NEW ORLEANS — On Thursday, the Flood Protection Authority East added its name to the growing list of taxing authorities that are rolling back millages.
As required by law, the Board of Commissioners unanimously voted to "roll back" after property assessments shot up across New Orleans, and they did not use their authority to "roll forward" millages afterward.
The City Council called on taxing authorities to roll back millages to alleviate the financial burden of New Orleans homeowners.
Public Information Director for the Flood Protection Authority, Stacy Gilmore, said they understand that the current economic situation and the rising cost of insurance has impacted many homeowners.
“We’ve actually gotten a lot of feedback from the public. We’ve definitely heard from not only our New Orleans City Councilmembers, but even other local politicians," Gilmore said, “We have what we need to operate and maintain the system. So, we do not need to roll forward the millage for this year.”
Housing NOLA Program Coordinator Anyx Burd, was at the meeting and spoke in favor of rolling back the millage.
“For the people of New Orleans being able to actually afford, especially people who are homeowners, being able to afford to be a homeowner because all these taxes are rising, and every rate is rising," Burd said.
Now that the Levee Board has voted, the final taxing authority to make its decision is NOLA Public Schools. The school board is scheduled to vote after a public hearing on Jan. 18.
The deadline to pay your tax bill has been pushed back to Feb. 29 due to the delay.