This On the Ballot report provides St. Tammany voters with background and analysis of an April 30, 2022, proposition to authorize the District Attorney to levy a 0.14% sales tax to fund the office’s criminal prosecutions in the parish. If approved, the tax would begin July 1 and run for 10 years.
The District Attorney for St. Tammany Parish is asking voters on April 30 to approve a new, parishwide sales tax to support the office’s Criminal Division, which prosecutes all felony and misdemeanor cases, traffic citations and juvenile matters before the 22nd Judicial District Court. The District Attorney would levy the proposed 0.14% tax for 10 years, beginning July 1, 2022. The tax would generate an estimated $7.9 million annually.
St. Tammany Parish Government (Parish) is responsible for providing financial and other support to the District Attorney’s Criminal Division. In recent years, the Parish presented voters with several tax proposals to help fund its obligations to the Criminal Division and other local agencies, including the District Court judges and the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff for jail operations. The Parish’s proposals included a comprehensive funding approach to satisfy these obligations, which BGR supported last fall. Voters, however, rejected each proposal. As a result, the Parish’s funding obligations have fallen squarely on the General Fund, which represents less than 10% of the Parish’s total operating budget. In 2022, recurring General Fund revenue ($12.2 million) covered less than half of the agencies’ budget requests, creating a significant shortfall for the District Attorney and other agencies. Given the Parish’s current financial struggles, the District Attorney is now seeking a dedicated tax to fund criminal prosecutions.
To analyze the proposition, BGR considered three questions related to the efficient and effective use of public resources: (1) Has the District Attorney carefully planned how the office will spend the tax revenue and provide financial stewardship and accountability for taxpayer dollars? (2) Is the tax an acceptable way to fund the purposes in light of alternative funding options? (3) Is there evidence indicating the tax would result in effective outcomes for the public? Based on this analysis, BGR found the following:
FOR. The proposed sales tax would provide the District Attorney with a stable, recurring revenue source to fund criminal prosecutions in St. Tammany Parish. It would enable the District Attorney to retain and hire staff to handle the office’s full caseload of criminal work and support the judicial process and public safety. The 10-year term of the tax balances the office’s need for revenue stability with voter accountability.
In addition, the proposed tax would relieve some financial pressure on St. Tammany Parish Government to fund its obligations to the District Attorney. It would enable the Parish to reallocate General Fund revenue historically given to the District Attorney to other justice system agencies, such as the 22nd Judicial District Court and the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff for jail operations. It would also avoid potential costly litigation between the District Attorney and the Parish. While BGR supported the Parish’s comprehensive tax proposal last fall, voter rejection of that approach has prompted the District Attorney to seek a dedicated tax.
BGR has transparency and accountability concerns with the District Attorney’s total control over the tax revenue. To his credit, the District Attorney has committed to several practices to improve public oversight, such as posting quarterly financial statements of tax revenue and expenditures, submitting an annual budget to the Parish Administration and Council for review during a public meeting, and conducting an annual review to determine whether a reduction in the tax rate is warranted to avoid excessive surpluses. However, these practices are not mandated by law. Accordingly, BGR strongly urges the current District Attorney and future officeholders to adhere to these commitments.
This report is part of BGR’s On the Ballot series, which provides voters with objective, nonpartisan analysis of significant ballot propositions in the New Orleans metropolitan area. In producing these reports, BGR recommends positions consistent with its mission of promoting informed public policy making and the effective use of public resources to improve local government. On the Ballot reports highlight the strengths and weaknesses of ballot propositions and assess the potential for government expenditures or actions to efficiently achieve beneficial outcomes for citizens.
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OVERVIEW This On the Ballot report provides St. Tammany voters with background and analysis of an April 30, 2022, proposition to authorize the District Attorney to levy a 0.14% sales tax to fund the office’s criminal prosecutions in the parish. If approved, the tax would begin July 1 and run for 10 years.
OVERVIEW On the Ballot: St. Tammany Parish Sales Tax Proposition, November 13, 2021, provides St. Tammany Parish voters with an independent analysis of a proposed 0.4% sales tax to provide funding for the state-mandated responsibilities of parish government. These obligations include providing the parish jail and courthouse, as well as financial and operational support to […]
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* BGR released a report with recommendations on how to improve the New Orleans jail. Let’s break it down * Councilmember Joe Giarrusso on the big power outage Sunday and why Entergy was given barely...
