On Saturday, there’s a tax renewal on the ballot for Lafayette’s Department of Parks and Recreation .  It’s not a new tax. It’s merely the same tax that’s been around since 1916.

Director Gerald Boudreaux says the tax renewal will add about $3 million a year to the department’s $12 million operational budget. “It’s a renewal and it gives us an opportunity to keep what we have,” adds Boudreaux.

Boudreaux says the department hasn’t seen staff increases, major cuts or reduced programs.  Program fee increases were used to help with financial offsets. “We monitor that on a regular basis.  At no point do we want to price ourselves out of the market,” says Boudreaux.
        
University of Louisiana at Lafayette student Alexis Bellazine comes to Girard Park to relax and do homework.  “It’s just peaceful. Nobody comes and bothers you.  There’s not any violence or anything.  No fighting or nothing.  You can actually come here and have a good time,” says Bellazine.

Victoria Deshotels of Lafayette brings her son to Girard Park. “The fact that it’s open to the kids.  The kids can interact with other kids.  That’s why I normally bring him around,” says Deshotels.
    
Boudreaux says the tax renewal helps to keep everything in balance and services as they are. “The participants and the users has come up in terms of fee increases and now this is an opportunity to renew what we currently have when we look at the recreation millage,” notes Boudreaux.