Livingston Parish: Parish-Wide Millage Meeting

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First off, I want to thank
the sheriff where the sheriff are going right

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that I want things, the shaff
for opening up his training facility to us,

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and when I went to do the
meeting, he called he said,

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would you mind doing this at my
training center? I said absolutely not,

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And I appreciate very much a Sheriff
ard for you opening this up and having

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your people have it all ready for
us. And then thank you all the

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districts that came out. When you're
going to do a lot of things,

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people will say and do a lot
of things to you know, when you

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go to set your villages. The
people that are not part of the districts

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that are here tonight, thank you
for coming in. It means something to

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you. So we're going to basically
share information with you tonight. I'm going

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to start off telling you what I'm
going to do in the Assessor's office and

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then we're going to go from there. But before I do, my staff

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is setting over here to the left. Y'all look over to the Assessor's office

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staff. They're the ones that work
hard for you every day and make sure

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that things are done right. What
I'm gonna do, this is gonna be

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the worst part of my presentation with
my picture and everything up there. But

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if you will go ahead and slide
to the next one, David, All

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right, some of y'all this is
gonna be redundant because you already know you're

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the district leaders. And well,
I'm not supposed to walk. Come,

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I'll go back over here. My
daddy was a Pentecostal preacher, So we

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walk back and forth. And so
what is the assessor's job? My job

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is to discover, list property and
place value on all properties. That's what

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the assessor's job is to do.
I do not raise or lower taxes.

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I do not select taxes, and
I do not determine your tax rate.

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The assessor's one duty to see that
the appraised values and their jurisdiction meet the

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requirements of the law and administrative rules. That's what my job is. So

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you have a situation to where we
go out and assess all the property,

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and once every four years we're required. It is not a situation where it's

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a suggestion from the state or anything
like that. It is required that we

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do a reassessment. So twenty twenty
four is that reassessment. Now some of

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y'all have been here that the assessments
are going to be higher. They're going

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to be higher, Okay, but
you also need to realize that you also

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have had flood discounts that have been
on your assessments several people. We had

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to pull those off this year because
the Tax Mission said, and we also

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had a COVID discount of ten percent, and so that come off. And

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so all of the districts that are
here have basically been doing without that money

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for all of this time, and
so now it's time for them to now

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recoup some of that that they have
lost over the years. Okay, so

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they have been very good. I
went to several of them and talked because

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when the Bloodhead, we were in
a situation to where I knew that we

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had to give some relief to the
public, but I also knew that I

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had to keep my districts running because
if I'd have went in like some of

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the parishes did and they gave seventy
five percent eighty percent reductions, we'd have

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went bankrupt. There would have been
no way for us to keep up,

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schools, sheriff's office, anybody that
couldn't have kept up. So we decided

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to give twenty percent over five years. It went a little bit longer than

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that, but we gave the reductions
down for that, and because I felt

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like if Ascension Parish in Livingston got
eighty percent, then my people deserved the

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same thing. So I just had
to stretch it out over a little bit

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longer period of time, and our
district were very good about acknowledging that and

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trying to reach that goal this year. In the assessments, we're looking at

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going up to about nine hundred and
twenty eight million. We're somewhere in the

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neighborhood of six hundred million as of
twenty three, so we're picking up a

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good bit of revenue, about a
thirty three to a forty percent overall.

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Now when you look at that,
taxes can be a little bit more because

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the first seventy five thousand is hosted
exempt, so you've got to build all

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of that in and then you're going
to come up with your tax rates.

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Once I reached the assessment as to
where it's supposed to be, and the

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parish the reassessment, then the legislative
auditor comes in and resetts the militarates.

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They do what you call an adjustment. They adjust them downward, so you

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don't take in any more money than
you took in last year. So once

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that happens and the legislative auctor comes
in, my job is finished, and

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then the legislative alitor's job is finished. So the way it's set up is

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you're not supposed to take in any
more money than you took in last year.

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They give you a zero net sum. Okay. In the same meeting,

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the district can then just side.
If they want to roll their militis

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forward, you adjust them downward.
At the same meeting, you roll them

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forward, and they can go anywhere
from that minimum that the legislative ought to

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put on all the way up to
their maxim and then each one of the

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districts come in and they set their
rate. The assessor does not do that.

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The districts do it, nor do
the districts want me to do that.

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They want me to be the assessor, and so that's what I do.

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So tonight I'm going to talk to
you all about what I'm going to

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do in my office, and then
each one of the districts that are here

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are going to share with you what
they plan to do. Last year in

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my budget was five point six million
dollars five point sixty nine one. To

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be exact, Inflation over the last
four years has been eighteen percent, So

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if we stayed flat and took the
same amount of money as we got last

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year, we would be losing eighteen
percent. Buying power give or takes on.

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Now it may not be exactly on, but it's going to be give

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or take that. So I looked
at my budget and I figured that with

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what I need to do because this
year I want to add more to my

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mapping. We've got to buy new
computers. Health insurance costs are going up.

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Just everyday. Expenses are going up, so I have to try to

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keep up. I can't stay flat. But in my particular case, I

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did not need to go up all
the way to the maximum, because that

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would have brought in two point one
million dollars more into my budget this year

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than last year. I didn't need
that much. So I have made the

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decision that I'm going to adjust down
to what the legislative auditor said, and

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then I'm going to raise my millags
back up to the seven point twenty two.

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My maximum is eight point five too, so I'm giving back one point

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three meals back to the public,
which comes in to be roughly about one

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point three million dollars. Okay,
so I didn't need it all, but

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I didn't need some. And that's
what when I was talking to all the

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districts. You need to look at
your budget. You need to what you

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need for yours because we've got a
lot of times. You've got people that

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will be on and how many of
y'all have ever seen anybody get on a

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computer or anything like that, and
they say all the things that need to

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be done in the parish. Well, they say all the stuff that needs

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to be done, but I want
you to look around. You've got probably

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ten to twelve to fifteen people that
are here. We've got more than that

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get on computer every day. But
when it come down to it, and

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we said we've got some a meeting
here that you can come in and you

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can look and see what's going to
happen with your millages and everything. We've

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got a few people that come in
and thank y'all very much for coming in,

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and the district here appreciate you coming
in, so thank y'all so much.

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But that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to lower mine to

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the seven point two to it,
and it's going to allow me, like

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I said, to update my mapping, update my flyover. We didn't get

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to do a fly over over the
last couple of years. We've got to

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do another fly over, so we
want to make sure that we do that.

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I don't want to go back to
where we didn't have people on the

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road. I don't want to go
back to where we don't have the technology,

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because technology does make it to where
you don't have to have as many

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employees and you can get the work
done. Okay, many of y'all have

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called me over the last week,
especially today, asking me questions about what

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the assessments are going to do.
We are close to reaching the billion dollar

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taxable value a billion dollars. When
I came into office, we were at

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one hundred and one million, one
hundred and one million, so we have

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grown that much. We're growing parish
and so we've done our job. My

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people have went out and made sure
that everything is where it needs to be

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and now here we are and all
of a sudden we've got a large growth

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now. Just so y'all know,
I have had real estate agents come in,

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I've had appraisers come in, I've
had a justice come in and I

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wanted to make sure my numbers were
right. I didn't want to go in

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here and throw a number out there
and all of a sudden somebody come back

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and say, well, that's not
right. My job is to make sure

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that they are fair and equitable.
And so to make sure I did that,

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I went out and got other people
to look at it, and they

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said, our numbers are right.
So we are getting real close to that

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billion dollar mark, which is phenomenal
for Livings and Parish because look, twenty

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years ago, you'd never thought we'd
get close to that. Take a long

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time, but we have got it
to there. Let me ask y'all a

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question. One of the things that
comes up more often than not is people

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ask me about the homestead exemption.
How many of y'all are familiar with the

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homestead exemption? Okay, just for
fun, I'm gonna ask y'all, how

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many of you want to raise the
homestead exemption? I will stay all right,

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So just raise your hand if raise
If you want to raise the homestead

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exemption, raise your hand. What
would you raise it to get? Give

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in numbers? So make you give
me number one hundred thousand. That's never

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gonna happen, good track. But
one hundred thousand, all right, So

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one hundred thousand, I'll split the
different way. I'll go one hundred and

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twenty five. That's not quite the
different, but I'll go one hundred and

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twenty five. Here's the question.
Be honest with me, because already know

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how many of you in here has
houses that are valued more one hundred twenty

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five thousand. Congratulations, Your taxes
just went on. You know why because

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the legislative ultra says that you have
to take in the same amount of money

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as you took in last year.
So the more people you take off the

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role, you've got to make it
up somewhere. So everybody between seventy five

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thousand and one dollar up to one
hundred and twenty five thousand, they're no

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longer to pay it, so you
got to make that money up somewhere,

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so then it jumps into that.
So if you want to take it up

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to two fifty, then you've taken
everybody out from under two fifty, and

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now you've got what's left. Maybe
I really want to see your taxes go

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up another thirty forty percent. That's
what raising the homestays. So you've got

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to be careful when you're saying that
I want to raise the homestead exemption.

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You bet you better know what you're
talking about when you do it. I

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don't have a problem with it.
If you want to go do it legislat

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you, maybe that's the ones they
got to do it. But I'm just

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telling you what's going to happen.
So we're always real careful when people start

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talking about it and we want to
educate them, we want you to come

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in. The reason we're having this
meeting tonight is so you come in and

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ask us questions. So at this
point, you know what I want to

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do. I'm dropping my millage one
point three meals. I'm putting back into

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the parish at one point three one
point four million dollars. So at this

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point I'm going to open up to
any questions that anybody has for the assessor.

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Don't ask me about the other districts, because the district's going to be

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here tonight to just explain what they're
going to do and what their budget's gonna

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be. But anybody have any questions
for the assessor, Mister Matt Morrison,

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what roses is that'll work out frozen
assessments. Okay, again, everybody that

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turns sixty five, when you freeze
their assessments, then that money is not

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Their assessments are not going up any
So if they make less than one hundred

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thousand dollars, their assessments are frozen. So you've got to make it up

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somewhere. So when you take them
off, somebody else has got to pay

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a little bit more. I'll give
you a great example. One of my

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teachers told me this when I first
started out becoming an assessor. Let's say

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we go to eat tonight. There's
me and nine other people and we go

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to Ruth Chris's. Okay, at
the end of the night, the bill

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comes and it's one hundred dollars.
How much does that make each person paying?

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Come on, this is this question, they ask you ten. Okay,

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But now we've got all the people
that are frozen. So we tell

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two people to go get on the
bus. So now the bill is still

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one hundred dollars, but we got
eight people paid pay. But then we

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come in and we say, well, they fought for our country, so

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we give our veterans a reduction.
What happens now we put two more people

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on the bus. Now you've got
six people paying one hundred dollars, and

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then recently we had the first responders
come on and you put another person on

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the bus. Before you know it, you're down to three or four people

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that are now paying one hundred dollar
bill. And so your bill from being

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ten dollars to thirty three dollars,
you understand, So the more people you

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tend it. I just want y'all
to know that I supported the freeze form,

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I supported the veterans, and I
supported the First responders. So I'm

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farm and I understood what it meant
when I voted for those. So just

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know the more people you take off, the more you're going to have to

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pay. If you're the one on
the road. Well, the other other

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options that strip you eat lot surprise
or somewhere, well I agree with that,

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but what I'm going to tell you
is that ten dollars ten people is

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not eating a Ruth Christmer for one
hundred. So so yeah, that's that's

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That's the one thing about party tips. There are other saxes. It's act,

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it's a tax fare on the property
that I live. It's out.

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I mean, it's very difficult to
get out of it your sales tax buy

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the dagest of sets. Well,
no, not necessarily, John, I've

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got the option of whether or not
I want to buy that out. I

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don't have to buy that out of
So if I don't want to go in

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there and buy a bag of chips, I don't buy bag of chips,

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I don't pay any sales tax.
So it's the same thing. You've got

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the option to be in and out
of either one. So it comes down

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to what do you want to how
you want to live your life? Yes,

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follow up, yes, sir,
So the elderly both said bosing assessment,

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Well, the experience of increase in
their taxes. They will not receive

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an increase in any assessment, but
if a district passes another tax, or

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if the experience increase, they could
experience an increase in taxes, but not

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assessments. See, the only thing
that's frozen is your assessment. So if

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a district rolls milgians back to the
maximum, or if a district passes another

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tax, then that tax has passed
on to those people their assessment don't change.

