Central Voters OK Tax Repeal When School Bonds Paid Off

CENTRAL — By a margin of 86-14, Central voters last Saturday approved a plan to reduce sales taxes levied by the Central Community School System by 1/2 cent.

The voters supported a plan offered by the Central school board to correct a defect in the law.

In May 2008, Central voters approved higher property taxes and a 1/2-cent increase in sales taxes to pay for a new $55 million school complex.  The propositions on the ballot provided that the property tax would expire when the bonds were paid off, but they had no such limit on the sales tax.  As a result, the 1/2-cent sales tax would have continued, even after the bonds for the school complex were paid off.

Saturday’s decision by the voters means that the sales tax will end when the bonds are paid.

School board member Willard Easley had pushed for Saturday’s vote.  He said he felt the voters never intended to approve a tax that had no expiration.

“This is about keeping faith with the people,” he said.

The tax limitation measure was approved 3,998 to 675.

Central approved another anti-tax measure by an even larger margin.  Proposition 1 was a proposed amendment to the Louisiana Constitution to prohibit property transfer fees from being levied by the State of Louisiana.  Louisiana does not currently impose such a tax but some other states do.  This measure was designed as a preventative.  It passed in Central 4,484 to 348.

Central helped reelect Chas Roemer to the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.  He carried Central 3,241 to 1,187 — nearly a three-to-one margin.  Roemer seeks fundamental reform of Louisiana’s education system.  His opponent, Donald Songy, was supported by teachers and public education groups.

In the Parish Coroner’s race, Dr. Beau Clark was favored by Central voters 2,722 to 1,934 over incumbent Coroner Dr. Shannon Cooper.  Central provided more than one-third of Clark’s victory margin.