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Sheriff Susan Hutson, who oversees the New Orleans jail from which 10 inmates escaped last week, suspended her reelection campaign Tuesday, hours after she apologized to the City Council amid mounting calls for her resignation and questions about her...
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Signs saying “No New Taxes” and calling for New Orleans residents to vote against a tax renewal have been popping up around the city…but they’re inaccurate. Tommy talks with Rebecca Mowbray and Nate Pabon-Trinidad from the Bureau of Government...
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Orleans Parish Ballot MeasuresPW Law Enforcement District2.46 Mills Renewal – Sheriff – 10 Yrs. Shall the Sheriff of Orleans Parish, as the governing authority of the Law Enforcement District of the Parish of Orleans, State of Louisiana (the “District”),...
The name “Orleans Parish Prison” still stirs outrage in New Orleans, even after its rebranding as the Orleans Justice Center. From the abandonment of inmates during Hurricane Katrina to the federal consent decree still in place today, the jail...
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Rebecca Mowbray and Paul Rioux join Tommy Tucker to talk about the cost and design of a new jail in New Orleans. (Audio no longer available online.)
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New Orleans on Saturday delivered a nearly unanimous rejection of a proposal from Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson to nearly double a tax her office collects, the latest in a series of setbacks for Hutson that comes almost a...
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New Orleans voters will decide the fate Saturday of a tax proposition that would nearly double the tax collected by the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office. The tax call in New Orleans highlights an otherwise slim ballot across the metro...
Tomorrow is the first Saturday of Jazz Fest. It’s also Election Day in New Orleans — but we doubt very many voters will queue up to cast a ballot. That’s too bad, because Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson is...
PW Law Enforcement District5.5 Mills In-Lieu – Sheriff – 10 Yrs.Shall the Law Enforcement District of the Parish of Orleans, State of Louisiana (the “District”), levy a tax of 5.5 mills on all property subject to taxation in the...
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NEW ORLEANS (WGNO)— May 2 will mark one year since Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson took office and Thursday, she reflected on her first year. “In the first week, we had an officer-involved shooting. We had a fake escape,...
Newell speaks with Rebecca Mowbray and Paul Rioux of BGR about Sheriff Susan Hutson’s push for higher property taxes to increase her agency’s budget being too vague. Click this WWL Radio link to listen to the segment. Click here...
Independent watchdog group Bureau of Governmental Research says they are against the millage to increase property taxes to fund jail.
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Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson’s proposal to nearly double a tax her office collects is premature, skirts the practices of other large parishes and remains short on details just 10 days ahead of the April 29 referendum, an independent...
NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) – Sheriff Susan Hutson’s push for higher property taxes to increase her agency’s budget should be rejected by voters because her plans for spending the windfall are too vague, a non-partisan New Orleans policy research group...
ORLEANS PARISH, La. (WGNO) — “What is the timeline for all these investments? Why are they priorities? Which ones are the biggest priorities on here? I don’t really know,” questioned Becky Mowbray. She’s the president and CEO of the...
Today, the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) releases a new report, On the Ballot: Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office Tax, April 29, 2023. The report is intended to help Orleans Parish voters make an informed decision on whether to nearly...
Just a few months after the New Orleans City Council rejected Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson’s request for a $13 million budget hike, Hutson is again seeking millions in new funding. This time, the proposal has flown below the...
Awards The Bureau of Governmental Research has received two research awards from the Governmental Research Association. BGR received a Certificate of Merit for Distinguished Research on a Local Government Issue for its method of analyzing local tax propositions in its “On...
NEW ORLEANS — From the Bureau of Governmental Research: BGR received two research awards from the Governmental Research Association at a national conference held last month in Philadelphia. In addition, BGR recently welcomed Melanie Bronfin as a new member of its...
The Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) recently received two research awards from the Governmental Research Association (GRA) at its national conference held last month in Philadelphia. In addition, BGR recently welcomed Ms. Melanie Bronfin as a new member of...
Power struggles between the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office and the city have long stymied progress at the New Orleans jail that could have moved the facility closer to compliance with a federal consent decree and made it safer, according...