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Could be possible someone who has asen
assessment actually has a redopt in their

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taxes this year, if you reduce
your mailage and these other districts experienced,

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well, the way it is,
Mickey, is if everybody lowered their assessments

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to what the legislative ultra said,
nobody would have an increase at all.

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Yeah, that's the whole thing.
That's why the Legislative Arty come in and

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puts that on there. They put
you at a zero sum increase, so

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you wouldn't have any increase except for
the growth. Now, the growth is

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not included into a reassessment. That's
just stuff that was added on in twenty

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four we put that on. But
yeah, theoretically you wouldn't have any So

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what happens is at that point,
the district's vote on what they're going to

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do, and then we add them
all up. We send them over to

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have the tax notice to sent out, and then they add up all the

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taxing rates and that's what becomes your
tax building. But if they put them

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as no increase or they put them
back to the lower mount of what the

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alleged they've alty said, then you
won't have an increase. But they're not

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keeping up with inflation. At that
point, they're not able to do anything

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new at all they every year it
comes in and they say, because we

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have growth every year, but you
only have reassessment every four years, so

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even in this year you still have
growth. But a reassessment is exactly what

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it says is it's a reassessment of
everything that was already here. If it

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wasn't here this year, then it
can't be reassessed. It's just put on

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its growth. But anything that was
here before we reassess it once every four

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years. Okay, five miles Family
and Las successor and every edition it is

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there's two sources of revenue. The
new revenue become there. Whatever we do

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it we reassessments. Thats RELGI bring
new avenue in the voting for mesages and

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I stayed in the last years.
Happy anybody departments, you come on the

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work here a year area a year
this year there Additionally, and as a

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past player, Pitsern, I wish
first of all before we vote in villagers

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in a year when it reassessment,
heurs that we can get the numbers before

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can't vote on them in You know, we have a provision being wrote you

247
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back. You are y'all rolling back, but I don't have to know you

248
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know how much more I am paying
for these know, this is I'm calling

249
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corn an Avenue and take impact for
you know, we're kind of doing it.

250
00:18:15.599 --> 00:18:21.680
We're voting for were in my house
what a p fall well and I

251
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know that's a fact out there before
that in the year when greassessment to her

252
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kind of had the votes or the
mules will be measure the gods. Uh.

253
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And then in terms of you know, because there's people that get the

254
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special increase in their own sentients of
my humanises w y as, I hope

255
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I would hides. I believe it
so was Horner and emergency our relation of

256
00:18:48.200 --> 00:18:52.960
privacies said he miss the last.
They get that, but there are also

257
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benefishery of the residiveness they are coming
from the grid session you know of and

258
00:19:00.839 --> 00:19:06.640
it leaves a taxpayer that isn't one
of those groups you know, you know,

259
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convenings pain more bailable and so of
these taxpayers I mean inflations and Brady

260
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higher polls. Everybody gonna hire a
sales tact. That's the possible. And

261
00:19:15.400 --> 00:19:22.039
now we're drunk it in the product
that now I'm I'm okay with people charge,

262
00:19:22.240 --> 00:19:26.680
but I understand everyone's every district cost
is going up in the last four

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years. It's the last for ass
uh put out ability to just I just

264
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encourage you to take a hard look. It's that if I'm me is looking

265
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up right now and I don't like
it, s uh and and I just

266
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look hard for us and ask this
year's particularly is crazy. We're here,

267
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we're president pursus a lasting hell.
It might be a good guys to really

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take a hard looking. Can I
not know what the bob of islands?

269
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That that can? That's only a
side that you look at your bucket and

270
00:20:04.279 --> 00:20:11.640
say, well what I need?
You could bof the great quickens. N

271
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do we get nine this elation and
understand where we're hitting. Afterwards, Dale

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said something a few minutes ago.
He asked, does this happened every year?

273
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If you don't look at the villages
every year? Because once every four

274
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years the districts are required by law
to go back to their maximum or they

275
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lose their maximum. Look, no
one is going we can play games if

276
00:20:34.839 --> 00:20:37.920
you want to. Nobody's going to
give up their maximum village. They're just

277
00:20:38.000 --> 00:20:41.839
not going to in case something happens, They're not going to do it.

278
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We tried to pass the constitutional law. I think it was two years ago

279
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that said the districts could lower their
millages every year for the rest of your

280
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life if they wanted to, but
they always had that ability to go back

281
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to the maximum if they needed to. Because what happens is revironment every four

282
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years, they've got to go back
to the maximum. So they take a

283
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windfall no matter what. And so
that's what happens. And so we try

284
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to pass it and fail pretty pretty
decently. But if we ever bring it

285
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back, you're all going to need
to see it. Look, I'm doing

286
00:21:15.680 --> 00:21:19.720
everything I can in my office for
the transparency. That's what people are asking

287
00:21:19.799 --> 00:21:26.359
for. They won't transparency, and
so we're about to put some dollars into

288
00:21:26.759 --> 00:21:30.880
advertising to let people know you need
to come in. Our books don't open

289
00:21:32.039 --> 00:21:37.279
until August fifteenth. We're open now. I've told my staff the books are

290
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open as tomorrow morning. You can
go online and look at your assessment.

291
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You can come in and look at
your assessment, or you can call and

292
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look at your assessment. But I
think it's important that people come in so

293
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they're not shocked. Because one of
the things that people always say is why

294
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are the tax bills always come out
around November? November fifteenth, what the

295
00:21:56.920 --> 00:21:59.960
law says. You know, we've
got certain processes we've got to go through,

296
00:22:00.200 --> 00:22:02.400
and then the books are open.
Then you go through this process,

297
00:22:02.480 --> 00:22:03.599
and then you've got to get them
printed, and by the time you get

298
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them out it's right around Christmas.
So we're letting you know here June the

299
00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:14.279
eleventh, that you need to call
it in and check your assessments. And

300
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I will tell you this. Look, I've had long conversations today and through

301
00:22:21.200 --> 00:22:22.759
the last few weeks, and every
thing but a lot of them have been

302
00:22:22.799 --> 00:22:30.839
today, and these districts really are
trying to look at their budgets and they're

303
00:22:30.880 --> 00:22:36.000
trying to make sure that they can
do what's right by the parish. I

304
00:22:36.079 --> 00:22:38.720
don't think you have people out there
just looking to take just excess money and

305
00:22:38.799 --> 00:22:42.680
go put it into a reserve firm. They're wanting to make sure that when

306
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they get down to the bottom of
the day, they're having to set their

307
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budgets or to talk about their budgets
today. For a budget that starts January

308
00:22:48.759 --> 00:22:52.880
the first, and then you've got
a year before that comes in, so

309
00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:56.119
that's eighteen months that they got to
make sure that their insurance don't go up

310
00:22:57.119 --> 00:23:02.200
sheriff. If your insurance went up, that you've become sheriff back in twenty

311
00:23:02.359 --> 00:23:04.759
twelve as it went up a little
bit. Anybody else at school boards your

312
00:23:04.759 --> 00:23:11.559
insurance went up as the cost of
doing business went up. And I understand

313
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what people say. They said,
well, the working person, the people

314
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of the parish, they just do
without. Well you can, but sometimes

315
00:23:21.559 --> 00:23:26.240
it causes you to fall behind and
you don't have the technology, you don't

316
00:23:26.279 --> 00:23:30.680
have the things that are necessary to
make sure that if an accident happens.

317
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We had an accident just day on
South Sid's Central Road. It was mighty

318
00:23:33.400 --> 00:23:37.880
nice to see that. They said
that the first respinders showed up there within

319
00:23:38.000 --> 00:23:41.359
five minutes and they was able to
get everybody out of the car before they

320
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called them fire. That's nice.
What if that would have been a thirty

321
00:23:45.079 --> 00:23:49.640
minute response instead of a five minute
we could have a larger tragedy. So

322
00:23:51.160 --> 00:23:55.039
when you're looking at it, you
can look at it through the lens that

323
00:23:55.119 --> 00:24:00.000
we're talking about, because look,
I'm a physical conservative. I'm extremely concerned,

324
00:24:00.519 --> 00:24:04.799
but I also know that I have
to get certain things done in my

325
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parish. I've got to have the
people that can get out there and work,

326
00:24:08.960 --> 00:24:12.400
and you also got to pay people
enough to keep them there. It's

327
00:24:12.559 --> 00:24:17.720
nothing worse than when I lose somebody
because they had a job that paid them

328
00:24:17.799 --> 00:24:21.400
more. And I've spent five years
training them and getting them ready to go,

329
00:24:21.519 --> 00:24:26.319
and they're up and running the speed
and they say, from my family,

330
00:24:26.359 --> 00:24:29.839
I've got to go do this.
It's nothing worse than that. There's

331
00:24:29.960 --> 00:24:37.079
nothing worse also than somebody who you
keep around and they're not doing the things

332
00:24:37.079 --> 00:24:41.720
that are necessary. Okay, so
we have to weigh it out. We've

333
00:24:41.720 --> 00:24:44.759
got to make sure that we're doing
the best of our ability to make sure.

334
00:24:44.839 --> 00:24:48.240
And look, I work with really
good people in this parish. I

335
00:24:48.359 --> 00:24:52.039
work with really good people in this
parish. They stay in touch with each

336
00:24:52.039 --> 00:24:56.920
other, they called each other.
We're trying to do the right thing.

337
00:24:56.519 --> 00:25:00.559
Now. I know that there are
some keyboard cowboys that get out there and

338
00:25:00.640 --> 00:25:03.160
they start talking about how everybody is
the worst thing that's ever come along.

339
00:25:03.920 --> 00:25:08.839
They are the absolute worst to ever
come just because you get into elected office,

340
00:25:08.839 --> 00:25:11.480
all of a sudden, that makes
you the worst person around. I

341
00:25:11.599 --> 00:25:15.319
go to church with people that two
weeks before the election, we're going to

342
00:25:15.400 --> 00:25:19.759
lunch, and the day that something
happens, somebody comes out against me,

343
00:25:19.759 --> 00:25:25.759
I'm the worst thing to live.
It happens. But that being said,

344
00:25:25.960 --> 00:25:29.599
I'll work with some really good people
that are conscientious and they're trying to do

345
00:25:29.680 --> 00:25:33.160
the right thing. And at this
point, I am going to who's here

346
00:25:33.319 --> 00:25:40.240
representing the parish? All right,
all of y'all, who's gonna spend let

347
00:25:40.279 --> 00:25:47.960
me resay that who's gonna speak for
the parish tonight? All right? I'm

348
00:25:47.960 --> 00:25:55.759
gonna ask all y'all to stay seated
until we needed somebody why on Thursday night.

349
00:26:03.640 --> 00:26:08.839
So Thursday night at the council meeting, this will be on the agenda,

350
00:26:10.319 --> 00:26:17.920
So at that point discussion will be
heard and the councilmen will make their

351
00:26:18.359 --> 00:26:23.759
their position on. So if if
you are interested in our few milages,

352
00:26:25.319 --> 00:26:30.000
then Thursday night would be at a
time that you would be at the council

353
00:26:30.119 --> 00:26:36.759
chambers and in presenture it'll be open
to the public. So they tell us

354
00:26:36.960 --> 00:26:44.160
four that we yeah, we have
four on on the the agenda, which

355
00:26:44.279 --> 00:26:48.559
is the parish. They call it
the alimony inside and alm on the outside.

356
00:26:48.680 --> 00:26:55.519
So that's I believe that's a constitutional
guarantee. So people do not vote

357
00:26:55.559 --> 00:27:00.319
on that that milage that's provided for
the government, and that's not what's your

358
00:27:00.359 --> 00:27:03.880
parish government. That's for all your
unfunded mandates. That's the Coiner corner,

359
00:27:04.240 --> 00:27:11.119
that's the the DA's office, the
judge's office. So it's a different marriage.

