobs Park Manager, said.
The bond will build a new, state-of-the-art nature complex dedicated to environmental education and public events. Costing homeowners with 200,000 homes – $1.58 per month. If approved, the nature complex would be the first of its kind in the region.
The parish emphasizes none of these propositions are new taxes but would continue the taxes that are already in place.
