St. Tammany Parish is now moving forward with a plan to fund its general fund before it runs out of money.
On Thursday night, the parish council voted unanimously, with two absent, to put a 0.3% sales tax on November’s ballot.
According to a financial plan from PFM Financial advisories, the additional sales tax will give the general fund the $22 million it needs to keep the justice system afloat.
Annie Perkins, Director of the Parish’s finance department, said the parish taxes to fund the justice system expired in 2018. Since then, the parish has been using one-time funds from sources like ARPA (COVID-19 funds) or the Deepwater Horizon settlement to finance the courts, jails, and district attorney’s office.
“2026 was the last time we had any funds available from those one-time sources, and that’s why reductions were necessary in the budget,” Perkins said.
In 2026, the justice system took a 30% reduction in its budget, and if revenue is not found for 2027, the agencies stand a chance of losing another 25-30% of their budget.
“At any given moment, we are dealing with over 200 cases on our dockets; we cannot function unless they are prosecuted for these offenses,” one prosecutor said. “It is imperative we fund our criminal justice system.”
A state audit recently revealed the parish’s budget structure is not balanced.
Edward Seyler from the state auditor’s office said the parish does not have dedicated funds to go towards the general fund, which is causing an imbalance.
Ricardo Callendar, a financial advisor from PFM, revealed that while the parish receives over $400 million in property taxes, only $8 million goes to the general fund. The rest are dedicated to line items like public schools, fire protection, or mosquito abatement.
District Attorney Collin Sims told the community that the parish cannot legally take money from dedicated funding and put it in the general fund.
The council then had Callendar present three options for the community to weigh in on.
Adding a 7.33 mill rate to property taxes, a 0.3% sales tax, or a franchise fee.
Some in the community were not interested in any of the options.
“You’re coming back, sticking your hand in our pocket over and over and over again,” one community member said.
“I caution you in trying to get another sales tax pass when there have been failures,” said another.
While others in the community supported the idea of adding a sales tax.
“We can walk our streets at night, we can take our families downtown, because we have great law enforcement,” said a neighbor in favor of the measure. “If our criminals are not prosecutors, what good is that?”
Ultimately, the board chose to vote to put the 0.3% sales tax measure on the November ballot, which will serve as dedicated funds for the general budget. If it passes, it could cost residents an additional $81 per year.
Parish leaders also intend to find ways to offset the 0.3%; however, those plans have not been revealed at this time.
READ MORE: St. Tammany Parish Council votes to add sales tax measure to November’s ballot
