Patterson sets tax rates, moves to save money on bonds

PATTERSON — The City Council on Tuesday set the property tax rates that homeowners will pay this year and learned they may be able to save on a project supported by those taxes.
The council also heard about an unconventional kind of home, metal storage containers, that may not be welcome.
The council unanimously passed an ordinance setting the general alimony tax, which raises money for the city general fund, at 8.3 mills. Another ordinance, also passed without dissent, set the property tax rate that pays off the public improvement bonds for waterworks at 14 mills.
A mill is 1/10th cent of tax applied to each $1 of assessed valuation.
The council also saw the introduction of an ordinance that would refinance the $3.4 million remaining from the $5 million waterworks bond issue.
The local banks that hold the bonds, M C Bank and Patterson State Bank, are both on board, Mayor Rodney Grogan said.
City Accountant Reginald Weary said the refinancing would lower the interest rate from 3.79% to 1.9%, saving the city government more than $348,000 over the 13 year remaining life of the bonds.
The refinancing ordinance is due for a public hearing and possible passage at the council’s regular first-Tuesday meeting in September.
Also Tuesday, council members saw photos of a handful of metal storage containers, the kind used for moving cargo by rail, ships and 18-wheelers. People are living in them.
Aside from the general municipal concerns about the quality of housing and the effect on nearby property values, the council kicked around questions about utility requirements and the safety of the containers in high winds.
Councilman Joe Russo said “tiny houses,” the very small living quarters that some people find attractive, have become popular.
“What if this [storage containers as homes] is a fad that is moving through the country?” Russo asked.
The council took no action Tuesday. But “we want to get a handle on this,” Councilman John Rentrop said.
The council also:
—Agreed with recommendations from city planning and zoning authorities.
The council won’t change the ordinance that prevents people from erecting modular homes on Main Street. And it agreed to create a city cemetery at 728 Williams St.
—Heard about an unusual situation affecting both the city government and a member of the council, Sandra K. Turner
Turner acquired a 1% interest in property at 625 Taft St. in a public sale resulting from failure to pay taxes before she was elected to the council.
But now that she is on the council, Turner is forbidden from doing business with the city. The property’s status is in limbo.
City Attorney Russel Cremaldi is exploring ways the situation might be resolved legally.
The mayor made a point of saying he put the matter on Tuesday’s agenda and that Turner hadn’t requested it.
—Moved to begin planning for the widening of the intersection of Park Street and U.S. 90 with the state right of way.
—Heard a resolution of respect for longtime Councilwoman Peggy Rentrop, who died July 24 at age 86.
Rentrop was an Army veteran who worked at Patterson State Bank and Teche Federal.