360
00:27:11.799 --> 00:27:17.640
Yeah, has nothing to do with
marriage or the lack of marriage and

361
00:27:17.720 --> 00:27:23.079
that. And then we have a
health unit tax which was voted down by

362
00:27:23.160 --> 00:27:30.759
the public and it does expire December
thirty first of twenty four, so that

363
00:27:30.920 --> 00:27:36.720
will be back on the ballot,
but it will be discussed because the assessment

364
00:27:36.799 --> 00:27:42.880
for twenty four does affect this particular
millage as well. And then we have

365
00:27:44.000 --> 00:27:49.119
the parish road milage which will be
discussed. So those are the items that

366
00:27:49.240 --> 00:27:55.319
will be on the agenda for Thursday
night. So if you have anything to

367
00:27:55.400 --> 00:27:59.880
say that would be well, you
can say it tonight, but I mean

368
00:28:00.039 --> 00:28:07.039
that we'll be voted on on Thursday. Any other counselman have any that's the

369
00:28:07.119 --> 00:28:15.359
first time I heard again that's a
that's you don't have to have here.

370
00:28:15.680 --> 00:28:21.119
Uh, it won't be a public
here in on Thursday, Okay, Okay,

371
00:28:21.200 --> 00:28:26.920
So it'll be introduce okay, so
to be introduced and then then I'll

372
00:28:26.960 --> 00:28:33.480
come back. Yeah, yeah,
so little. It has to be thirty

373
00:28:33.559 --> 00:28:45.720
days published and officials that I never
passed, you know that, right,

374
00:28:47.079 --> 00:28:52.440
That's good. I feel it's kind
of responsible as a counselman and as our

375
00:28:52.480 --> 00:28:56.839
other counselman to hear that that we
had the group have some boys here tonight.

376
00:28:59.799 --> 00:29:03.119
We don't want to have an appearance
that we're just trying to not be

377
00:29:03.240 --> 00:29:07.119
part of the meeting. That's definitely
not the case. So some of the

378
00:29:07.279 --> 00:29:11.799
pulse I will say, of this
council has always been and I'm kind of

379
00:29:11.839 --> 00:29:15.519
speaking for him, but not speaking
for him, just saying this. The

380
00:29:15.720 --> 00:29:22.039
pulse of the council is that we
have a very strong desire as the parish

381
00:29:22.119 --> 00:29:27.319
president, to work hand in hand
together to help our parents move forward.

382
00:29:29.680 --> 00:29:33.559
I had a meeting with the sheriff
dust the other day, and it is

383
00:29:34.960 --> 00:29:44.359
very refreshing from a lifelong resident of
this parish that's been involved, been to

384
00:29:44.440 --> 00:29:48.920
the res, been to the fires, done the dirty work, fault the

385
00:29:49.000 --> 00:29:55.559
battles, to be able to see
where we really have an opportunity to go.

386
00:29:56.079 --> 00:30:00.839
I keep telling everybody, please just
look at the glass half hold farce.

387
00:30:02.279 --> 00:30:04.680
You give us the opportunity. This
is the sixth month of our turn.

388
00:30:06.400 --> 00:30:10.680
So the post of this council is
to give back as much as we

389
00:30:10.799 --> 00:30:15.720
humanly possibly can to what we refer
to as the rooftops of this parish.

390
00:30:17.720 --> 00:30:21.160
A sales tax comes in, people
come in, they stop off the inner

391
00:30:21.200 --> 00:30:22.720
state, they spend their money.
We take their money, we put it

392
00:30:22.799 --> 00:30:26.960
to work for you and for your
roads. The rooftops of the parish,

393
00:30:27.440 --> 00:30:33.519
as mister Taylor referred to, Our
parish has grown, the sus value has

394
00:30:33.599 --> 00:30:37.960
gotten a lot better. So we
are trying to do our best to keep

395
00:30:37.079 --> 00:30:41.759
up with the growth. But it's
a very serious struggle. So the best

396
00:30:41.799 --> 00:30:48.160
thing that's happened so far, from
my standpoint, is the road bond that

397
00:30:48.400 --> 00:30:52.000
was put out on the road fund. Sales tax was created, that's paid

398
00:30:52.039 --> 00:30:56.359
off. That's helped our parish a
lot from a cash flow standpoint. And

399
00:30:56.440 --> 00:31:02.559
then the second part of that is
just watching this councilor do the things that

400
00:31:02.680 --> 00:31:06.480
they do and trying to give back
to the rooftops. And when I say

401
00:31:06.559 --> 00:31:11.079
give back to the rooftops, I
mean the constituents of this parish have footed

402
00:31:11.200 --> 00:31:18.960
the bill on your tax rolls based
on a millage. The bulk of the

403
00:31:18.079 --> 00:31:25.440
parish government that's where we've gotten our
revenue. The parish has grown. We're

404
00:31:25.480 --> 00:31:29.160
starting to get things like bass Probe, We're starting to get things like Judy

405
00:31:29.240 --> 00:31:33.400
Crassey. We're starting to get things
like the industrial park and Walker. We've

406
00:31:33.400 --> 00:31:37.759
got an airport coming and hopefully we'll
bring in some more commercial development that will

407
00:31:37.839 --> 00:31:45.559
help us pay the bill so we
can continue to reduce that milage that's on

408
00:31:45.680 --> 00:31:48.440
the backs of the people of this
parish. And when you open your door,

409
00:31:48.680 --> 00:31:52.640
when I say it's a rooftop,
it's a door in your house and

410
00:31:52.759 --> 00:31:59.000
your tax roof I like to say
it very simple. Everybody's doing the best

411
00:31:59.079 --> 00:32:01.880
that they can and pay their electric
bill right now. So we need to

412
00:32:01.960 --> 00:32:06.799
give back as much as we can
to help you pay that electric bill.

413
00:32:07.519 --> 00:32:12.240
So our parish and our council as
a whole has committed to doing just that.

414
00:32:13.160 --> 00:32:16.720
We've been looking very hard at all
the villages across the board. What's

415
00:32:16.839 --> 00:32:22.599
good for is what's you know needs
to be looked at, and we're holding

416
00:32:22.720 --> 00:32:27.160
people accountable. It's no I don't
know if anybody's here with the library or

417
00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:32.519
not, but it's no hiding agenda
from Rickey Gods standpoint that I need.

418
00:32:32.920 --> 00:32:37.839
I feel in my heart after looking
at from fifteen to now that we need

419
00:32:37.920 --> 00:32:42.519
to look at moving that back a
little bit. I do not, and

420
00:32:42.640 --> 00:32:49.519
this Council does not wish to cut
any services. We don't want to go

421
00:32:49.759 --> 00:32:54.319
backwards. But we want the people
in these districts, in these areas to

422
00:32:54.480 --> 00:33:01.920
have the funds that they need,
the funds that they need. And that's

423
00:33:02.000 --> 00:33:07.599
it, because we need to give
as much as we can back because these

424
00:33:07.640 --> 00:33:10.920
people are trying to pay their tax
real their electric bill. So we're going

425
00:33:12.000 --> 00:33:15.759
to go back to the Health Unit, and right now the Healthy Unit is

426
00:33:15.839 --> 00:33:20.839
going to be back up on the
agenda to read you. And this was

427
00:33:20.920 --> 00:33:23.920
set at two point five. It
always carried a balance over, so we're

428
00:33:23.960 --> 00:33:28.440
going to roll that back and put
it back on the agenda for two point

429
00:33:28.519 --> 00:33:31.880
zero. We hadn't done that because
we had to get it out there.

430
00:33:32.839 --> 00:33:37.279
But in all reality, after we
get the assessment, part one point eighty

431
00:33:37.319 --> 00:33:42.519
eight is what collects us the same
revenue. So this counsel, as I

432
00:33:42.680 --> 00:33:45.599
hope and as the pulse of the
councilor as I feel, will roll it

433
00:33:45.720 --> 00:33:50.000
back to the one point eight eight
and that's where it will stay. It

434
00:33:50.119 --> 00:33:52.559
will be voted on in the election, and I'm looking for a seventy percent

435
00:33:53.039 --> 00:33:57.839
vote and support it because we need
to know that our restaurants are safe and

436
00:33:58.279 --> 00:34:01.480
people need the Health Department they can
go. We're gonna educate everybody exactly what

437
00:34:01.599 --> 00:34:07.519
the Health Department does. We're putting
it on the ballot in Novembers of everybody.

438
00:34:07.440 --> 00:34:12.119
It's a good turnout. We want
everybody to have a voice, and

439
00:34:12.239 --> 00:34:15.840
it don't so don't cost us very
much at all, if anything. So

440
00:34:16.400 --> 00:34:21.199
one of the things that I'm gonna
ask you to do is take it another

441
00:34:21.280 --> 00:34:24.440
step further and move it down at
one point seven zis because they have a

442
00:34:24.559 --> 00:34:31.840
surflus that's gonna help us with animal
control. If they need to collect one

443
00:34:31.880 --> 00:34:37.000
point two million to survive, and
we set it at one point seventy five

444
00:34:37.199 --> 00:34:39.679
and they only collect one point one
and they're sharp by one hundred thousand,

445
00:34:42.079 --> 00:34:45.920
they go, don't do just like
everybody else does. They're gonna go over

446
00:34:45.960 --> 00:34:51.119
there to their savings account. They're
gonna get that one hundred thousand and pay

447
00:34:51.199 --> 00:34:55.639
their bills right because they got a
surplus. We do not want the Health

448
00:34:55.679 --> 00:35:01.400
Department to collect no more than they
need, So we want to give back

449
00:35:01.599 --> 00:35:06.920
right now is set it two point
five, and my desire and hopes is

450
00:35:06.960 --> 00:35:09.880
we'll move it back to one point
seventy five at a minimum one point eight

451
00:35:09.920 --> 00:35:14.400
eight. So we're gonna roll that
back. We're also going to look at

452
00:35:14.440 --> 00:35:19.920
the library about being able to scale
that back a little bit. Not to

453
00:35:20.000 --> 00:35:23.119
cut services. We'll make sure that's
clear. We're not here to cut services.

454
00:35:24.400 --> 00:35:29.360
I promise you we're not here to
cut services. But we're not here

455
00:35:29.400 --> 00:35:31.559
to carry three hundred thousand dollars over
every year and put in the bank.

456
00:35:32.760 --> 00:35:37.519
Anybody wants to see it, and
we're happy to call me. So we're

457
00:35:37.519 --> 00:35:43.079
gonna look at other incidents the gravity
drainage districts. Man, we need dravty

458
00:35:43.159 --> 00:35:45.719
drainage districts. We need to fund
them. We'd be nice to give them

459
00:35:45.800 --> 00:35:52.880
more money. But we're getting of
we're getting a service for what we're paying,

460
00:35:53.000 --> 00:35:57.840
and we're staying ahead of our drainage, and we're doing a master plan,

461
00:35:58.039 --> 00:36:01.599
and we're doing all of these other
things to to use our money wisely

462
00:36:02.159 --> 00:36:06.920
in all these districts as well as
the parish. So I have to say

463
00:36:06.960 --> 00:36:08.679
all of that simply to say that
we are going to do everything that we

464
00:36:08.800 --> 00:36:13.519
need be possible as a counsel to
give as much money as we possibly can

465
00:36:13.679 --> 00:36:19.159
back to the rooftops of the people
this parish in store. And we are

466
00:36:19.320 --> 00:36:25.079
challenging just like Jeff said, we're
challenging ever ented it and holding them accountable

467
00:36:27.199 --> 00:36:32.079
to say we need this money.
Why do you need that money? Convincing

468
00:36:32.480 --> 00:36:37.559
because my responsibility as a counselor is
to the people of this parish and make

469
00:36:37.639 --> 00:36:44.880
sure that they are getting what they
need for the littlest amount of money out

470
00:36:44.920 --> 00:36:50.599
of your pocket and that's my pocket
too that we can't So the more sales

471
00:36:50.679 --> 00:36:52.079
tax goes up, and the more
our sales base goes up, the more

472
00:36:52.119 --> 00:36:55.679
commercial growth we get, et cetera, and all those things. Hopefully we

473
00:36:55.800 --> 00:37:01.679
will continue to see this trend of
getting off of the rooftops of this pairs.

474
00:37:02.440 --> 00:37:07.360
So look at the glass half for
Just look at the glass halfle.

475
00:37:07.440 --> 00:37:10.599
That's all I ask. Simply look
at the glass halfle, and we're gonna

476
00:37:10.719 --> 00:37:14.800
put as much money as we can
to help you pay that back for bill.

