Henderson outlines plans for tax revenue

Revenue gains from property taxes to the Iberia Parish School Board general fund can be made up to taxpayers by reducing the property taxes dedicated to capital projects, Superintendent Dale Henderson told board members Wednesday.

Henderson and Carl “Jimmy” LeBlanc, director of the business office, presented a plan to the board to keep millage rates the same and increase its revenue to the general fund, based on higher reassessment values for property in Iberia.

The School Board had a chance to ask questions after the presentation.

Henderson and LeBlanc told the School Board that costs for many things have increased over the past two fiscal years. Some of those costs have been for employee salary adjustments, $1,200,000; employee health insurance, $1,400,000; textbooks, $300,000; food costs, which are 15 to 25 percent more; and bus driver operational costs, which as increased “exponentially,” Henderson said.

Next week the School Board will vote on three separate property tax resolutions.

The first vote the School Board will vote on that is required by state law is to lower the 2007 constitutional millage rate of 5.28 to 4.47 and the maintenance/operational tax rate will go down from 7.36 to 6.23 so that the board could at least have the same revenue as last year.

The next resolutions the School Board will vote on is whether to adopt the adjusted millage rates — or roll forward the millage rate — to 2007 rates.

If approved by 10 School Board members next week, the board would see an 18-percent increase in revenue, or  $812,586, in its general fund.

If the School Board passes the tax increase, it will vote whether to lower its bond retirement fund millage rate to reduce that revenue by $812,586, which is an 8 percent reduction to that fund. It would go from $9,985,588 collected in 2007 to $9,173,002 in 2008. Currently the bond retirement millage rate is 23.84. If the lower rate is approved, it would go to 21.9 mills.

“Our bond attorney, Lonnie Bewley assured us if we reduce our millage indebtness to 21.9 we will still be able to meet our financial obligations with our capital projects.”

The plan is revenue neutral, Henderson said, meaning property taxpayers would not pay any more to the school system in 2008 than they paid in 2007.

“Tonight we wanted to provide the School Board information regarding the 2008 millage issue,” Henderson said. “We wanted them to ask questions so they can be educated before they vote next week.”

School Board member Jesse McDonald said he was upset that officials were packaging the millage rates together.

“I am for rolling the millage rates back, but I am not for rolling them back up,” he said. “Next week I will vote not to roll the rates back up.”

School Board member Dan LeBlanc echoed those comments, saying he is getting a lot of calls about the issue.

“I am for rolling back, but I don’t want to roll forward,” he said. “We can operate with that we will get if we roll down and stay there. I think we will be OK if we stay at the rates when we roll down. I think we have an opportunity now to give something back to the people.”

Henderson said the school system will operate with an established budget no matter what the School Board decides to do next week with the millage rates.

An example of living within the school systems means, Henderson said, are variables such as health insurance. For the past three years, the board has absorbed increased costs. If those costs go up when the policy is reviewed later this year, the school system might not be able to absorb the increase a fourth year.

“Whatever the board does, we’re a team, we’ll support it and we’ll live within our means,” Henderson said.