CLINTON — East Feliciana Parish voters rejected a 3-mill property tax proposal to raise funds for a new public health unit.

Complete but unofficial returns Saturday showed the proposal lost by a narrow margin.

Parish officials asked the public to approve a 3-mill property tax to raise nearly $1.3 million a year through 2035. Money not needed for the health unit would have been spent on roads and bridges.

The tax question noted that the new proposal would replace one voters approved in 2023. That 3-mill tax was set to expire in 2034 and included using some of the money in the parish general fund. 

Just over 10 percent of the parish's 13,609 voters turned out for the balloting. Among those who voted early, the vote was 298-296 in favor.

After all the votes were counted, the "No" vote held a 756-676 edge, or 53 percent to 47 percent.