Mayor-President Robideaux opposes taxes on Nov. 6 ballot

Claire Taylor | The Daily Advertiser

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Lafayette Mayor-President Joel Robideaux is opposing two parish wide taxes on the Nov. 6 ballot.

The taxes include a 2.94-mill property tax for the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center and a 2-mill property tax for district court operations.

Robideaux announced his opposition during the radio show "Spirit of Politics" on 103.7 The Game Thursday morning.

Asked by The Daily Advertiser to elaborate, Robideaux said he was advised by legal counsel not to do so while on city-parish time and property due to state laws prohibiting use of public funds to support or oppose a candidate or issue.

"It's time our mayor-president become a leader and step up and give the council some solutions," Councilman Jay Castille said. "We need leadership and we don't have it. We're doing it on our own."

Castille and Councilmen Bruce Conque, Kenneth Boudreaux and Kevin Naquin spent more than a year reviewing parish operations and working with a non-government committee to find solutions to dwindling parish funds.

The City-Parish Council was divided on the tax proposals, voting 5-4 in May to place them on the Nov. 6 ballot.

The money the new court tax would generate, Castille said, would bring them back to the level of funding available to the court system before the council started cutting their budget the past few years. That would allow refurbishment of the courtrooms and jury rooms, he said.

The council would be able to stop using parish general fund money to pay for unfunded state mandates for the district courts, Castille said, and allow the parish to use general fund money to improve the courthouse itself, including the exterior and building holding cells for prisoners awaiting court appearances.

Conque said Thursday he continues to support passage of the two taxes.

RELATED: Two property taxes on Nov. 6 ballot

The fund balance from a parish wide courthouse complex tax, he said, has been subsidizing the Lafayette Parish Correctional Center for years, at times by more than $2 million, instead of being used for the courthouse. In a few years, the balance will be gone, leaving a gap in jail funding for operations and maintenance.

Conque said critics who say the jail tax would generate more money than is in the budget are correct. That's because a lack of revenue has forced the council to cut the budget for the jail in recent years, he said, leaving no money for capitol improvements to the jail.

The district court tax, Conque said, would provide more money to cover unfunded state mandates and improve safety measures in courtrooms.

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