ST. LANDRY PARISH, La. (KLFY) -- This year, St. Landry Parish President Jessie Bellard is mailing each parish resident an info sheet showing the breakdown of how taxes are distributed in the parish, to ensure every resident understands where their money goes.
"We've got 80-something thousand people in our parish, and we want to make sure we get to everybody," Bellard said.
Bellard said one of the biggest misunderstandings residents have when they receive their property tax notice is the payment that goes towards the 33.62 Mills labeled as "Parish tax."
This tax flyer shows where each specific millage is appointed, with the bulk being towards the school board and sheriff's office followed by parish government, the health unit, the tax assessor, and the parish jail.
"But one of the most important parts of this is that our 2023 general fund budget and finance budget is going to show the actual revenue that we have in the general fund, which is $4.3 million. And it shows you our mandated expenses are 4.6. The biggest expense we have in our general fund is the prison expense out of that 4.6. 1.4 is the inmates," he said.
Bellard said this breakdown aims to build a better understanding from residents to see that their tax dollars are being used properly.
"So what we're doing is mailing this out, you should get it in the mail sometime next week," he said.
Bellards also wants to make residents aware he will be hosting a live show on Facebook on Dec.11 to address any questions or comments regarding the taxes.