477
00:37:15.719 --> 00:37:24.239
Thank you where Okay, So the
parish council is saying that they're going

478
00:37:24.360 --> 00:37:29.760
to be looking at it, and
I really believe that what if I heard

479
00:37:29.920 --> 00:37:32.599
right, you're going to introduce it
tomorrow night, on Thursday night, and

480
00:37:32.719 --> 00:37:37.519
then you've got to advertise it for
a certain amount of time. So don't

481
00:37:37.559 --> 00:37:38.840
forget that. You can't just do
it two weeks now. You've got to

482
00:37:38.880 --> 00:37:45.239
advertise it for like thirty days.
So that's a second group that is looking

483
00:37:45.320 --> 00:37:51.480
at Lord and the villages. It's
important also, and this is again I'm

484
00:37:51.519 --> 00:37:54.920
going to reiterate what my job is. My job is to make sure that

485
00:37:55.159 --> 00:38:00.519
I put the property where it's supposed
to be. They do not come into

486
00:38:00.599 --> 00:38:04.440
my office and suggest, hey,
Jeff, what if you only put it

487
00:38:04.519 --> 00:38:07.800
on for twenty five percent of bath. They tell me that I have to

488
00:38:07.880 --> 00:38:12.840
make it fair and equable. And
in the same stroke they come in as

489
00:38:12.920 --> 00:38:16.280
the legislative aulitra and they will adjust
the millage is down to where no more

490
00:38:16.360 --> 00:38:22.000
money is taken. So at that
point I'm out of the equation. But

491
00:38:22.159 --> 00:38:25.239
a lot of times people come in
in November into my office. Some of

492
00:38:25.280 --> 00:38:29.599
you may have been by there in
November, and you've got people lined up

493
00:38:29.639 --> 00:38:32.960
in the lobby out the door,
and they're wanting to know why their taxes

494
00:38:32.960 --> 00:38:37.519
are too high. That's why we're
having the meeting tonight because I don't know

495
00:38:37.639 --> 00:38:44.039
what your budget is. I've tried
to explain them over the last twenty four

496
00:38:44.159 --> 00:38:49.119
years as to why the taxes on
what they are, but that's really not

497
00:38:49.360 --> 00:38:53.639
my job. My job is to
explain Jeff Taylor the assessor's budget. And

498
00:38:53.840 --> 00:38:58.599
so thank you parish counselor for coming
in. I know that a couple of

499
00:38:58.679 --> 00:39:02.280
y'all are needing to leave and go
to another meeting, So thank y'all so

500
00:39:02.400 --> 00:39:07.039
much for tuming in. At this
point, I'm gonna have chrief ord if

501
00:39:07.079 --> 00:39:10.119
you will come in, you will, Yeah, you didn't know if you

502
00:39:10.199 --> 00:39:17.119
need right for it. So far, I keep saying I'm the camera,

503
00:39:17.199 --> 00:39:21.159
so you know down here or up
there. That's good, You're good,

504
00:39:21.760 --> 00:39:29.000
Uh so uh, Jason Ard And
my duties responsibility is also to do with

505
00:39:29.119 --> 00:39:32.119
taxes, but I don't want to
assess your property. I just collect your

506
00:39:32.199 --> 00:39:37.960
taxes. So that's one of my
duties. The other is the keeper of

507
00:39:37.000 --> 00:39:42.000
the jail. I'm responsible to making
sure that the jail is safe and secure.

508
00:39:42.280 --> 00:39:45.679
That's the other responsibility. And also
the safety of you and your family,

509
00:39:45.239 --> 00:39:49.840
my family as well. Uh.
It has been a tremendous challenge in

510
00:39:49.960 --> 00:39:53.719
this parish because we are still the
fast fastest growing parish in the state.

511
00:39:54.360 --> 00:39:58.800
Uh. And let me tell you
you're talking about the gas prices. We

512
00:39:59.000 --> 00:40:01.960
know, h I have almost two
hundred vehicles and it's jack and it is

513
00:40:02.039 --> 00:40:06.599
going up. About three or four
years ago we were able to start getting

514
00:40:06.599 --> 00:40:09.760
into the broker and broken broken some
gas because we knew it was going to

515
00:40:09.800 --> 00:40:13.800
go up, and wound up saying
about three or four hundred thousand dollars.

516
00:40:13.880 --> 00:40:17.480
And it was a great decision.
We were constantly looking at those things.

517
00:40:19.400 --> 00:40:23.320
You can hear this from some of
our fire chiefs. I know everything is

518
00:40:23.400 --> 00:40:27.920
going up. I mean, look, we used to be we're very proud

519
00:40:27.960 --> 00:40:32.880
of we have tahoes here. Tahoes
are now pricing themselves out the market and

520
00:40:34.280 --> 00:40:37.360
you can't keep up. So you
know, you look at our fleet.

521
00:40:37.440 --> 00:40:40.239
Now we have all kinds of dodgers, forwards or whatever we can get.

522
00:40:40.800 --> 00:40:45.519
And COVID kind of changed that and
they pretty much if y'all remember trying to

523
00:40:45.519 --> 00:40:49.920
get a vehicle near COVID, you
pretty much went whatever was on a lot,

524
00:40:50.039 --> 00:40:54.039
and it was never anything cheap either. And so we ventured off into

525
00:40:54.079 --> 00:41:00.519
a contract with our enterprise to startleson
biggles, to try to say aid money.

526
00:41:00.440 --> 00:41:04.440
When I got into this sheriff deal, it was all great coming from

527
00:41:04.440 --> 00:41:07.960
a chief criminal deputy, and it
turned into a Basically, it's a business.

528
00:41:08.000 --> 00:41:12.519
I'm more of an administrative sheriff than
a criminal sheriff, and it's a

529
00:41:12.599 --> 00:41:16.440
lot of business stuff, and you're
constantly trying to save money and peach pennies

530
00:41:16.519 --> 00:41:21.559
and steal try to give the service
to the people. We have Baton rouge

531
00:41:21.719 --> 00:41:23.840
on one side of me, and
I have a sension on the other side

532
00:41:23.840 --> 00:41:27.039
of it. They don't like to
say they're lower than us, but they're

533
00:41:27.079 --> 00:41:30.000
on the bottom side over here.
But they pay their deputies a lot more

534
00:41:30.079 --> 00:41:35.480
than we do, and it's tough
keeping good trained people here, and so

535
00:41:35.639 --> 00:41:39.039
it's a constant battle with that.
And we are budgets about forty one meter

536
00:41:40.079 --> 00:41:45.559
eighty five percent of my budgets filled
on salaries, and that's the base of

537
00:41:45.599 --> 00:41:47.559
what it is. And then we
have equipment and we do everything we can

538
00:41:49.199 --> 00:41:52.000
to try to get the most bang
for the buck. And I'm telling you

539
00:41:52.559 --> 00:41:59.079
just to tell you probably I'm gonna
guess that it's maybe about four years ago

540
00:41:59.280 --> 00:42:02.639
probably the top those were around that
forty mark four or five years about forty

541
00:42:02.719 --> 00:42:10.679
thousand, seventy thousand dollars today seventy
thousand. And it's just it's incredible.

542
00:42:12.119 --> 00:42:15.239
And I can't even imagine what it's
like being fire chief in those trucks.

543
00:42:15.679 --> 00:42:19.480
I really can. And so those
are the kind of things that we do.

544
00:42:19.719 --> 00:42:22.119
I mean, I don't know,
and I mean we've looked at our

545
00:42:22.159 --> 00:42:24.880
budget. I don't know if I
cannot not roll forward, I just don't

546
00:42:24.880 --> 00:42:28.239
know if I can survive. And
look what's going on in a country.

547
00:42:28.239 --> 00:42:30.440
If you don't think the border is
a problem, watch my follow my page.

548
00:42:31.199 --> 00:42:36.119
I mean, look the last time
I checked, everybody heard of the

549
00:42:36.199 --> 00:42:39.639
last time we had a meth lab
in Livingston Parish. We don't have to

550
00:42:39.719 --> 00:42:43.480
more. You just get straight from
the border and package already really good,

551
00:42:43.719 --> 00:42:45.639
nice package and deals just coming right
across the border every time you want to.

552
00:42:46.119 --> 00:42:50.960
It's affecting us. We're seeing it. We're making big cases here and

553
00:42:51.119 --> 00:42:53.199
so let's a it's a huge demand
and it's really tough to keep up with

554
00:42:53.320 --> 00:42:58.159
a fast growing parrish. And so
look, I want to do all I

555
00:42:58.239 --> 00:43:00.599
can to save as much money as
I can, and I really take pride.

556
00:43:00.639 --> 00:43:02.599
Now I've had a queen on it
to twelve years. I've been your

557
00:43:02.719 --> 00:43:06.719
chef, and we pinch pennies and
we look at every single thing. We

558
00:43:06.800 --> 00:43:09.199
take advice for people. We try
to be as transparent as possible. I

559
00:43:09.320 --> 00:43:12.960
know a lot of people think that
I made money off of inmates in the

560
00:43:13.039 --> 00:43:15.599
jail. I don't make no money. I actually put about two or three

561
00:43:15.639 --> 00:43:19.239
bion I was into that jail and
it's a tough thing. But now at

562
00:43:19.320 --> 00:43:22.400
jails, nobody wants to talk about
it. But it's got lots to do

563
00:43:22.480 --> 00:43:24.800
with your quality of life. If
I don't have the attention center, I

564
00:43:24.840 --> 00:43:28.719
don't know where to put them.
You've got to have a good student center

565
00:43:28.719 --> 00:43:30.519
and do that. I just met
with Ricky Goff about trying to do what

566
00:43:30.599 --> 00:43:35.199
we can and get prisoners back here
to save the parish money. We're doing

567
00:43:35.280 --> 00:43:38.920
everything we can, but look in
today's world with the demand on law enforcement,

568
00:43:40.079 --> 00:43:45.159
I just don't know if I can
survive not rolling my millage as far

569
00:43:45.199 --> 00:43:47.599
as I don't know how I'm going
to do it. If we look at

570
00:43:47.760 --> 00:43:52.320
everything that we can to try to
do that. So again, I mean,

571
00:43:52.760 --> 00:43:55.480
I mean, who else is going
out there to broke her gas to

572
00:43:55.559 --> 00:43:59.639
try to save a dollar or two. But it works. We've done everything

573
00:43:59.719 --> 00:44:02.800
we can to try to think that
way. But I mean, I feel

574
00:44:02.840 --> 00:44:07.679
for you fire chiefs too, because
y'all are like manly those those equipment.

575
00:44:07.880 --> 00:44:10.440
The upfit is just unbelievable. Matter
of fact, we'll start seeing some of

576
00:44:10.519 --> 00:44:14.840
our vehicles of bar lights. We
used to not have bar lights and went

577
00:44:14.880 --> 00:44:16.840
back to bar lights. The reason
is you can actually use them. So

578
00:44:16.960 --> 00:44:21.000
we have done a lot in the
last couple of years trying to go back

579
00:44:21.079 --> 00:44:22.920
to some of the ways we used
to do things and just looking at what

580
00:44:23.039 --> 00:44:28.639
was the most efficient way to do
something to save more money. And so

581
00:44:29.320 --> 00:44:31.320
that's that's kind of where I'm an. I'll entertain any questions as you might

582
00:44:31.440 --> 00:44:38.639
have for me anybody when we asked
once I knew John's and I have a

583
00:44:38.719 --> 00:44:49.079
questioned, how the what? Yeah's
just hope that fixs us. It's nice

584
00:44:49.079 --> 00:44:51.039
and it would be nice and going
to jail and I have to cover our

585
00:44:51.039 --> 00:44:55.440
stuff on the talk. But thank
y'all for doing that. Absolutely, I

586
00:44:55.480 --> 00:45:04.400
would say that we learned it was
I there's not always somebody making money out

587
00:45:04.400 --> 00:45:16.360
of there. There's really not,
So we appreciate you saying that. Bocal.

588
00:45:17.480 --> 00:45:20.800
Well, you know a lot of
people don't understand a lot of that

589
00:45:20.880 --> 00:45:23.679
stuff. Like you know, we
we have money that comes through that jail.

590
00:45:23.719 --> 00:45:28.440
We get money for doc inmates.
Uh, but we're also very cautious.

591
00:45:28.440 --> 00:45:30.639
So I have to have a certain
amounts to be able to pay my

592
00:45:30.760 --> 00:45:35.079
salaries for my employees or run that
jail. But sometimes whenever I'm shipping people

593
00:45:35.119 --> 00:45:37.199
out of parish, I also make
room on my de OC side. So

594
00:45:37.239 --> 00:45:39.719
if you all losing so in mine. So we're trying to kind of share

595
00:45:39.840 --> 00:45:44.760
that hurt to make sure we we
run that as fair as we can.

