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After the Parish Council voted to oppose property tax increases last week, I was hopeful that other taxing bodies were possibly getting the message against rising property taxes. I was wrong.
At a meeting held this Tuesday night, the Fire District 8 Board voted to raise its property tax rates 43% despite opposition from yours truly and other members of the community. One couple in attendance, who had relocated from Plaquemines Parish, commented that the property tax in St. Tammany was higher than their flood insurance in the hurricane prone area that they permanently evacuated from. Now they have to pay both high property tax and as well as flood insurance. If we¶re not careful, they are going to decide to evacuate from St. Tammany.
One of the justifications given for 43% increase was rising costs, particularly fuel costs. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't gasoline prices dropping with the rest of the economy. In addition, the nine mills the board voted to roll up will cost the average area homeowner an additional $150 a year, and again we are talking about the impact of one single rollup from one of the 30 tax bodies in St. Tammany.
Another justification stated for the tax increase was that there were only a handful of people in attendance at the meeting, so that everyone else in the community were apparently fine with the 43% property tax increase. The only way that citizens can stop this steady march of property tax increases is to become involved and contact the board members of the various taxing bodies listed below. If you have any questions, please don¶t hesitate to call my office at 985-624-4492. Please take a few minutes and have your voice heard. Please also forward this message to your friends and neighbors.
Thanks 11/13/08 Fire District 1 Meeting @5:30pm Camp Villere 3478 S Range Rd Slidell, La Commissioners Chief Larry Hess 985.646.4861 Mr. Steve Farris 985.643.5234 Mr. J. Donald O¶Bryan 985.649.6192 Mr. Michael Rich 985.641.7365
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