The Ouachita Parish Police Jury last night adopted a resolution “to use its best efforts” to return tax monies collected for the local portion of V-Vehicle grants if the contribution does not come due. The local portion of the grant money is not due until March of 2010.
Sources tell Lincoln Parish News Online that passage of the property tax is problematic.
The resolution was authored by District A Juror Charles Jackson. The resolution also says no further taxes will be collected if the local contribution does not become due.
The jury also accepted a bank letter of commitment presented at last week’s Police Jury meeting. Parish Attorney Jay Mitchell said that bond attorney Grant Schlueter recommended the Jury make the deal.
More Tax Opposition Surfaces
Another letter to the editor appeared in The (Monroe) News-Star this morning opposing the property tax that will be on ballots October 17. The writer asserts that existing businesses will end up paying the tax.
V-Vehicle Contract Monitor Named
Lincoln Parish News Online has learned the name of the Contract Monitor who will oversee the V-Vehicle project. In response to a public records request, the Louisiana Economic Development Department said that Robert (Bob) Fudickar would serve in that capacity. The Cooperative Endeavor Agreement says the Contract Monitor is charged with the responsibility of reviewing the Company’s compliance with the agreement.
Also revealed in response to the request was that V-Vehicle Company has not invoiced the State of Louisiana for any work so far under Phase I of the CEA. Nor has the state received any documentation from the Company for its obligations toward Phase II of the project.
The public records request was responded to by Leu Anne Greco, Executive Counsel for the LED.
These revelations would tend to belie assertions of progress from the company as Greg Hilburn writes in today’s News-Star.
UPDATE: 5:30 pm
Greg Hilburn making it up out of thin air again.
02/01/2010 at 4:31 am |
[…] supposed to fund the local portion of the obligations made to V-Vehicle for taxpayer grants. LPNO had reported the story last […]
02/23/2010 at 7:37 am |
[…] year Ouachita parish voters approved a 1.8 mil property tax placed on the ballot by the OPPJ. Several days later the Jury passed a resolution that it said would refund the tax if the V-Car project does not […]
03/01/2010 at 5:30 am |
[…] to the company would be refunded if the company failed to meet stated financial objectives. See the LPNO story here and The Ouachita Citizen story […]
03/16/2010 at 6:21 am |
[…] the Ouachita Parish Police Jury will have to be dragged kicking and screaming into doing what it solemnly promised to do last year – refund tax monies collected for V-Vehicle if the project fails to […]
04/05/2010 at 9:23 pm |
[…] to the company would be refunded if the company failed to meet stated financial objectives. See the LPNO story here and The Ouachita Citizen story […]