596
00:45:45.599 --> 00:45:47.880
Ricky and I talked about that the
other day, So hopefully we got something

597
00:45:47.880 --> 00:45:51.199
to come down and pipe to help
with that. Dale you had a question

598
00:45:52.239 --> 00:46:15.639
as to make it. I'm not
at home sales teams of rock. I

599
00:46:15.679 --> 00:46:19.480
don't think you never get big enough. I mean, look, they share,

600
00:46:19.519 --> 00:46:23.000
we share an employee Falry, and
all this guy does, all he

601
00:46:23.199 --> 00:46:28.199
does all day long is try to
find out what inmate might be hung up

602
00:46:28.239 --> 00:46:30.599
in the system. Can we get
him the court faster, can he get

603
00:46:30.639 --> 00:46:35.000
him through the digital system, Can
we get him out faster. So we

604
00:46:35.119 --> 00:46:37.679
have a deput is dedicated just to
do that, to try to get those

605
00:46:37.760 --> 00:46:40.199
inmates in and out. You'll be
surprised, I mean people who are sitting

606
00:46:40.239 --> 00:46:44.719
there. We used to find this
that wanted to leap guilty like any of

607
00:46:44.800 --> 00:46:49.000
my time, and it would take
you know, ninety days to turn around

608
00:46:49.039 --> 00:46:51.639
sentence the guy. Even when we
get thirty days, that's the waste of

609
00:46:51.679 --> 00:46:57.199
our money or time credit for time
served. So we that was way back

610
00:46:57.320 --> 00:46:59.440
when I don't want how many years
ago, we decided, you know,

611
00:46:59.519 --> 00:47:01.599
we need to we need to pay
attention to this. So we created that

612
00:47:02.119 --> 00:47:07.639
that position for that and it's actually
paid off a lot. So right now

613
00:47:07.719 --> 00:47:12.480
we have rough what been eighty ish
less than that when we got sixty inmates

614
00:47:12.480 --> 00:47:15.199
out of Paris, about sixty inmates
out of Paris, which is pretty good.

615
00:47:16.000 --> 00:47:21.159
We've been seeing up to one hundred
and fifty one. Thing that Yeah,

616
00:47:21.400 --> 00:47:27.119
still you have the problem with that. You heard we live he worked

617
00:47:27.159 --> 00:47:36.079
at government in the school at Arias
Council Ken and he with a private company

618
00:47:37.719 --> 00:47:45.159
maybe a crazy day or rock home. Really that's gonna be very d I

619
00:47:45.239 --> 00:47:50.039
mean that's like the schools like that's
why we don't have a work release.

620
00:47:50.840 --> 00:47:54.880
Yeah, it worked to private companies
tried it and it didn't work, and

621
00:47:55.039 --> 00:47:59.079
they they wound up getting both of
them, well one of them sold another

622
00:47:59.119 --> 00:48:04.880
one and hold. It's just it's
a it's a really tough business. Yeah,

623
00:48:05.920 --> 00:48:10.159
I would like it's what jealous concern. I would certainly like to thankful

624
00:48:10.239 --> 00:48:15.920
people of this parish for providing us
with the sea tax and fund of deal.

625
00:48:15.440 --> 00:48:22.400
I don't be embarrass you don't have
that that red in present number one

626
00:48:22.519 --> 00:48:25.719
problem. I mean, if you
don't have buddies for me, because if

627
00:48:25.719 --> 00:48:30.360
that's time to say, if you
take care of the first over anybody else.

628
00:48:30.880 --> 00:48:35.440
So you know we're talking about taxes
to night. You know, certainly

629
00:48:36.800 --> 00:48:40.280
the people of his parish stand up, are you know the leaders of the

630
00:48:40.880 --> 00:48:46.239
past, you know for in sight
of thinking about that because anything huge or

631
00:48:46.320 --> 00:48:53.880
lead on our business and have a
fundies for You're correct, I've seen the

632
00:48:53.960 --> 00:49:00.480
hurts. Yeah, any other questions
just you be termed of Well, if

633
00:49:00.559 --> 00:49:06.559
someone would do the parents should wanted
to understand these there the one of the

634
00:49:06.760 --> 00:49:09.760
understand of both. I love what
is less play ball, but it's under

635
00:49:09.800 --> 00:49:17.199
prom competing budget is closed just a
simple source of revenue spending trip, so

636
00:49:17.280 --> 00:49:21.280
we can kind of understand what's commanding, what's going to happen where you cooks

637
00:49:21.320 --> 00:49:23.880
money, because you know, is
there anyone can do that where all these

638
00:49:24.000 --> 00:49:30.360
physics goods is us understanding, but
it's really not understanding what's coming in and

639
00:49:30.480 --> 00:49:36.320
what's spent. You know, because
a little of freasonable that helps us.

640
00:49:36.760 --> 00:49:40.320
I must rather pay a local tax
than any other tax up because you know,

641
00:49:40.320 --> 00:49:44.639
I'll do what I know if you
have people I can watch and people

642
00:49:44.639 --> 00:49:49.559
where you can have a kind of
them and a distance either way for us

643
00:49:49.679 --> 00:49:55.920
to get a view your budgets in
a simple by that non lusty water with

644
00:49:57.000 --> 00:50:00.880
the combat or we can understand what
comes be it goes. That's the word

645
00:50:00.039 --> 00:50:05.280
said. I would like to see
that too. Can's tough on me to

646
00:50:05.360 --> 00:50:07.960
read a budget and called Jimmy and
I don't want to quite understand this because

647
00:50:07.960 --> 00:50:12.760
it could be confusing. Jamie,
you had something you want to add in,

648
00:50:14.119 --> 00:50:15.679
So to answer that question, we're
required to do it that way.

649
00:50:15.840 --> 00:50:21.239
That's that's their rules. We have
to follow it. I would you can

650
00:50:21.320 --> 00:50:24.639
come to our office anytime and and
sit down and go through it. But

651
00:50:24.880 --> 00:50:28.800
we're required to do it that way, and it makes sense to us,

652
00:50:29.119 --> 00:50:32.039
but it's not user friendly. No, it don't make a lot of sense

653
00:50:32.079 --> 00:50:36.519
to me. If I tell you
what, we'll talk about this this that's

654
00:50:36.559 --> 00:50:38.280
kind of a good idea. Maybe
there's a way we can put something out

655
00:50:38.320 --> 00:50:43.920
and be a little more transparent,
a little more simplified. And we'll look

656
00:50:43.920 --> 00:50:47.480
at that and said or something that
you do. You know that it comes

657
00:50:47.519 --> 00:51:04.480
to perscription want And I don't know
anything about the next little baby. I

658
00:51:04.639 --> 00:51:14.639
wonder if because you were friendly,
notice where here here here the middle friend

659
00:51:15.000 --> 00:51:20.480
here for the next So we kind
of other one. You know the boats

660
00:51:20.639 --> 00:51:30.320
that body were open are aware?
Yeah, I go ahead, job.

661
00:51:30.360 --> 00:51:32.519
I'll tell you this. There's only
so much room you've got on a tax

662
00:51:32.599 --> 00:51:37.559
bill. We've got forty six taxing
districts in this parish, and so when

663
00:51:37.599 --> 00:51:42.519
you go to putting every one of
them, you have to kind of condense

664
00:51:42.559 --> 00:51:45.880
it a little bit because it just
goes through the roof with the costs and

665
00:51:45.960 --> 00:51:51.199
everything. But I will tell you
this that you can come in and see

666
00:51:51.239 --> 00:51:54.159
these offices. I've called them,
asked them about budgets. They tell me,

667
00:51:54.320 --> 00:51:58.000
I mean that all you got to
do is ask them, they'll tell

668
00:51:58.039 --> 00:52:01.400
you what it is. Now.
I would that we wouldn't get five hundred

669
00:52:01.440 --> 00:52:07.199
people coming in and doing public records
request over and over because what happens a

670
00:52:07.239 --> 00:52:10.559
lot of times when that happened is
it really slows you down in your workday

671
00:52:12.159 --> 00:52:15.199
and you're stopping to have to do
this. But as far as the budget,

672
00:52:15.159 --> 00:52:20.480
just so you know, we share
a lot of things. One of

673
00:52:20.559 --> 00:52:23.280
the things that we've worked on,
the mapping system that I have, I

674
00:52:23.400 --> 00:52:27.880
have given it to everyone in the
parish. I don't turn around and charge

675
00:52:27.960 --> 00:52:30.920
that I took that out of my
own budget, so they would not have

676
00:52:30.079 --> 00:52:36.760
to do that. I'm sharing an
it guy right now with the parish because

677
00:52:36.800 --> 00:52:39.280
I said, I really don't need
a full time person, but I do

678
00:52:39.400 --> 00:52:43.599
need somebody that can come over and
make sure my printers are working in my

679
00:52:44.400 --> 00:52:46.800
keyboards and everything like that. And
the parish president's office said, yeah,

680
00:52:46.800 --> 00:52:51.239
we can help you with that.
So I know we're reaching out. Jamie

681
00:52:51.320 --> 00:52:54.519
does a lot of my accounting in
the office. He does all my accounting

682
00:52:54.679 --> 00:53:00.360
in the office, so we're already
sharing people trying to get things like that

683
00:53:00.519 --> 00:53:04.559
done and the budgets that come out
and everything. She will show this is

684
00:53:04.639 --> 00:53:09.800
your expenditures on this, this,
and this. I mean, anytime you

685
00:53:09.880 --> 00:53:13.159
want to see that, you're more
than welcome to come in and see ours.

686
00:53:13.440 --> 00:53:15.039
I will tell you this. There's
two things I want to add to

687
00:53:15.199 --> 00:53:19.320
before the sheriff says now. First
of all, I think that some of

688
00:53:19.360 --> 00:53:23.760
the parish councilor when they were elected
back in October November, when they started

689
00:53:23.760 --> 00:53:29.000
doing a lot of their work checking
to see where a lot of the funds

690
00:53:29.079 --> 00:53:34.880
were, like a lot of times
they would look and see that a parish

691
00:53:34.960 --> 00:53:38.599
wide tax. They would see it, and their first reaction, just like

692
00:53:38.719 --> 00:53:44.239
the public, was is all this
money is going to the parish. The

693
00:53:44.320 --> 00:53:47.599
parish council gets a very small amount
of money, a very small amount of

694
00:53:47.639 --> 00:53:53.199
money. They have been extremely good
every year that I've been assessor of trying

695
00:53:53.239 --> 00:53:57.440
to go in and help with them. Every year they have done that.

696
00:53:58.039 --> 00:54:01.480
And when you look at the small
all about they get, it really is

697
00:54:02.360 --> 00:54:06.559
something to watch them do with what
they got. Because when they got in

698
00:54:06.639 --> 00:54:08.199
there I had heard someone said,
man, we got all this money,

699
00:54:08.440 --> 00:54:10.519
we got this parish wide, and
then all of a sudden they realized,

700
00:54:10.559 --> 00:54:14.599
wait, that really don't come to
us, No, that parish wide means

701
00:54:14.679 --> 00:54:17.840
that it goes to the assessor's office, is voted on or as passed parish

702
00:54:17.880 --> 00:54:22.559
wide. Everybody in a parish pays
that one. Sheriff's something. Everybody in

703
00:54:22.599 --> 00:54:25.079
a parish pays that one, but
it's called parish wide, and we try

704
00:54:25.159 --> 00:54:29.840
to distinguish some of it. But
the parish government has been done a real

705
00:54:29.920 --> 00:54:34.760
good job of trying to make sure
that they give back the sheriff and I

706
00:54:34.880 --> 00:54:37.559
and there may be in some other
here in the so if I miss you,

707
00:54:37.639 --> 00:54:44.400
I apologize. But the last couple
of years we have received a Certificate

708
00:54:44.480 --> 00:54:50.920
of Excellence in Finance award. That's
a pretty big deal. That's a national

709
00:54:50.960 --> 00:54:54.440
award. That means that we are
scrubbing, we're doing everything that we possibly

710
00:54:54.519 --> 00:54:59.639
can to do more with little,
and we've been able to do that.

