Almost half of one city's budget could be altered by Saturday's election results. In Jennings, residents will vote on a 1cent sales tax. But, some were concerned that this was a new tax. In fact, Mayor Terry Duhon says it's not. Duhon says the citizens approved the tax back in 1977 and it was put into affect the next year. He says this year, voters will decide whether or not to continue the same tax they've been paying for over 30 years. But, because of legal issues, the city could not put "renewal" on this year's ballot, leading some to think it was a new tax. "We're not asking for a seperate, third penny... we're just asking for the same amount of money that we've been recieving since 1978," Duhon says.
Meantime, officials want residents to know where that money has gone, and why they should "renew" it. "Without that tax, services will be cut to some degree... probably lose a lot of the medical assistants in the city. If I lose more fire fighters it's going to be more difficult to put fires out," Fire Chief Hulin Theriot says. The tax provides 40% of the city's general budget bringing in over $2M every year. If passed, it will be in place for the next 25 years.

Permalink | Play Video | Comments