While she’s worked at the Natchitoches Tax Commission Office in several different roles over the past 19 years, it’s a brand new day for Laura Dalme-Jeffcoat as she officially started in her new role as Administrator on Oct. 13.
But it’s a brand new day and Laura is ready to help the Natchitoches community, from the individual taxpayer to the local business community.
Raised in Cloutierville, Laura is fond of Natchitoches Parish. She takes a sense of pride in coming from the same community as former Natchitoches Mayor Joe Sampite and Burl Lee, former Chief of Police for the City of Natchitoches. While she may have left a time or two, the area always draws her back home.
“It’s the sense of community that’s kept me here through the years,” said Laura. “My coworkers encouraged me to apply for the Administrator position. They’ve become part of my family and I’m excited to get to work with them in this new capacity.”
Laura’s two key characteristics in her administration role are compliance and consistency. “I’m a numbers person,” she shared. She took accounting classes during college and then worked at several local legal firms. “Numbers don’t lie.”
In this sense, Laura wants to treat everyone that comes to the Tax Commission equally. The law has to be even handed and applicable to everyone. Think of the office and its resources as another tool in your toolbox when it comes to your taxes.
Former Administrator Jerry McWherter made his plans for retirement known at the Tax Commission a while back. Having worked as an assistant tax collector, an auditor and as assistant administrator, Laura had the opportunity to learn from Jerry and she became more and more interested in the Administrator position as time went on. She was chosen as the acting administrator on Oct. 1 until the board voted to hire her in the new position on Oct. 13.
It’s been a whirlwind transition, but so far Laura’s stayed busy. She’s cleaned the Tax Commission building from top to bottom to put her own personal touch on it. Even though she hasn’t completely unpacked in her new office yet, she’s hit the ground running and wants the Natchitoches community to know that the Tax Commission is here to help with its professional, knowledgeable, and reliable staff.
