A sales tax proposed by the Lafayette Parish Sheriff will be on the December 8th ballot and a local police association has some concerns about it.
The current tax used to fund LPSO is a one cent tax only collected in the unincorporated areas of the parish.
The proposed sales tax would:
- Be a half cent parish-wide tax
- Food and medication would be excluded from the tax
- Proceeds would go directly to additional law enforcement sources in the parish
- Revenue would also be shared with every law enforcement agency within the parish
About a month ago, the Police Association of Lafayette stated in a Facebook post that it could not support the Sheriff’s proposed tax.
Sheriff Mark Garber says, since the post, he has met with Robideaux to discuss the sales tax.
When News 10 interviewed the association’s president, Scott Rummel, a few weeks ago he said there were just too many questions surrounding the proposed tax. One of those questions was whether sharing revenue was even something that was allowed, legally.
Garber responded, “The same law firm and attorney who does work for the Lafayette Consolidated Government as well as this sheriff’s office that says that I can share revenue from my law enforcement district tax with law enforcement agencies within Lafayette Parish.””
Another concern for Rummel and the Police Association? The terms in which the shared money would be used.
“The question I would have would be, is it just starting pay, is he talking about paying into retirement as well?” asks Rummel.
Garber answered the question by explaining, “For the Lafayette City Police, I’m offering to supplement the salary of each Lafayette police officer who is POST certified, or to fund additional manpower.”
News 10 reached out to Rummel this Monday to see if the group’s stance had changed after hearing Garber’s answers. He says that, while he appreciates more information, the association continues to be reserved about supporting the sales tax until the promise of sharing revenue is official and in writing.