711
00:55:00.039 --> 00:55:02.480
And so I wanted to compliment him
on the fact that he's received it now

712
00:55:02.719 --> 00:55:12.000
two or three two years, three
years, twenty five five years. Okay,

713
00:55:12.239 --> 00:55:14.880
that's a pretty good deal. You
want to keep behind that war and

714
00:55:15.039 --> 00:55:21.360
saying yeah, absolutely, one hundred
percent, that's a fact. But I

715
00:55:21.400 --> 00:55:25.199
also want to say one other thing. If you have something that happens at

716
00:55:25.239 --> 00:55:30.440
your house. Somebody's breaking into your
house may ask you something. You want

717
00:55:30.480 --> 00:55:34.199
it to be a fifteen minute response
or do you want to be an hour.

718
00:55:36.079 --> 00:55:38.360
That's what it boils down to.
If you don't have the money to

719
00:55:38.440 --> 00:55:42.559
pay deputies and get them on the
streets and everything, the response time is

720
00:55:42.599 --> 00:55:45.960
going to be a lot less.
If your house fetches on fire, you

721
00:55:45.039 --> 00:55:47.760
want that fire department there in four
minutes, five minutes, or you want

722
00:55:47.800 --> 00:55:51.840
them to be there in an hour. An hour, you're gone. You

723
00:55:51.880 --> 00:55:55.760
don't have anything. So when you're
asking people to do things, make sure

724
00:55:55.840 --> 00:56:00.639
that I don't know where mister Golf
went, but he said minutes. Look

725
00:56:00.639 --> 00:56:05.639
at that last half full, because
they really are trying to get things taken

726
00:56:05.679 --> 00:56:08.639
care of. Scheff, thank you
for coming up and sharing with everybody tonight.

727
00:56:09.280 --> 00:56:13.880
He shared with you what his budget
basic budgets are, and he's also

728
00:56:13.960 --> 00:56:15.480
shared with you what he's going to
try to do with his militis. Natures

729
00:56:15.519 --> 00:56:20.280
has stimed up as a school board. They just went out for a once

730
00:56:20.360 --> 00:56:23.400
in sales tax to try to pay
their people. I will tell you before

731
00:56:23.480 --> 00:56:29.000
they walk up here that their total
millage is going to bring them somewhere in

732
00:56:29.039 --> 00:56:32.079
the neighborhood of about four or five
million dollars more. This year, they

733
00:56:32.159 --> 00:56:37.400
needed twenty four million. That should
pretty much tell you what they got to

734
00:56:37.440 --> 00:56:43.519
do with their militis. That should
have tell you pretty much that if they

735
00:56:43.639 --> 00:56:47.800
needed twenty four and they're getting five, that they're still short. I know

736
00:56:47.920 --> 00:56:51.760
that they went out and paid for
a study, and I don't know who

737
00:56:51.840 --> 00:56:53.840
paid for it. But I always
get this wrong because either lead Frog or

738
00:56:53.920 --> 00:56:59.119
Lean Frog, Lean Lean Frog and
Lean Frog come in and said, this

739
00:56:59.360 --> 00:57:02.519
is what you can do to better
help you. And so they took some

740
00:57:02.639 --> 00:57:07.000
of that information and tried to help
out with someone's salaries. But guess what,

741
00:57:07.119 --> 00:57:09.599
they're still short. And if you
don't believe that, go ask a

742
00:57:09.679 --> 00:57:13.960
sension what'sy're paying? Go ask bat
Moods what's there paying? Go ask all

743
00:57:13.960 --> 00:57:15.880
of them what's a paying. The
worst thing that you can have is to

744
00:57:16.000 --> 00:57:22.119
train somebody and somebody tell you go
out and get some experience and then come

745
00:57:22.199 --> 00:57:25.000
back, and they come out and
get experience out here. And then when

746
00:57:25.039 --> 00:57:29.239
we get them good and trained and
they're taking over the classrooms and everything,

747
00:57:29.440 --> 00:57:32.039
they move to another area because they're
making ten fifteen to twenty thousand dollars more

748
00:57:32.159 --> 00:57:37.039
year. That's what they're up against. So I'm gonna turn it over to

749
00:57:37.119 --> 00:57:38.280
y'all. Y'all come out and tell
what you're gonna do with you go just

750
00:57:39.639 --> 00:57:45.320
and tell a little bit about your
budget. Now, this is somebody that's

751
00:57:45.360 --> 00:57:49.280
coming up here like she's a church. She's coming up there. She wants

752
00:57:49.320 --> 00:57:52.760
to be up on top. So
thank you. Somebody introduce yourself to having

753
00:57:52.800 --> 00:58:00.800
it. I'm actually I'm the assistant
business manager for the school board living for

754
00:58:00.920 --> 00:58:07.079
Parish School where it currently collects nine
different taxes that are collected our behalf.

755
00:58:07.320 --> 00:58:12.000
Four of these are parish wide villages
and five are collected for individual districts.

756
00:58:12.599 --> 00:58:15.719
I'm going to go into a little
more detail about each one. The first

757
00:58:15.840 --> 00:58:20.239
is a seven We call it our
seven field maintenance. It's a seven meal

758
00:58:20.360 --> 00:58:23.960
tax. It's collected for the maintenance
on buildings, equipment, vehicles, and

759
00:58:24.000 --> 00:58:29.360
the upkeep of all the grails in
our district. The funding is distributed across

760
00:58:29.440 --> 00:58:35.360
all the districts proportionally on a for
pupil basis. This tax is estimated next

761
00:58:35.440 --> 00:58:38.800
year to generate six and a half
million dollars. In twenty three twenty four,

762
00:58:38.920 --> 00:58:43.119
we estimate that that will have cost
us over ten million dollars, so

763
00:58:43.800 --> 00:58:47.039
six and a half next year we've
already spent ten this year. The second

764
00:58:47.119 --> 00:58:52.840
of our parish wide millages is a
five meal Construction. This is collected for

765
00:58:52.960 --> 00:58:58.840
construction related expenditures, including land acquisitions. This funding is distributed across all the

766
00:58:58.880 --> 00:59:02.800
districts proportioned on a p pupal basis, is estimated to generate four and a

767
00:59:02.840 --> 00:59:08.280
half billion dollars next year. This
year will we expect to exceed fourteen million

768
00:59:08.320 --> 00:59:13.960
in that punch. When either of
these funds are in a deficit, we've

769
00:59:14.079 --> 00:59:17.679
used our second sales tax to these
dedicated for maintenance and facilities to transfer to

770
00:59:17.719 --> 00:59:23.199
cover that deficit. Our third and
fourth villages that we collect are also parish

771
00:59:23.239 --> 00:59:28.920
wide villages and they are collected in
tracks in our general fund. The two

772
00:59:29.039 --> 00:59:31.800
villages are a three point twenty nine
MILI and a seven point one to eight

773
00:59:31.920 --> 00:59:37.400
MILI. These two taxes is the
third largest source of revenue for our general

774
00:59:37.440 --> 00:59:43.440
fund. It is given to support
our to support our schools. The school

775
00:59:43.480 --> 00:59:46.400
board is the largest employer in the
parish and our general fund is responsible for

776
00:59:46.480 --> 00:59:51.719
salaries and benefits of over thirty eight
hundred employees. The cost of our monthly

777
00:59:51.800 --> 00:59:57.480
payroll for salaries and benefits alone is
approximately twenty million dollars. We recently contracted

778
00:59:57.559 --> 01:00:01.159
with Lean for All Consultants to perform
a compensation analysis and an organizational review for

779
01:00:01.199 --> 01:00:06.480
the school board. Our compensation analysis
showed that we run with a very lean

780
01:00:06.679 --> 01:00:12.000
and underpaid staff. Our board took
a first step in addressing these issues with

781
01:00:12.079 --> 01:00:15.880
a four million dollar initiative for the
twenty four to twenty five school year in

782
01:00:15.000 --> 01:00:21.480
levelizing our salary schedules. Our hope
is that as additional revenue sources become available,

783
01:00:21.719 --> 01:00:23.599
that we're able to address some of
the other issues that've brought to our

784
01:00:23.639 --> 01:00:29.559
attention, such as mister Taylor just
is alluded to our teachers. Just like

785
01:00:29.760 --> 01:00:34.079
scheerguards officers are leaving to go to
other districts, our teachers want to go

786
01:00:34.079 --> 01:00:38.000
to as cincieness Keasbeader as well,
where they can make more money. We

787
01:00:38.199 --> 01:00:43.920
understand the difficulties that people are facing
in the recent years of price increases.

788
01:00:44.079 --> 01:00:47.960
We feel them too. I have
one of examples is the fuel he reluded

789
01:00:49.000 --> 01:00:52.840
to fuel In twenty twenty one,
we spent six hundred and eighty thousand dollars

790
01:00:52.920 --> 01:00:55.920
on fuel. Our buses run about
million and a half miles a year.

791
01:00:57.599 --> 01:01:00.519
This year were expected to exceed one
point three million dollars in fuel. That's

792
01:01:00.559 --> 01:01:07.960
one hundred percent increase since twenty twenty
one. So those are the four pairs

793
01:01:08.000 --> 01:01:15.280
by villages that we have that we
are that we intend to roll forward and

794
01:01:15.639 --> 01:01:20.400
so that we can, you know, use best use of funds. Our

795
01:01:20.440 --> 01:01:24.239
remaining five taxes are specific by district. These were voted on by the voters

796
01:01:24.280 --> 01:01:29.039
for each individual district and these funds
are used to pay on the bonds for

797
01:01:29.159 --> 01:01:34.639
these districts. These villages are set
annually at the amount only needed to cover

798
01:01:34.800 --> 01:01:38.320
the district's bond principle and interest payments. These bonds were used to build facilities

799
01:01:38.360 --> 01:01:43.280
such as Live and High School,
Walker High School, and the new facilities

800
01:01:43.280 --> 01:01:46.239
in Denom Springs, so we won't
collect any more than what is needed on

801
01:01:46.360 --> 01:01:52.840
those to pay those bonds and interests. Any questions about any of the school

802
01:01:52.880 --> 01:02:17.960
Board's villages, thank you. After
all the noise that was made when the

803
01:02:19.119 --> 01:02:22.039
tax came about for the school board, I thought we would have a few

804
01:02:22.079 --> 01:02:29.760
more questions about it because these people
educate on your children, and they do

805
01:02:29.880 --> 01:02:31.239
a good job of doing that.
So thank you very much for coming in

806
01:02:37.519 --> 01:02:39.119
now. I think the lean for
all abile, I think it really pointed

807
01:02:39.199 --> 01:02:45.679
out because look, there's so much
distrust in government. It's just a lot

808
01:02:45.760 --> 01:02:50.000
of mistrust. And the people that
showed up here tonight, you're wanting to

809
01:02:50.039 --> 01:02:52.159
get answers, and we understand that
that we want to give it to you.

810
01:02:52.679 --> 01:02:54.840
One of the things I was going
to tell you a few minutes ago

811
01:02:55.599 --> 01:03:01.880
is we prout our assessments online several
years ago. And the reason we did

812
01:03:02.000 --> 01:03:06.800
that is so you could go on
and look at your assessment, but you

813
01:03:06.880 --> 01:03:10.639
could also look at everybody else's assessment, and then you could come in there

814
01:03:10.800 --> 01:03:15.719
and show because I never want the
appearance of anybody thinking that they get a

815
01:03:16.000 --> 01:03:21.880
good deal because they know Jeff Taylor
or they don't know Jeff Taylor, or

816
01:03:21.920 --> 01:03:24.440
anything like that. That's not what
I'm in this for. In fact,

817
01:03:24.920 --> 01:03:30.119
I've been in office for less than
a year and the new assessments come out

818
01:03:30.559 --> 01:03:34.239
and my mother called me and she
said, I like that other guy a

819
01:03:34.280 --> 01:03:37.760
lot better than you, so our
deal. When I first come in,

820
01:03:38.719 --> 01:03:43.800
I made sure that everybody in my
family, my two brothers, my sisters,

821
01:03:43.880 --> 01:03:45.920
my mom and dad, my wife's
mom and dad. I made sure

822
01:03:45.960 --> 01:03:51.760
that all were looked at. The
assessments were looked at you, because if

823
01:03:51.800 --> 01:03:54.599
I'm an assessmin, I better be
right at home. And then we went

824
01:03:54.679 --> 01:03:59.519
in and got our employees and made
sure that they were correct, because if

825
01:03:59.559 --> 01:04:00.800
they're not correct, why are we
going to send them out there to make

826
01:04:00.840 --> 01:04:04.679
sure that you're correct? And then
we went in and got some elective officials.

