Fire, police tax renewals on city ballot

Voters within the Houma city limits will have two public safety tax renewals to vote on Saturday, one for continued police department funding and the other for fire protection.

The twin 5.08-mill taxes are in addition to parish-wide renewals.

A big difference on the city items, however, is that their calculation does not take into account the Louisiana homestead exeption. However, voting yes will mean no change to the taxes property owners already pay.

“The money helps pay for training as well as operating and maintaining cars and equipment,” said Police Chief Todd Duplantis. “The tax allows us to maintain police protection needed to keep the city safe. If the tax fails we would have to cut back training and eliminate some services.”

Figuring the taxes on a $100,000 home, each of the measures costs the property owner $6.35. The two city taxes combined come to $12.70.

The police department’s total expenditures last year came to $9.249.8 million.

The biggest single expenditure is personnel related, with that item in the projected 2014 budget at around $7.4 million. That’s slightly less than the $7.5 million spent on salaries and related expenses in 2012.

For the city’s fire department, whose performance has a direct effect on the amount of insurance premiums property owners pay, the millage is seen as equally significant.

Although each department receives about $1.4 million each year from the tax, it is seen as important because if the money were not available there are no ways to replace it.

Training and therefore safety for officers, firefighters and the public are affected by the availability of the money, officials said.

The fire department responded to 44 structure fires in 2012 and 27 hazardous materials incidents. The fire department also presents educational programs in schools and makes various other public presentations designed to educate and raise fire awareness.

The city has 57 certified firefighters, most of whom are also certified for emergency medical response.

Total expenditures for 2012 were about $5.8 million.