Parish Council puts off action on controversial district expansion; Dragna calls idea 'absurd'

FRANKLIN — At the last scheduled meeting in a contentious year Wednesday, the St. Mary Parish Council put off consideration of a potentially contentious piece of legislation.
The ordinance would expand St. Mary Gravity Drainage District No. 2’s boundaries to include the Avoca Island and Bateman Island areas, making landowners there subject to the district’s property tax.
The agenda for Wednesday’s meeting included possible introduction of the ordinance and consideration of a resolution stating the council’s intention to expand the boundaries. The resolution is required by state law. The council voted to table the ordinance and the resolution until Jan. 12.
Council James Bennett of Morgan City said he began receiving phone calls about the district expansion after the meeting agenda was posted Friday. But the ordinance itself wasn't available yet to council members, he said.
The ordinance was put forward by Councilman Patrick Hebert of Berwick.
Hebert said after the meeting that his goal is to reduce property taxes throughout the district by expanding the district and its property tax base.
Hebert consulted with Chief Administrative Officer Henry C. “Bo” LaGrange and learned that the only land available for an expansion of the district is in the Avoca and Bateman island areas, Hebert said.
The ordinance would put all of St. Mary Parish’s Wards 6 and 9 into the drainage district.
After the expansion, the district could collect the same amount of tax revenue with a smaller millage. Hebert said the millage would drop from the current 6.68 mills to 5.6 mills.
A mill is 1/10th cent of tax applied to every dollar of a property’s assessed valuation. Different classes of property are assessed at different percentages of market value. Residential property is assessed at 10% of its market value.
The expansion would require approval by residents of the district at an election.
Morgan City Mayor Lee Dragna is a former District 2 chairman and an Avoca Island property owner. He spoke against the expansion Wednesday.
“Once I heard about this — I’m going to call it a money grab — to tax land that is submerged underwater in the swamp for drainage — it’s absurd,” Dragna said.
The businesses that own property in the area considered for expansion have donated rights of way and dirt for drainage work, Dragna said.
“The landowners are really mad ...,” Dragna said. “Trust me. They’re going to lawyer up.”
He said the parish should focus on efficiency rather than making more land subject to the tax.
“You want to know why people don’t want to come to St. Mary Parish?” Dragna said. “We’re going to tax swamp land for drainage.”
After the meeting, Hebert said the businesses in the area proposed for expansion are already subject to taxation by other districts, including fire protection and recreation districts. And the expansion would be up to district residents in an election.
The council had consolidated District 2, which serves the Morgan City area, with District 6, which covers Amelia. A subsequent proposal to combine the millages levied by the two districts was voted down by St. Mary Parish residents.
The consolidation has been a source of debate, often between Parish President David Hanagriff, who backed the consolidation, on one side and Dragna and Bennett on the other.
On Wednesday, Bennett sought and obtained a delay in the appointment of Consolidated District 2 board members.
Five people were up for consideration: Charles Solar Jr. and present members Harry “Hanko” Hoffpauir, Tim Mathews, Glen A. Swain and Leroy Trim.
Bennett said he and Hebert want to talk with one of the board members before making the appointments.
“There was some discussion last night about some things he wants to do,” Bennett said. “We’ve had some problems with him as a whole as far as getting public records.”
And there is talk that the member may want to resign from the board, Bennett said.
The member wasn’t identified during the meeting. But, asked by Councilman Craig Mathews whether the member was one of those being considered for appointment, Bennett said yes.