OPELOUSAS, La. (KLFY) -- Hundreds of residents in St. Landry Parish are at risk of losing their properties.
Parish President Jessie Bellard says he doesn't want to add any more properties to the parish's already long list of adjudicated properties, but he may have to.
Bellard says a big problem right now is that many people aren't paying their property taxes, and they could lose their land.
St. Landry Parish has over 1,000 adjudicated properties, but hundreds of other residents' properties could soon become part of that list.
"Some people just don't know their properties are adjudicated, believe it or not," Bellard said.
He says if you don't pay your property taxes, the parish will be forced to take control of your property.
He added that people not taking care of their properties or paying their taxes are having a much bigger impact on the community.
"We're trying to do a better way of life for our people, and that goes back to what the needs are for the people in our parish. The cries and the hollers and the screams we hear are from people who are tired of living next to people or living next to a piece of property that is overgrown, so we have to fix that problem," he told News 10.
He's pleading with residents to pay their property taxes, so their property does not become adjudicated. He says this is the first step to clean up the parish.
"What we're trying to do right now is make them have a better way of life by cleaning up the parish one day at a time," he added.
Bellard says you can make sure your property taxes are up to date and check if your home has been adjudicated on the St. Landry Parish Tax Assessor website.