827
01:04:05.239 --> 01:04:09.599
Okay, some of your elected officials
have actually seen our people at your

828
01:04:09.639 --> 01:04:12.679
house. So when you come in, we're going to make sure that if

829
01:04:12.679 --> 01:04:14.639
you're voting on a mill if,
we're going to make sure it's right.

830
01:04:15.039 --> 01:04:18.760
But we put the assessments online and
then we'll walk you through. Mister Goff,

831
01:04:18.800 --> 01:04:21.960
if you want to look out with
we'll walk you through it. Because

832
01:04:24.079 --> 01:04:29.360
it's really good to see this.
And people always say, well, I

833
01:04:29.440 --> 01:04:31.400
don't want to see anything because I
don't want to get my neighbor in trouble.

834
01:04:31.400 --> 01:04:36.559
Are you paying? You want to
be okay with somebody not paying their

835
01:04:36.639 --> 01:04:42.119
fair share and you're paying more than
your fair share. I'm not. So

836
01:04:42.280 --> 01:04:44.480
we're going to put it out there. And then we got it to where

837
01:04:44.519 --> 01:04:46.400
we can put all your tax notices
online. You go in there and look

838
01:04:46.440 --> 01:04:50.039
at them, and so you can
ask all of the questions, the hard

839
01:04:50.119 --> 01:04:56.039
questions that need to be asked.
And so I want to think that we

840
01:04:56.320 --> 01:05:00.440
are a leader in that. Look
we did several of several years ago,

841
01:05:00.920 --> 01:05:03.719
we were held up as an office
of ways not to do things, and

842
01:05:03.880 --> 01:05:08.719
then now we're showed and we go
to conferences and everything. It's the way

843
01:05:08.760 --> 01:05:12.000
to do things. That's a pride
moment. And I know we're not supposed

844
01:05:12.000 --> 01:05:14.280
to be over and perhap, but
I'm proud of the fact that my office

845
01:05:14.320 --> 01:05:17.440
works that hard to make sure that
that's good. So compliment to y'all.

846
01:05:17.480 --> 01:05:23.239
Thank y'all for what y'all do.
I'm going to now ask the library.

847
01:05:23.480 --> 01:05:28.000
I said that they could come in
afterwards. Mister Golf touched on the library

848
01:05:28.039 --> 01:05:31.039
a little bit. But I'm going
to ask y'all to come up and y'all

849
01:05:31.079 --> 01:05:34.679
want both want a microphone or y'all
want to come up here? How y'all

850
01:05:34.719 --> 01:05:39.559
want to do it? Okay,
got one here, got one here?

851
01:05:39.639 --> 01:05:44.440
That way? Kay? Who's you
said? Little everybody? My name is

852
01:05:44.519 --> 01:05:46.800
David Gray. I'm a public Information
officer for the Wits Fairs Library. I'm

853
01:05:46.840 --> 01:05:51.079
with Michelle Paris. This is the
director of the Little Saffairs Library. And

854
01:05:51.519 --> 01:05:54.960
yeah, so we're just here.
We found out this a couple of weeks

855
01:05:55.000 --> 01:05:59.239
ago. We just wanted to just
present some information. I would like to

856
01:05:59.360 --> 01:06:02.360
say that before I get started,
that we are having a series of community

857
01:06:02.440 --> 01:06:08.119
meetings over the next month, starting
this Thursday and then running through August fifth.

858
01:06:08.159 --> 01:06:11.079
We'll have six meetings, one in
each branch. Two we'll be at

859
01:06:11.079 --> 01:06:13.360
the Dinner Branch because that's our biggest
branch. And two of those meetings are

860
01:06:13.360 --> 01:06:15.559
going to be live stream because these
are going to be sort of just like

861
01:06:15.639 --> 01:06:19.559
I said, town hall meetings,
very informal, just there to answer questions

862
01:06:19.599 --> 01:06:25.199
that people might have. Well,
we'll have a brief palerploy presentation just to

863
01:06:25.280 --> 01:06:28.440
kind of show the history of the
library, where we've been, and then

864
01:06:29.280 --> 01:06:31.000
just kind of what we're hoping to
douse Right now. We're in the middle

865
01:06:31.039 --> 01:06:35.840
of developing our next strategic plan.
It's one of those documents that entities do

866
01:06:36.000 --> 01:06:41.000
every few years just to just kind
of make sure you're up to day and

867
01:06:41.159 --> 01:06:44.440
trying to meet the new challenges that
you have coming ahead. So I just

868
01:06:44.519 --> 01:06:46.800
wanted to get that little plug in
and we have half flyers right there,

869
01:06:46.880 --> 01:06:50.119
and then on our Facebook page,
we just did a post about it.

870
01:06:50.199 --> 01:06:53.719
So that'll be pined at the top
of the Facebook page. If you want

871
01:06:53.760 --> 01:06:57.000
to see where the meetings are.
They'll be from five thirty to seven pm

872
01:06:57.480 --> 01:07:00.960
each time, so make sure that
people can come after work. And like

873
01:07:00.079 --> 01:07:03.119
I said, we're going to be
we're gonna have library officials they have just

874
01:07:03.159 --> 01:07:08.360
to answer any questions that people might
have. But so our village as a

875
01:07:08.480 --> 01:07:14.119
ten mill property tax. It was
just renewed in November. It was first

876
01:07:14.199 --> 01:07:17.000
voted on in nice ninety five.
It's been news three times. And this

877
01:07:17.199 --> 01:07:23.719
is the libraries only source of revenue. There is no there. We get

878
01:07:24.199 --> 01:07:30.000
some and some federal brant money,
by the vast majority of the libraries revenue

879
01:07:30.079 --> 01:07:33.239
comes from this property tax. I
think I said that it was passing nineteen

880
01:07:33.280 --> 01:07:39.400
ninety five, and this is last
year. In twenty twenty three it brought

881
01:07:39.480 --> 01:07:44.679
in six point seven and this year
was six point nine, or it's projected

882
01:07:44.719 --> 01:07:46.000
to be. This is this on
twenty twenty four to six point nine,

883
01:07:46.760 --> 01:07:51.280
And so I know some the assessor
they said they're going you know, he

884
01:07:51.719 --> 01:07:55.920
mister Jeff said that they're going too
well back. We we can say right

885
01:07:55.960 --> 01:07:59.400
now we are going to we're not
going to take the full maximum. We

886
01:07:59.519 --> 01:08:02.519
don't know gets what we're going to
take though. That is, so that's

887
01:08:02.599 --> 01:08:08.639
what we'll be discussed more than these
meetings because we all know that most affairs

888
01:08:08.679 --> 01:08:13.840
has grown over the last we'll since
this Melaga passed over the last twenty years.

889
01:08:13.880 --> 01:08:17.000
It's been grown on more than fifty
thousand people since then, and everyone's

890
01:08:17.279 --> 01:08:20.159
costs are going up. So if
we were to collect like we suggest that

891
01:08:20.279 --> 01:08:25.760
earlier, if you collect the if
you're collecting the same dollar amount, you

892
01:08:25.840 --> 01:08:30.760
were actually having less spending power.
So we right now to get what we

893
01:08:30.840 --> 01:08:35.439
got this year would be seven point
five mils. But for example, this

894
01:08:35.640 --> 01:08:41.640
year, our health insurance, our
benefits excuse me, benefits for employees went

895
01:08:41.760 --> 01:08:45.319
up two hundred and eighty six thousand
dollars this year long right, there were

896
01:08:45.640 --> 01:08:50.800
huge increase in our health insurance because
you know, studied everybody else about twenty

897
01:08:50.800 --> 01:08:56.920
five percent just in health insurance last
year. So you will be so to

898
01:08:57.079 --> 01:09:00.520
say that we have a savings at
the end of the year is not correct

899
01:09:00.479 --> 01:09:05.119
with our previous administration, they were
very frugal and we are appreciate that,

900
01:09:05.199 --> 01:09:11.279
and I'm reaping the benefits of that
because now that our buildings are getting older,

901
01:09:11.760 --> 01:09:15.000
I'm starting to see the maintenance cost. So they got to see a

902
01:09:15.039 --> 01:09:18.079
little bit of that excess. I
don't get to see now. I'm having

903
01:09:18.119 --> 01:09:23.920
to dip into that. Those things
that might have gone maybe a three hundred

904
01:09:23.920 --> 01:09:30.439
thousand dollars windfall is now costing me
because I'm having to pay for roof replacements

905
01:09:30.520 --> 01:09:35.760
that have tripled in cost. And
the audience spring Hill has to have a

906
01:09:35.840 --> 01:09:40.479
retaining wall built behind it because it's
the soil is eroding and we don't want

907
01:09:40.479 --> 01:09:43.840
to slab to crack. Lord knows
what happens if that had. You know

908
01:09:43.920 --> 01:09:45.479
how much that's going to cost If
I have to fix a slab for a

909
01:09:45.520 --> 01:09:51.319
whole library. So those things are
going to increase. I'm not going to

910
01:09:51.399 --> 01:09:57.479
see a three hundred thousand dollars windfall
at when this budget is done for this

911
01:09:57.680 --> 01:10:01.199
year, because we just had to
work roof on the administration building that was

912
01:10:01.279 --> 01:10:09.239
sixty thousands, sixty thousand dollars.
If when I have to replace the roof

913
01:10:09.359 --> 01:10:13.520
for the livingson branch, the main
branch. That's going to cost spect one

914
01:10:13.560 --> 01:10:17.800
hundred thousand dollars. So our host
just in keeping those buildings up. And

915
01:10:18.039 --> 01:10:23.000
this is a mistake that people make
when they talk about our milage. Our

916
01:10:23.079 --> 01:10:28.319
millage is for the upkeep, maintenance, and improvements of the library. There

917
01:10:28.439 --> 01:10:30.399
was a bond for the buildings and
that should be paid off this year.

918
01:10:30.680 --> 01:10:33.960
The bond was passing in two thousand
and three. Will that's either paid off

919
01:10:34.000 --> 01:10:36.720
now or it will be paid off
this year. So we heard that a

920
01:10:36.800 --> 01:10:41.960
lot when the village discussion was going
on, when our millage was being devoted

921
01:10:42.039 --> 01:10:45.800
on that that was not what that
was for. Yes, the bond was

922
01:10:45.880 --> 01:10:50.720
for building. The millage is for
maintaining, improving, and increasing the services

923
01:10:50.760 --> 01:10:56.000
of the library. So I just
you know, I want y'all to know

924
01:10:56.159 --> 01:11:00.199
that, and I want everyone to
know that we employed all our employees.

925
01:11:00.439 --> 01:11:04.039
Most of our employees we employed ninety
five percent of our employees live in this

926
01:11:04.199 --> 01:11:08.079
parish, grow up in this parish, the work in this parish, and

927
01:11:08.199 --> 01:11:12.399
they also deserve a pay increase.
We haven't been able to look at our

928
01:11:12.479 --> 01:11:18.439
salaries in eight years because we've been
holding steady our millage and the amount we

929
01:11:18.520 --> 01:11:23.760
bring in. We might fluctuate two
hundred thousand dollars i'd say in the last

930
01:11:23.800 --> 01:11:29.119
eight years with those but that's not
going to happen this year. And we

931
01:11:29.319 --> 01:11:31.600
need to be able to keep those
people that we are training because we're also

932
01:11:31.680 --> 01:11:35.640
having the same problems. We're losing
the people that come in with degrees that

933
01:11:35.760 --> 01:11:40.720
we train and they go to EDR
because they can pay more money. Ascension

934
01:11:40.800 --> 01:11:45.279
pays more money than we do.
And then they also have civil service in

935
01:11:45.439 --> 01:11:49.680
EVR, so that's something that we
don't have that we can provide. So

936
01:11:49.800 --> 01:11:56.600
we are also fighting for those employees. We're also fighting to have just skilled

937
01:11:56.720 --> 01:11:59.359
workers. I mean, I know
y'all all know what that's like. And

938
01:11:59.439 --> 01:12:01.960
if we can't adjust those salaries and
we're going to continue to lose those skiel

939
01:12:02.039 --> 01:12:09.920
workers. Is there any questions that
that anybody has a couple more points I'm

940
01:12:09.920 --> 01:12:14.079
we're elect to point out just with
the with the revenue of the state library

941
01:12:14.119 --> 01:12:17.600
doesn't report a year, just of
all the libraries in the state, just

942
01:12:17.720 --> 01:12:23.960
so people can kind of have that
basic information and comparatively, we the lifts

943
01:12:23.960 --> 01:12:27.119
of Paris Library. This might be
in the ninth most populated parish has the

944
01:12:27.279 --> 01:12:34.279
sixteenth most revenue of all the systems
in the state. So our local revenue

945
01:12:34.319 --> 01:12:38.520
per cabinet is just over forty dollars. The state average is sixty two.