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North shore District Attorney Warren Montgomery failed to get a new revenue stream to support his office Saturday, as St. Tammany Parish voters shot down a proposed 10-year, 1/7th cent sales tax. Complete but unofficial returns showed 54% voted...
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If they blink, St. Tammany voters might miss the vote for a new sales tax to fund criminal prosecutions. It’s the lone parishwide proposition on the April 30 ballot, and north shore District Attorney Warren Montgomery isn’t taking the...
ST. TAMMANY PARISH, La. (press release) — The Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) released a new report that analyzes a 0.14% parishwide, 10-year sales tax proposed by the District Attorney for St. Tammany Parish to fund criminal prosecutions. On...
Today, the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) releases a new report, On the Ballot: District Attorney Sales Tax, St. Tammany Parish, April 30, 2022. The report is intended to help St. Tammany voters make an informed decision on whether...
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The Bureau of Governmental Research has endorsed the proposed sales tax that St. Tammany Parish government will put before voters next month, according to a report released by the agency on Thursday. BGR, a New Orleans-based non-profit watchdog group,...
Today, the Bureau of Governmental Research releases a new report, On the Ballot: St. Tammany Parish Sales Tax, November 13, 2021. The report examines a proposition that asks St. Tammany Parish voters to authorize a new 0.4% sales tax...
Yesterday, the Bureau of Governmental Research kicked off its 2021 Breakfast Briefing Series with “The Vision for St. Tammany Parish,” a conversation among three parish leaders about balancing economic development and quality of life. Speaking via Zoom webinar were...
Deputy clerks at Orleans Parish Criminal District Court can breathe a sigh of relief — at least for now. Clerk of Court Arthur Morrell said Monday that he has shelved his plan to furlough nearly all of his office’s...
Today, BGR releases A Look Back to Plan Ahead: Analyzing Past New Orleans Budgets to Guide Funding Priorities. The report reviews the City’s General Fund budgets from 2010 to 2019, focusing on growth in revenues and changes in expenditures. As...
Governor John Bel Edwards presented at a BGR Breakfast Briefing on State of Louisiana priorities of local importance. BGR expresses its appreciation to Governor Edwards and to our attendees for their presence and participation in the Q&A that followed...
There will be several proposed changes to the state constitution on the ballot next Tuesday. One of them, Amendment 6, is meant to ease the blow of a sudden increase in property taxes. That’s something experienced by many people...
Jefferson Parish voters will take up three parishwide tax renewals when they go to the polls Nov. 6, while voters in Grand Isle and parts of the west bank also will vote on taxes for their local fire departments....
Today the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) releases reports to inform voters on proposed Constitutional Amendment No. 6 and three proposed Jefferson Parish property tax renewals. Tax Phase-In Constitutional Amendment On November 6, 2018, voters statewide will decide whether...
Update: A clarification was added to this story to indicate that municipal taxes were not factored in the Louisiana Tax Commission’s rankings. Three parishes in metro New Orleans were in the Top 10 with the highest property tax rates among...
Three prominent business groups are backing a pair of proposed sales tax renewals for the St. Tammany Parish courthouse and jail, both of which voters have rejected twice before. The St. Tammany West Chamber of Commerce and the Northshore...
The St. Tammany West Chamber of Commerce has announced its support of March 24 ballot proposals to renew sales taxes to fund the parish jail and courthouse. The organization is the second business group in recent days to publicly endorse the...
For the third time in two years, St. Tammany Parish voters are being asked this month to approve a pair of sales tax renewals: one for the 1,100-bed parish jail and the other for the St. Tammany Justice Center,...
Today the Bureau of Governmental Research (BGR) releases On the Ballot: St. Tammany Parish Tax Renewals. On March 24, 2018, St. Tammany Parish voters will decide whether to renew two separate parishwide sales taxes. Proposition No. 1 would renew the sales...
The Bureau of Governmental Research is backing a St. Tammany Parish sales tax renewal for the operation and maintenance of the parish jail but is against a similar tax renewal for the parish courthouse. BGR, a non-profit watchdog group, issued its recommendations Friday (March...
The Bureau of Governmental Research has come out against a one-fifth cent sales tax for the St. Tammany Justice Center but is supporting another fifth of a penny sales tax for the parish jail, both of which will go...
