EXTRA EDITION: Sheriff joins Bossier School Board in raising taxes
'Without further voter approval,' the Sheriff said.
Bossier Parish voters are getting slammed with higher taxes
Following two years of blazing inflation that put American consumers on their heels with higher prices on everything from gas to groceries, Bossier Parish residents face even more pocketbook pain.
A recently announced property tax reassessment has set off a chain of additional tax increases.
What is happening
Bossier Parish Tax Assessor Bobby Edmiston recently announced the first reassessment of property values in eight years because of a COVID freeze on new valuations.
Property values increased in Bossier Parish, so our taxes are higher.
The tax assessor automatically "rolls back" the millages. The concept is: If property values — and taxes — rise, a tax millage collected by governing bodies should be adjusted lower to compensate for the increase so that property owners pay the same amount of taxes.
However, government entities receiving that tax revenue can vote to "roll forward" the millages. That means you pay even more taxes.
The Bossier Parish School Board has announced its intention to roll forward the taxes it collects. That's tax increase number two.
Now, Bossier Parish Sheriff Julian Whittington has also announced his intention to raise taxes. That’s tax increase number three.
Friday afternoon, the Sheriff announced a public hearing to be held on Monday, September 9, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. in the conference room at the Bossier Sheriff’s Office Viking Drive Substation at 2510 Viking Drive.
That meeting is to "consider levying additional or increased millage rates without further voter approval or adopting the adjusted millage rates after reassessment and rolling forward to rates not to exceed the prior year’s maximum."
In the notice, the Sheriff highlighted "without further voter approval."
Notably, Sheriff Whittington used the exact same phrase when describing an $11.5 million building renovation for a crime lab.
"The renovation and expansion of the building is being funded with surplus funds that have been saved for this project since Sheriff Whittington took office," Lt. Gaydos said. "There was not a need for voter approval for this project."
Friday’s tax notice also stated that a subsequent public meeting "will be held immediately following the adjournment of the public hearing to adopt the millage rate(s) discussed in the public hearing."
The Sheriff says the increase will add an additional $2 million annually in revenue for the department, which had net assets exceeding liabilities of $27,409,592 in 2023.
Meanwhile, the next meeting of the Bossier Parish School Board is September 5.
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