Avoyelles Police Jury goes ‘all in’ on solid waste tax

Customers of the Paragon Casino aren’t the only gamblers in Marksville. The Avoyelles Parish Police Jury decided to “roll the dice” and go “all in” by adding a new property tax to the renewal of a parishwide 1-cent sales tax on the Dec. 8 ballot.

Police Jury President Charles Jones recommended the risky venture. Some jurors expressed doubts, but in the end the measure was adopted with only one "No" vote. Voters will be asked to renew 3/4-cent for the parishwide solid waste program, 1/4-cent for construction, improvement and maintenance of parish roads, and a new 8-mill property tax for the solid waste program.

The “safe bet” would be to seek renewal now and offer a separate property tax proposition on Dec. 8 or even next year. Jones argued against that approach. “If we just do the renewal, we won’t have enough to cover the contract when it comes up for renewal in three years,” Jones said.

Juror Marsha Wiley did not like the idea of a property tax for the parishwide program, noting that it makes property owners pay more for the same service as non-property owners. She voted against the meaure.

Jones said the parish can’t seek a small sales tax to support the program “because we are at the max. We would have to get legislative approval.”

‘ONE FAILS, IT ALL FALLS’

Keeping the three elements of the tax proposition together is advisable because, “if one fails, it all falls,” he added.

Jones said it is best to seek approval of a tax proposition that meets the needs rather than one that might yield part of the necessary revenue for the program but not enough to pay for everything needed.

If the jury rolls snake eyes and the proposition is defeated, residents could have to find a private hauler to pay to collect and dispose of their garbage.

The parish would have time to put a renewal proposition on the ballot one more time before the tax expires should it be defeated in December. The 1/4-cent dedicated to parish roads is a major source of revenue for that program -- and, as jurors often bemoan, is not enough to do all that is needed. Loss of that revenue would be catastrophic for the road maintenance efforts.

The 3/4-cent for solid waste management pays for parishwide garbage collection and disposal, but also pays for the jury’s trash/debris collection program and other litter abatement efforts.

The majority of jurors accepted his proposal that “we combine all three and let the voters decide up or down on all three at the same time.”

The contract renewal with Waste Connections -- formerly called Progressive Waste Solutions -- increased the annual cost by about $250,000, coming close to taking up the entire 3/4-cent of sales tax.

He said the next renewal will most likely exceed the amount generated by that sales tax.

FUTURE CHANGES

The jury is looking at making changes that would allow the parish to separate the solid waste program into three contracts -- collection, transport to landfill and landfill disposal.

The theory is there would be more competition for the smaller contracts, resulting in an overall lower cost than awarding a ‘one-stop shop” contract.

Jones said there are only a few companies able to provide an all-in-one contract.

Jones said the state Bond Commission had to research whether a new property tax could be combined with the renewal of a sales tax. Like the jury, the commission eventually approved Jones’ request.

“The Bond Commission members said they would recommend against it,” Jones said, “but it is legal to do it that way.”