Council runoff is Saturday

St. Mary Parish voters will elect a new parish councilman Saturday during a runoff election.

Polls will open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.

On the ballot is a runoff for the At-large, District 10 St. Mary Parish Council seat between Gabriel Beadle, R-Berwick and Reginald Weary, D-Patterson. Both candidates are vying to fill the seat vacated by Steve Bierhorst, who stepped down in September 2016 due to health reasons.

District 10 covers half of Berwick, extending west to Centerville and also includes Four Corners, but all voters in the parish are eligible to vote in the race.

Voters from Centerville to the Patterson area will be able to vote on millage proposition for the newly formed St. Mary Parish Water and Sewer Commission 3.

The parish council created the new commission in September 2016, consolidating Waterworks District 5 and Sewer Districts 5 and 8 into one commission.

Approving the proposition will allow the commission to levy an 8.60-mill property tax for 10 years to pay for maintenance and operations at waterworks and sewer facilities.

If voters approve the proposal, Waterworks District 5 and Sewer Districts 5 and 8 will no longer levy their millages, which should reduce the overall millage that most residents in those areas pay, Parish Chief Administrative Officer Henry “Bo” LaGrange said.

Also on the ballot is a 10-year, 5-mill property tax renewal for Fire Protection District 7 in the Bayou Vista area.