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WBR Parish President says drainage tax renewal rejection could affect the parish
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WEST BATON ROUGE - Voters rejected a property tax renewal for the city's drainage department during the Mar. 29 election. Its usual millage of 7.2 would have generated $5.9 million for upkeep of the system.
"It's strictly to maintain 700 miles that we have within our parish," West Baton Rouge Parish President Jason Manola said. "It's also a parish-wide millage. We also maintain and do some drainage work in all of our municipalities."
Manola says if the department is not able to get funding, it would have to take money out of the parish's general fund. He says this could lead to the entire parish feeling the effects.
"Our general fund provides roads, drainage and recreation. Any and every service that is a parish-provided service - you wont be able to receive the same level of service," he said.
Due to past support of the millage, the department was able to invest in flood prevention. Manola believes that investment helped protect the parish from major damage during the flood of 2016.
"It's not because we have some type of dome over West Baton Rouge preventing it to rain. It's because of our taxpayers and their support of the drainage millage in the past," he said.
A consolidated sewer system and the second phase of dredging and widening for Bayou Stumpy is in the works, but lack of funding could cause delays for other major projects.
"It's something that's vital to us. Drainage is everything. When a major rain event happens the last thing you want to worry about is your home flooding," Manola said.
Officials plan to propose the same 7.2 mill property tax renewal to the parish council in hopes of getting it on the ballot in November.
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