The Natchitoches Parish Council approved a resolution at its Dec. 19 meeting to call for a special election to be held on Saturday, April 29 to replace an ad valorem tax of 8 mils (authorized on the March 25, 2017 election) from 2023-2032 with 4 mils for the public library and 4 mils for the highway department. An estimated $1.6 million is reasonably expected at this time to be collected from the levy of each tax for an entire year.
What does this mean for the library? According to Library Director Jessica McGrath, rededicating the 4 mils would cripple the library and immediately halt many of the services and programs it provides to the community on a daily basis. It would undo much of the advancements in library services since the early 2000’s and put the administration in a position of doing the work of going to the voters to increase the millage rate.
“The public has already approved the library’s use of these funds [by voting] in 2007 and again in 2017 and we have done our best to responsibly serve our community as promised,” said McGrath.
The library does have what many consider a budget surplus. There are two reasons for this. First, while it might be uncommon in Natchitoches Parish, many cities and Parishes require departments to have a full year’s budget amount in reserves. This “forward funding,” gives them the ability to pay for the current year’s projects with last year’s money. The library has elected to forward fund its budget thereby avoiding debt and reducing risk, while also not placing any extra burden on taxpayers.
Just in the past two years, this forward funded budget has allowed the library to build a meeting room onto the Northeast Branch and replace the HVAC system and roof at the Main Branch. The next planned expense is replacing the Book and School Mobiles, to better serve the schools and children in the Parish; again, without spending anything beyond what has been saved for that purpose.
“The library laid out a plan to the voters – a plan that has been provided to all of you, all of the public, and made available on our website,” McGrath added. “The most significant and costly features of this plan include branches in the western and southern parts of the Parish. This is the second reason for the budget surplus. Instead of the route of bonded indebtedness, the library made the decision to live within our means over the past 10 years to save money to build both of these branches.”
2021 Operational Costs
Main Branch – $1.8M
Northeast Branch – $200K
Total = $2M
Projected Future Operational Costs (conservative)
Main Branch – $1.8M
Northeast Brach – $200K
West Branch – $200K
South Branch – $200K
Total = $2.4M or 6 mils
“The library should be a bright spot for the Parish Government, not a target,” McGrath concluded.
Agenda items:
First Introduction of proposed Ordinances:
A. Council to approve the Introduction of Ordinance 028-2022 to affect a zoning change from an Industrial-Agricultural (I-A) District to an Industrial-Agricultural (I-A) District with a special exception for a cell tower on a 1.00-acre tract, three (3) guy wire servitudes (0.13 acres each), and an ingress/egress & utility access divided from an approximately 37-acre parent tract (parcel # 0080006400). The property is in Section 26, Township 5 North, Range 7 West with a physical address of 4878 Highway 118, Provencal, LA 71468, as shown on the Survey attached hereto, approved by the Parish Planning Commission on December 05, 2022.
Public Hearings:
A. Council to Adopt Ordinance 025-2022 to add the Sim Foshee Road back into the Parish Road System.
B. Council to Adopt Ordinance 026-2022 to amend the pay scale in the Natchitoches Parish Personnel Manual
C. Council to Adopt Ordinance 027-2022 to begin charging a road permit charge of $50 beginning Jan. 1, 2023, for all road permits in Natchitoches parish.
Action on Proposed Ordinances:
A. Council to Adopt Ordinance 025-2022 to add Sim Foshee Road back into the Parish Road System.
B. Council to Adopt Ordinance 026-2022 to amend the pay scale in the Natchitoches Parish Personnel Manual.
C. Council to Adopt Ordinance 027-2022 to begin charging a road permit charge of $50 beginning Jan. 1, 2023, for all road permits in Natchitoches parish.
Resolutions:
A. Council to adopt a Resolution of Commitment to Required Funding for Capital Outlay Courthouse Security Project
Other Agenda Items:
A. Council to approve the dates changes for the following Holidays: Jan. 16, 2023, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday to Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023 and Feb. 20, 2023, Presidents’ Day to Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023.
B. Approve to authorize the Parish President to engage Ashe Broussard Weinzettle Architects for the Electrical Services Project for necessary and required electrical upgrades to the Courthouse and to allow the Parish to go out to bid for the project. The projected cost is $456,350.
C. Approve to surplus Highway Equipment in order to sell/dispose of the unneeded equipment.
