In a matter of speaking, anyway.
For the president of the regional flood protection authority, St.
Bernard Parish’s rejection on Saturday of a property-tax increase for
its levee and storm drainage agency had two immediate results.
“If the Lake Borgne Levee District were a business, they would be in
bankruptcy because they don’t have the funds to meet their expenses,”
said Stephen Estopinal, head of the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection
Authority-East, which oversees the Orleans, East Jefferson and Lake
Borgne levee districts.
And second, more to the point: “Right now, if they had a major
problem with their system, they couldn’t fix it because they don’t have
the money,” he said.
One begins to wonder, though, what is the point of the SLFPA-E "regional" flood authority if the funding it requires to maintain the region's flood protection system does not transfer between parishes?
The increase would have been about $38.25 per year for a homeowner
with property valued at $125,000, which is the average sales price in
the parish. Millage rates in Orleans and Jefferson for the same purpose
are just 6.21 and 3.91 respectively, but they raise much more money
because of the larger tax base.
The St. Bernard failure could affect the entire east bank because the
new $14.5 billion hurricane storm surge system is designed as a
perimeter wall wrapped around all three parishes. A break in one section
due to poor maintenance could result in flooding pouring into adjoining
areas.
While the system provides unified protection, there is no unity in
funding. State law prohibits the authority from using tax dollars raised
in one parish on work in another. With St. Bernard’s population cut in
half by Hurricane Katrina, the Lake Borgne Levee District’s income has
been unable to keeping up with expenses, including $1.4 billion in levee
improvements post-Katrina.
That is what you might call a "
system in name only" right? When the next storm comes, I'm pretty sure the Gulf isn't going to worry too much about which parish paid its taxes.
3 comments:
When the next storm comes, I'm pretty sure the Gulf isn't going to worry too much about which parish paid its taxes.
Nope it won't but we in SBP will get it first. That $38.25 will seem paltry if flood premiums jump.
On the other hand, should be great Gulf fishing from Chalmlette
Love dat headline. Been laughing all day!!
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