OPPJ to Try East Ouachita Sales Tax Hike Again

The Ouachita Parish Police Jury (OPPJ) will try again to hike the sales tax in Ouachita Parish east of the Ouachita River. The call for a Saturday, April 29 election to increase sales taxes by 1.39% is set for a vote of the jury at tomorrow night’s (Monday, 1/23/17, 5:30 PM) meeting at the Ouachita Parish Court House, second floor.

Shall the East Ouachita Economic Development District (the “District”), be authorized to levy a tax of 1.39% (the “Tax”) for a period of twenty-five (25) years, commencing July 1, 2017, upon the sale at retail, the use, the lease or rental, the consumption, and the storage for use or consumption, of tangible personal property and on sales of services within the Parish as defined by law (an estimated $2,650,000 reasonably expected at this time to be collected from the levy of the Tax for an entire year), with the proceeds of the Tax (after paying costs of collecting the Tax) to be dedicated and used for the purposes of undertaking economic development projects consisting of road, drainage and related infrastructure improvements for the benefit of the District?

Last April, voters defeated the same proposal 701 to 625. A similar tax for the western half of the parish was approved by those voters.

Here is the complete agenda.