ST. BERNARD PARISH, La. — Voters in St. Bernard Parish have renewed a property tax to fund the Sheriff's Office. The measure passed with 70.85% of the vote.
The 15.64-mill property tax will start in 2023 and last for 10 years.
“Thank you for providing us with the means needed to continue to make St. Bernard a safe place to live, work and raise a family,” Sheriff James Pohlmann said. “Your support is greatly appreciated.”
The current millage is 15 mills and lasts through the end of 2022. Officials say because property values fell in 2020, the millage was slightly increased to the legal rate allowed, so the total amount collected for the Sheriff's Office would remain the same as the year before. This will generate $6.4 million per year.
The Sheriff's Office says voters first approved this millage in 2013 to provide additional funding for the Sheriff's Office. Pohlmann says in addition to funding salaries and necessary equipment such as the motor vehicles and their related costs, the millage has allowed the Sheriff’s Office to purchase and deploy body cameras for deputies and patrol cars, special operations and rescue vehicles. It also has allowed for the continued use of automated license plate readers, which are located at the parish lines and in key areas throughout the jurisdiction.
“As violent crime has soared throughout the region, the St. Bernard Sheriff’s Office has used these funds collected to avoid crime spikes in St. Bernard and enhance our ability to not only deploy an appropriate number of well-trained deputies, but also provide them with the tools and equipment necessary to ensure the continued safety of our residents,” Sheriff Pohlmann said.