Voters in Iberia, Lafayette, St. Martin and Vermilion parishes will head to the polls Saturday asked to renew a 10-year, 1.5 mills property tax that supports the Tech-Vermilion Fresh Water District — a system of pumps and locks and the personnel and equipment to operate them that help maintain a fresh water supply to Bayou Teche and the Vermilion River. The district is governed by a board appointed by the governments of the constituent parishes and is a member of the Association of Levee Boards of Louisiana. If approved for renewal, the tax will generate about $3.6 million annually.
The Teche-Vermilion Fresh Water District was created as part of the 1966 federal Flood Control Act. It maintains a fresh water supply in its namesake waterways via a pumping station on the Atchafalaya River near Krotz Springs as well as weirs on the Teche at its confluence with two waterways leading to the Vermilion. In November, the Lafayette City-Parish Council approved a resolution calling for Saturday’s special election.
The Army Corps of Engineers requires the district to have a $25 million cash reserve by 2012 for maintaining equipment and other purposes. According to its 2010 proposed budget, the district currently has just over $20 million in reserve cash. A 2008 audit released last May by Broussard, Poche, Lewis & Breaux, a Lafayette accounting firm, finds the district with net assets of $5,027,207 against total expenses of $2,073,373.
Last December, at the behest of the CPC, members of the district’s board detailed the agency’s finances and priorities. Don Kelly, the district’s accountant, added that once the district reaches its required $25 million cash reserve, the millage will be adjusted downward to cover only annual operating expenses.
... written by IMJacquemo , March 26, 2010 - 11:12 am
VOTE NO. They have millions in reserve/investments.
... written by ipa , March 26, 2010 - 12:07 pm
VOTE YES! It's true, IMJacquemo, that they have millions of reserve and investments, but what will they have if they deplete those reserves? The Teche-Vermilion District will need new pumps soon to replace the nearly 30-year old pumps currently in use. If something happens between now and the time of the purchase of the pumps, the District will need to dip into that reserve fund to make repairs. If those funds get depleted, new pumps and other materials cannot be bought, resulting in a salty, heavily polluted Bayou Vermilion. Furthermore, the federal government requires the District to maintain a reserve fund of about $25,000,000. Failure to do so could result in legal action against the District.
The Bayou Vermilion is too great of an asset to the City and Parish of Lafayette to allow this millage to fail. I hope that my fellow residents of the city and the parish recognize this and approve this measure at the polls tomorrow.
... written by Plumpy , March 26, 2010 - 12:28 pm
I'm a NO vote..Just because its a tax and why pumps? Why couldn't they have built control gates ?
... written by Hot Sauce , March 26, 2010 - 02:52 pm
Yeah! Taxes! Spend my money!
... written by citizen , March 26, 2010 - 05:24 pm
I'm sorry is there a bayou that runs through this town?
You wouldn't know it unless you are one of the rich folks who have riverfront property.
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