Parish assessor’s office won’t adopt millage this year
St. Martinville – Assessed property values in St. Martin Parish rose by about $17.5 million this year, parish assessor Todd Dugas told the St. Martin Parish Council at its meeting this past Tuesday.
That equates to about $1.8 million in property taxes going to the parish, Dugas said.
“This year it’s going to be only about $70,000 because our office elected not to adopt a millage this year and not collect any taxes for the assessor’s office this year,” Dugas said. “Our budget was good and we decided not to do anything and save the taxpayers a little bit of money.”
The majority of the increases were to personal property including inventory, which rose in value by about $10 million this year. Residential and commercial building values also rose.
“I think the outlook for the parish is pretty good into the future,” Dugas said. “We’ve got building going on all over the place and I think it’s going to continue to grow.”
Parish President Pete Delcambre commended the assessor’s office for not going up on the millages.
Dugas said there is a bill being considered in the state legislature that would allow parishes to protect their millage rates. The state constitution currently states that if a local taxing authority does not levy up to its maximum voter-approved millage rate during a reassessment cycle, it permanently loses the ability to raise it back to that maximum later without a new vote. The bill would allow local agencies to keep/retain their maximum voterapproved millage rate authority without being forced to execute a “roll forward” or lose that tax capacity prematurely.
The council later voted to assent with the recommendations of the assessor.
KPC Council honored Saint Francis of Assissi Council No. 49 of the Knights of Peter Claver in Breaux Bridge was recognized and congratulated on its 100th anniversary.
The council, established in 1926, was commended for its 100 years of service to the church and the community
Values
In other business
The council acknowledged receipt of the 2027 Sinking Fund and Operating and Maintenance Budgets and the parish Capital Outlay Budget.
The council passed a resolution to submit the State Capital Outlay Budget Request for 2027-28, amending the for funding for a helipad to include the words “in Lower St. Martin Parish” but otherwise submitting the requests as had been decided on at the committee meetings two weeks earlier.
The council also approved a resolution to the Department of Transportation and Development indicating highway construction priorities for 2027-28.
A change order for the St. Martin Parish Pre-Positioned Disaster Debris Removal Contract with Celes Environmental Services was approved as well.
The parish president also was authorized to enter into an intergovernmental agreement with the St. Mary Parish Levee District to share costs and obligations for the operation, maintenance, repair, rehabilitation and replacement of the Bayou Chene Flood Protection Structure, repealing an earlier resolution that did not include a 10year term to the agreement.
The board approved appointing Jonathan
(Chris
Louviere to serve on the Acadiana Fairgrounds Commission.
Resolutions authorizing the planning, design, procurement and development of improvement projects at Paul Angelle Park, and the hiring of Maraist and Maraist CPAs to conduct the annual audit also were approved.
Acting as a board of adjustment, the council voted to approve a zoning change for property at 1870 Grand Anse Highway in Breaux Bridge from I-1 Light Industrial to build a single family dwelling.
The council also voted to proceed with an order of condemnation and abatement for property located at 4459 Catahoula Highway in St. Martinville and at 1111 Madeline Heights in Breaux Bridge.
