Morgan City sales tax proposition draws 541 early votes

More than 500 Morgan City people cast early votes on a proposed sales tax to raise money for police and firefighter pay.

Election day for the half-cent sales tax proposition is Saturday. Polling places in Morgan City will be open 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday. Bring a photo ID to the polls.

In St. Mary, only Morgan City voters will take part in this election.

The St. Mary Registrar of Voters Office said 454 people voted early in person during the April 15-22 early voting period.

Another 87 absentee ballots have been received.

The tax is expected to bring in $1.3 million a year, according to the ballot language. The proceeds are dedicated to pay for police officers and firefighters and to their training.

The tax is the solution the city government developed to deal with the loss of personnel to higher-paying departments across the region.

The process began last year when, as he was set to retire, former Police Chief James F. Blair warned the City Council that low pay — $4 less per hour than the average for departments from Franklin to Houma — was leading to an unsustainable rate of turnover. Blair put the number of personnel losses at 40 in the previous three years.

Mayor Lee Dragna has pointed to the cost of training new officers. Hiring an officer means paying for academy tuition, pay for the officer during training, and assigning the officer to a supervisor can run to $60,000.

The Morgan City Police Department handles about 14,000 calls for service each year.

The problem isn’t limited to the Police Department.

Fire Chief Alvin Cockerham said his department has 26 line firefighters. Vacations or sick days sometimes force him to close one of the city’s four fire stations because the department can’t meet the staffing levels the state requires for operating fire equipment.

Meanwhile, the Fire Department is taking on more responsibility for first-responder care by training firefighters as emergency medical technicians.