Drainage district tax renewal on May 3 ballot

Less than a month after the last election, some St. Mary voters will be able to begin early voting for the next.
Two propositions are on the May 3 ballot, one for voters in west St. Mary, one in the east.
Early voting for the May 3 election will run April 19-26, excluding Sunday, April 20. You can vote at Registrar of Voters sites in the parish. Bring a photo ID to the polls.
Voters in Consolidated Gravity Drainage District No. 2 will be asked to renew a 2.79-mill property tax for 10 years. The tax raises an estimated $385,000 a year for “acquiring, constructing, maintaining and operating gravity and forced drainage works within and for the District.”
The district covers the Morgan City area, specifically voting precincts 35-44.
The district has received $14 million in state funding to upgrade four stations that pump water out of Morgan City when heavy rain falls.
Deficiencies in the pump stations were identified but not remedied in time for Hurricane Francine, which pushed water into hundreds of Morgan City homes on Sept. 11.
Even after the state funding, the district faces the potential need to rent portable pumps costing hundreds of thousands as a new storm season approaches.
At Tuesday’s District 2A board meeting, Commissioner Chuck Walters asked voters to pass the renewal.
“It’s imperative,” Walters said. “It’s the most important thing I’ve put my hands on, and I don’t get to vote on it. I live in Amelia.”
Voters in Cypremort Point, voting precinct 1, will be asked to renew a 2-mill property tax.
The tax, which would be renewed for 10 years, raises $60,000 a year “for the purpose of constructing, acquiring, improving, maintaining and operating the District’s fire protection facilities, including the purchase of fire trucks, and paying the cost of obtaining water for fire protection purposes. …”
On March 29, St. Mary voters elected Lawrence Guillory to the School Board and helped defeat four proposed amendments to the state constitution. Among them was Amendment 2, a key component of Gov. Jeff Landry’s plan to change Louisiana’s taxation system.