The Natchitoches City Council held a public meeting before voting to adopt setting forth the adjusted millage rates and adopting rolling forward to millage rates at its meeting Monday night, July 13. This included the Public Safety FAC/SER Fire and Police: 9.69 mills to 2020 Levy of 10 mills and General Alimony: 6.820 mills to 2020 Levy of 7.030 mills.
The agenda item that had the most attention was an appeal to the City Council by a resident of Hwy. 504 to review a decision of the Natchitoches Planning and Zoning Commission at the June 2 meeting that approved the application regarding the 30.561 acre tract of vacant land at 1702 Hwy 504, owned by Kyle Smith, to subdivide the land into separate parcels for commercial development. The land is zoned B-3.
The resident claimed that Smith’s plans for the parcels have changed since his original application to subdivide was approved in 2018 and that putting two car lots with multiple entrances on Hwy. 504 was a safety hazard. City Planning and Zoning Director Shontrell Roque said Smith reapplied to subdivide the land to get the plat recorded and that nothing had changed as far as the overall zoning requirements were concerned.
AGENDA ITEMS:
ORDINANCES – FINAL:
Terminate An Existing Lease With Natchitoches Fair Association, Inc. And To Execute A New Lease In Favor Of Natchitoches Fair Association, Inc. For A Tract Of Land Located In The Natchitoches Fairgrounds
Approve The Lease Of A 0.39 Acre, More Or Less, Tract Of Land In Sections 48 And 137, Township 9 North, Range 7 West, Located On The Southerly Right Of Way Of Old Robeline Road To Emres II Louisiana, LLC, Together With An Option To Purchase Said Property, Which is a Corner Lot Located Adjacent to The Quad Apartments. It Used to be a Substation Location for the City, But is no Longer Being Used
Award The Bid For Building Renovations at 720 Sixth Street to DSW Construction of Natchitoches in the amount of $695,775, less a value engineering deduction of $77,796, making the total base bid $617,979
RESOLUTIONS:
Enter Into A Cooperative Agreement With The Louisiana Department Of Veterans Affairs To Support The Cost To Operate And Maintain The Natchitoches Parish Veterans Service Office.
Execute An Extension Agreement To A Claims Administration Service Contract Entered Into Between Hammerman & Gainer, Inc. And The City Of Natchitoches, Louisiana To Extend The Term For A Period Of Two (2) Years Beginning On July 1, 2020 And Ending On June 30, 2022.
Adopt The Required Plans, Policies, Appointments And Authorization Of Individuals For Compliance With The LCDBG Program.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
The next scheduled City Council meeting will be July 27, 2020.
Isn’t that just a fancy way to raise taxes? The CRWC Is doing the same thing just a couple pages back on this same site. But worded different! Theirs is tax increase hearing.
So rolling it forward still raise taxes? Correct?
lol.Right.
It kinda makes me wonder. You raise millage rates and then at the same meeting denies a person the right to develope commercial property? Does anyone making the decisions Know what commercial property means?
Just to clarify, the city council did not raise the millage rates. Only voters can do that. What they did is the same thing other entities, like the Cane River Waterway Commission, the NRMC, the levee board, and the parish council can do, and that is KEEP the millage rates the same.
Every 4 years the Tax Assessor does an update to property values. If a property was valued at $100,000 four years ago and is now valued at $110,000 that property owner will pay more property tax based on the higher valuation….IF the millage rate remains the same. And that is what the City Council, and the others mentioned have done or could do. “Rolling forward” means allowing the millage rate to remain at 3.0 mills, or 6.5 mills, or whatever it happened to be. THE RESULT is an increase in taxes to be paid, yes. But, because of the increased valuation.
Hope that helps.