Terrebonne levee district preps for possible tax

Last October Terrebonne Parish voters killed a proposed one-cent sales tax that would have generated revenue for the purpose of constructing the Houma Navigation Canal Lock and improving the interim levees.

The tax died by a margin of a mere 208 votes and while the parish desperately needs new and better flood protection as soon as possible, the tax failing may have been a blessing in disguise, as the parish government gears up to propose the tax, again, with some bit and fortuitous changes.

Almost a year ago, Terrebonne Levee and Conservation District president Anthony Alford said he and other members of the parish government were scrambling to get some kind of decent protection from storms in place as soon as possible.

At the time, they believed the fastest way to accomplish this was to not involve themselves with the federal government. So, the revenue generated from the originally proposed one-cent sales tax would have gone toward buffing up the interim levees and not the fabled Morganza project.

The tax, of course, failed, sending members of the parish government back to the drawing board.

“I think we learned some things on that first go around and this time I think it’s going to be a totally different situation,” said Alford.

The tax didn’t have a sunset clause, so it could have been applied indefinitely. This bothered some voters. For the new tax, a sunset clause is being considered.

Alford also wants to improve the presentation of the tax to the public. Part of making the tax more appealing to the public will come from whether or not the federal Water Resource Development Act (WRDA) passes.

This act usually passes through the federal legislature every couple of years, but a new one hasn’t passed since 2001.

“We were counting on it four years ago,” said Alford.

It is expected to pass this year, because it includes the Morganza to the Gulf project.

“It’s looking real good, but you can’t count your ducks before they’re hatched,” said Alford. “So, there’s a good chance we’ll have state match and we’ll federal match on those dollars.”

Alford and the other members hope to take advantage of the act’s passing, as it would give the District the authority to tell voters the federal government will match 65 percent to the local and state 35 percent for every dollar spent on the federal levees making up the Morganza project.

“I think this is a much better push to put our funding towards the federal levee on a tax basis, simply because we have a nice match, 65/35,” said Alford.

This essentially means voters will be getting a lot more bang out of their tax bucks.

Applying the tax to the federal levee comes with the added benefit of lowering flood protection costs by reducing the cost of flood insurance.

Had the original tax passed, the revenue it generated would have been applied to the interim levees, which would not have lowered the cost of flood insurance in the area.

“It would not have had any impact on our flood insurance, because it has to be a federal levee to have any kind of impact on the cost of your flood insurance. So, this will,” said Alford.

Alford said the whole area is much further along on its flood protections plans, now, too.

He said $43 million has been dedicated to the all-important Houma Navigation Canal Lock. And work has been done for the Morganza project.

A three-mile section of the project is nearly complete. And he said they are ahead on the engineering and design on the other connecting sections.

And he said they are working on the interim levees in Ward 7 right now.

“I think those interim levees almost act as a buffer or a second tier behind your federal levee when you get it done,” said Alford. “I think we still need to keep them up, especially in that we don’t have any other protection in place right now.”

Alford warned however that even if Morganza is approved as authorized, the next following year would be like starting from scratch on getting appropriations to fund the project.

“The dilemma is, OK, yeah, we’ve got authorization, we’ve got some state money, but if we don’t want to have to wait on the feds to come across with funding we need to come up with some of the funding ourselves, so that we can get this thing going at a lot faster pace than what we’re doing right now to put some protection in place,” said Alford.

Alford said he and the district are currently working with a state delegation to get more funding. And they are working with an attorney to be able to bond out of any tax they’re going to raise in order to get a project moving as quickly as possible.

“I’m hoping we can get somewhat of a little more commitment, where when we go to the public we can say the state’s going to match us with this and the Feds are going to come back and do more than a two for one match,” said Alford.

The tax is still being pieced together. Alford said right now he thinks it may go down to a half-cent. Taxpayers already pay a quarter-cent sales tax that generates about $5 million a year. A half-cent increase would bring another $10 to $12 million.

Alford cautioned everything is till premature. The tax could even possibly include a property tax element. Nothing concrete will come for a couple more months.

Alford said this time, he would like to make sure that everyone, the parish council, the parish president, just about anybody that has some input, is on the same page when they finally do go to the public with the new tax proposal.

“If we propose something next time and it doesn’t pass, we’re going to sort of be at the discretion of the federal government to come in with funding. So, it’s either wait for that or move forward and keep my fingers crossed every hurricanes season. Hopefully, we can get something in place a little faster by doing it this way,” said Alford.

If the tax does pass, the next obstacle could be dealing with the Army Corps of Engineers.

Alford said the Corps wants to bring the levee up to about 22 feet from 14, requiring a 300-foot base. But to do this, though, the Corps would want to build the base first.

Alford takes issue with this.

“You’re going to go 300 feet wide to go 10 feet tall. You’re going to get all your money spent on the base,” said Alford.

Alford said he and the district have been working with the Corps to let them get some protection in place by going 100 feet wide at the base by 10- to 12 feet tall, which would free up enough money to possibly go the whole length of what they’re doing with Morganza.

So, when the Corps goes back to lift the levees a second time, the area will have some protection already in place and the Corps can increase the base another 100 feet. And on the third lift, they could go another 100 feet wide at the base.

“Build it as you’re able to afford to build it. And first off, let’s do the first priority, which is protect the public with a 10- to 12-foot tall levee,” said Alford.

He said the thinks the Corps will agree to this, but there are some other issues that need to be resolved first. Passing the tax, will help bring the Corps on board by clarifying what the parish can bring to the table said Alford.

In the end, though, much of the success of the proposal is going to depend on the passing of WRDA.