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“…in this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.”
Benjamin Franklin, 1789
It is, once again, the time of year when public bodies set the millages on property for the 2009 tax bill. This process determines the number of mills due on each property in St. Tammany Parish as valued by the Parish Assessor. The value of your property, combined with the number of mills collected for your area, determines the amount of the property tax bill.
On September 3rd at 6:00 PM in the Parish Council Chambers, the Council will adopt property tax millages for 2009. A number of millages will be discussed at this Council meeting. Some support parish government or state mandated expenses; others flow through parish government and support outside agencies.
“It is in everyone’s best interest to keep our millages as low as possible especially in these economic times,” according to Parish President Kevin Davis. “The Parish Council and I are in agreement on this issue. Taxes will be kept as low as possible to maintain services.”
These are the millages that are used inside parish government:
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St. Tammany
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Legal
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Current
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Ad Valorem Tax Recap
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Max
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Rate
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AD VALOREM - PARISH WIDE
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2008
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To support parish government & state mandated expenses:
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Parish Alimony 1 (Outside of cities)
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3.59
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3.02
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Parish Alimony 2 (Inside Cities)
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1.79
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1.51
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Dedicated to drainage:
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Drainage Maintenance
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2.17
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1.84
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Funds public animal shelter:
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Animal Shelter
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1.00
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0.85
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Funds Public Health:
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Health Clinic & Health Services
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2.17
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1.84
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Depending upon where you live, you will pay either Alimony 1 or Alimony 2. These are the millages that support the parish government’s general fund and state mandated expenses, such as the courts. The drainage maintenance and animal shelter millages are dedicated and self-explanatory. If your home was assessed at $122,440, you paid $27.09 for all these services. If you lived inside a city, with the same assessment, you paid $19.93. If you add public health services, the bill increases by $8.73 on this property.
In addition, there are some special districts where voters approved millages to support improvements in their neighborhoods. These millages are adjusted to meet the costs of the approved services. They are as follows:
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AD VALOREM - SPECIAL DISTRICTS
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Legal Max
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Current Rate
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Lighting District No. 1
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5.18
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4.17
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Lighting District No. 4
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5.28
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4.07
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Lighting District No. 5
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5.00
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3.17
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Lighting District No. 6
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3.00
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2.16
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Lighting District No. 7
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5.29
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3.01
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Lighting District No. 16
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2.00
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2.00
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Recreation District No. 7
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4.00
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3.37
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Millages from some other agencies pass through parish government. On September 3rd, the Parish Council will review their budget needs. If the agency requests an increase from the current rate, it must come before the Parish Council. The legal maximum shown is the millage approved by St. Tammany voters for these particular agencies.
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Other Agency Funds:
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Legal Max
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Current Rate
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Pass through to library system:
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St. Tammany Parish Libraries
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6.33
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5.38
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Pass through to Coroner:
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Parish Coroner
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4.00
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3.40
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Pass through to STARC:
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STARC
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1.00
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0.85
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Pass through to COAST:
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Council on Aging
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1.00
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0.85
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“According to state law, governing bodies have to advertise all meetings where millage changes could be considered,” according to parish finance director Leslie Long. “Because governing bodies are required to advertise before assessment information is available, we advertise that a public hearing will be held on millage adjustments even if a millage adjustment is not intended. The advertisement does not mean that property taxes are being raised.”
“Taxing bodies rely on the Parish Assessor to set the value of taxable property in any district,” continued Long. “Taxes are set based on assessments. Millages are based on estimates from the Assessor’s Office. The Assessor’s office has told us there is a potential for an increase of 2%-3% in property taxes. However, the final numbers will not be available until after the Assessor completes changes to the property tax rolls.”
Parish government does not determine the value of the property upon which millages are set. This is determined by the Parish Assessor. If citizens have questions regarding the assessed value of their property, they should contact Parish Assessor Patricia Schwarz Core at 809-8180 or 646-1990.
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