INDReporter

Tax Assessor's Office plans millage increase

by Heather Miller

Lafayette Parish Tax Assessor Conrad Comeaux has published what appears to be required legal notices in the daily newspaper announcing his intent to roll forward' the millage rate for his office and bring in an additional $135,161 in property taxes to fund tax assessor operations. Lafayette Parish Tax Assessor Conrad Comeaux has published what appears to be required legal notices in the daily newspaper announcing his intent to "roll forward" the millage rate for his office and bring in an additional $135,161 in property taxes to fund tax assessor operations.

When property reassessment occurs every four years as required by law, the millage rates (or the percentages governmental agencies receive from property taxes) must be adjusted to reflect any increase or decrease in overall property values. If property values have risen, government bodies can "roll forward" millage rates, which equates to a marginal increase in property taxes if your property values have gone up and a rise in revenues for the agencies collecting the taxes.

Comeaux's office has not released any information regarding reassessment and whether the parish has seen an increase in property values, but the tax assessor's intent to increase the millage rates for his own office indicates that the parish has experienced at least somewhat of an increase in property values over the past four years.

According to the public notice that appears in Thursday's Daily Advertiser, Comeaux's office is planning a public hearing at 4 p.m. Aug. 23, a required step for the tax assessor to roll forward the millage for his office. The public notice states that the assessor's office will bring in roughly $2.7 million in revenue next year from property taxes, an amount that includes the additional $135,161 Comeaux's office will receive after rolling forward property tax percentages.

The Lafayette Parish School Board is also considering "rolling forward" its millage rates to bring in more than $2 million in additional money for the school system. The board has scheduled a special meeting for Aug. 15, at which time the board will have the required public hearing on millage rates before taking action.