946
01:12:38.960 --> 01:12:42.600
So I mean, there we are. We feel we are doing more than

947
01:12:42.680 --> 01:12:45.319
less, and a lot of the
parishes that are. I mean, obviously

948
01:12:45.359 --> 01:12:48.279
we're never going to have like VR
has. Their budget was forty nine.

949
01:12:48.359 --> 01:12:54.239
You know that would be nice.
But but but some of the payers of

950
01:12:54.319 --> 01:12:59.800
Saint John leave the Baptists. They
have to have more than us ascension,

951
01:13:00.279 --> 01:13:02.199
she said they had. They have
more revenue than us. So we are

952
01:13:02.439 --> 01:13:06.920
doing more than less and more with
less, and just some of the numbers

953
01:13:06.960 --> 01:13:11.560
because I know, before I started
working at the library, I rarely used

954
01:13:11.560 --> 01:13:15.880
the library. I'm gonna be honest. I rarely used it. I use

955
01:13:15.920 --> 01:13:16.800
it for the Wi Fi. I
didn't do checkouts or anything, but I

956
01:13:16.840 --> 01:13:19.960
would go there. I would use
it for the free Wi Fi. But

957
01:13:20.079 --> 01:13:25.920
last year we had over five hundred
thousand checkouts. That was an esamated the

958
01:13:25.960 --> 01:13:30.760
economic return of eight point three million
we had Southeastern the Southeastern Business Research Center

959
01:13:30.079 --> 01:13:33.640
did economic impact study for us this
year. I had no cost so no

960
01:13:33.760 --> 01:13:36.399
one says that we paid them to
get what we wanted. It's something that

961
01:13:36.479 --> 01:13:43.199
they provide to the entities in their
five parish service area. And eight point

962
01:13:43.239 --> 01:13:46.319
three million just on checkouts alone that
people bedefit because like I said, we

963
01:13:46.359 --> 01:13:50.560
had over five hundred thousand checkouts last
year we had and last year we had

964
01:13:50.680 --> 01:13:56.680
forty eight thousand people attend the program, which I don't know if any of

965
01:13:56.760 --> 01:14:00.279
y'all have ever made out to any
of our programs book Festival. This year,

966
01:14:00.279 --> 01:14:03.920
we had twenty three hundred people attend
Comic Con which was in February.

967
01:14:03.960 --> 01:14:10.720
We had twenty two hundred people attend
last Summer Reading where Summer Reading it is

968
01:14:10.760 --> 01:14:14.439
our most crazy time of the year. Today I was at the Dinnim Branch

969
01:14:15.079 --> 01:14:21.800
or something called the La Snake Id
that is a Springfield a Springfield organization that

970
01:14:23.000 --> 01:14:29.840
they basically had a penny zoo of
snakes, sad very safe conservation, and

971
01:14:30.920 --> 01:14:34.239
we had there was close to two
hundred and fifty people in the Dinim Branch

972
01:14:34.359 --> 01:14:39.359
today. We easily had we had
another one. We easily could have doubled

973
01:14:39.439 --> 01:14:42.840
that if we had a bigger space, or we did two shows, because

974
01:14:43.239 --> 01:14:46.079
I mean they were our Facebook face. I'll put a picture of today.

975
01:14:46.399 --> 01:14:49.000
I mean, if you ever been
to the Dinner branch, that line was

976
01:14:49.079 --> 01:14:54.439
wrapping from the meeting room all the
way out to the entrance in the through

977
01:14:54.520 --> 01:14:58.439
the glass hallway. That was part
of the dinner renovation to the circulation desk.

978
01:14:58.479 --> 01:15:00.560
So I mean people were packed for
that. And we have over three

979
01:15:00.680 --> 01:15:03.479
hundred programs in June and July long, so it's going to kind of be

980
01:15:03.640 --> 01:15:06.479
like that all summer. I mean, it's just madness. And last year,

981
01:15:06.640 --> 01:15:11.359
for some reason, we had thirteen
thousand people attend and that was back

982
01:15:11.399 --> 01:15:14.199
to the pre COVID numbers that we're
just starting to get back from that.

983
01:15:14.399 --> 01:15:16.439
So this year, I'm going to
bet that we're going to beat that number

984
01:15:16.520 --> 01:15:20.880
this year thirteen thousand just in June
and July. So there are people who

985
01:15:21.760 --> 01:15:25.800
who really and I would ard you
if you've never gone to any of these

986
01:15:25.840 --> 01:15:30.279
events to go just see how I
mean much fun they are. Maybe you

987
01:15:30.359 --> 01:15:32.439
see kids penny snakes. I was
in touch of one of them, but

988
01:15:32.520 --> 01:15:38.680
I mean there was a lot of
people love them and it was fun to

989
01:15:38.760 --> 01:15:40.720
watch. And this year, you
know, we're already playing for our next

990
01:15:40.760 --> 01:15:44.199
book. Festival. These things keep
getting bigger and bigger, like the comic

991
01:15:44.359 --> 01:15:48.880
on comic on Yeat and more expensive. But yeah, so we're just trying

992
01:15:48.920 --> 01:15:55.760
to say that we are being any
service to the parish. But we also

993
01:15:55.880 --> 01:15:59.479
do want to work with the parish
leaders because we do want to make sure

994
01:15:59.520 --> 01:16:02.399
that we're good stewards of public funds, and that means we know, not

995
01:16:02.600 --> 01:16:06.319
taking the full tend this year and
now I guess we don't know what it

996
01:16:06.399 --> 01:16:10.079
will be, but we do know
it will be less than full ten.

997
01:16:10.640 --> 01:16:14.760
So yeah, anybody has been questions. I know I kind of ran wrong

998
01:16:14.800 --> 01:16:23.359
for a minute, but well,
bud all so in October and we have

999
01:16:23.840 --> 01:16:30.439
an instead of the final budgets in
October. I'm sorry, stop November actually

1000
01:16:30.720 --> 01:16:33.680
when we do, Yeah, November
is our last meeting. It's in November,

1001
01:16:33.760 --> 01:16:36.439
so I start working on it and
we do the last one in November.

1002
01:16:39.199 --> 01:16:42.640
I did this summer. We will
do the millage meeting this and that

1003
01:16:42.680 --> 01:16:46.199
will be this summer where we will
we discussed what millage really well, yeah,

1004
01:16:46.239 --> 01:16:50.279
that will be probably the September meeting. When we do that, right

1005
01:16:50.319 --> 01:16:56.840
before the meeting, then the more
will vote on our millage. Then we

1006
01:16:57.000 --> 01:17:00.680
send it over to the assessor's office
and to the legislator auditor's office. But

1007
01:17:00.840 --> 01:17:05.079
the full budget is a November that's
when I present the budget. Between twenty

1008
01:17:05.119 --> 01:17:10.720
five will be to the board,
and we do have copies of that,

1009
01:17:10.880 --> 01:17:16.359
and I try to keep it not
simple, but our line items. We

1010
01:17:16.560 --> 01:17:20.039
line item everything out so you know
exactly how much we're spending on book that's

1011
01:17:20.319 --> 01:17:24.319
how much we're spending on insurance,
how much we spend on this. And

1012
01:17:25.159 --> 01:17:28.119
they're not easy to read. They're
not your household budgets. And I hate

1013
01:17:28.159 --> 01:17:30.760
when I hear that, because none
of our budgets are our household budgets.

1014
01:17:30.800 --> 01:17:34.760
You can't run a government agency on
a household budget. It just doesn't work

1015
01:17:34.840 --> 01:17:38.920
that way. And when you can't
bring in any other source of revenue but

1016
01:17:39.119 --> 01:17:44.039
which you get from your taxes,
you can't make up a shortfall. And

1017
01:17:44.159 --> 01:17:46.439
that's what we try to do.
Because we can't take out loans, we

1018
01:17:46.560 --> 01:17:50.319
can't do any of those things.
So if I have to replace a roof

1019
01:17:50.359 --> 01:17:54.479
and I don't have the money for
it, if I haven't saved that money

1020
01:17:54.880 --> 01:17:58.279
from the year before or two or
three years before, knowing that that's happening,

1021
01:17:58.600 --> 01:18:00.760
I can't go out and take a
loan for that. I can't ask

1022
01:18:00.119 --> 01:18:02.880
my friend who's a roofer to cut
me a deal. You know. We

1023
01:18:03.279 --> 01:18:05.960
can't do those things like you can
do with your own household budget. So

1024
01:18:06.000 --> 01:18:10.640
it's a totally different organ it's an
organism, I guess I should say.

1025
01:18:12.680 --> 01:18:15.199
Whatever we do want everybody to know
is that we do our best we can

1026
01:18:15.399 --> 01:18:18.079
to make sure that we stay within
budget. We don't, you know,

1027
01:18:19.319 --> 01:18:23.520
but we have to see growth.
This parish has to see growth, whether

1028
01:18:23.560 --> 01:18:26.000
it's I mean, I live here, I grew up here, my parents

1029
01:18:26.039 --> 01:18:29.359
are, my brother's are here.
You have to see some growth. You

1030
01:18:29.560 --> 01:18:31.800
have to move forward because if you
don't, even if you're a state agency,

1031
01:18:32.119 --> 01:18:35.640
you become stagnant and then they don't
know what you're for. Who are

1032
01:18:35.760 --> 01:18:41.479
for like to help unit. Nobody
knew that they do restaurant reviews and things

1033
01:18:41.560 --> 01:18:45.640
like that to make sure your restaurants
are to speed. Nobody knew that,

1034
01:18:45.039 --> 01:18:49.119
and they voted against it. So
you have to realize that the people that

1035
01:18:49.520 --> 01:18:54.720
are running these organizations are doing the
best they can to get everything out there.

1036
01:18:54.800 --> 01:18:58.960
And we have done that when we
did the village meetings, ask people

1037
01:18:59.000 --> 01:19:01.000
to come out and talk to us
about the village before because there was so

1038
01:19:01.159 --> 01:19:04.920
much misinformation. I've never once had
ninety million dollars I wish I did.

1039
01:19:05.800 --> 01:19:11.079
I don't, but so I would
like for people to come out and ask

1040
01:19:11.239 --> 01:19:15.520
us questions. We've been out.
We're doing these for the strategic plan.

1041
01:19:15.159 --> 01:19:17.560
It's important that you know what we
want to do, what we want,

1042
01:19:17.760 --> 01:19:21.399
and we've gotten feedback from some of
the public. They really want to see

1043
01:19:21.520 --> 01:19:27.039
our services grow, but not everybody
is together on that. One thing we

1044
01:19:27.159 --> 01:19:30.000
do know is we'd like to see
a new bookmobile. Our bookmobil makes forty

1045
01:19:30.159 --> 01:19:34.479
thots of months, and that's not
including all of the school things they do,

1046
01:19:35.239 --> 01:19:41.439
all of the extra purticular things like
going to fairs and we've gone to

1047
01:19:41.520 --> 01:19:45.520
the bumbo poot golf and all those
things. We need another bookmobile, which

1048
01:19:47.000 --> 01:19:50.520
we turned down things because we can't
go. Just to give you an idea

1049
01:19:50.520 --> 01:19:56.000
of how much things have increased in
costs. When we bought the first bookmobile,

1050
01:19:56.279 --> 01:19:59.359
it was like one hundred and seventy
five thousand dollars. The one I'm

1051
01:19:59.399 --> 01:20:04.079
looking at right now three and fifty
thousand, and we bought that one in

1052
01:20:04.159 --> 01:20:11.199
twenty seventeen. So then you know, cross is just ridiculous. So you

1053
01:20:11.279 --> 01:20:14.000
know, just know that we're doing
the best we can, but we also

1054
01:20:14.039 --> 01:20:29.279
want to provide those services and move
forward anyway no one wants. Okay,

1055
01:20:31.279 --> 01:20:34.399
we've got how many more entities do
we have? I know, I got

1056
01:20:34.439 --> 01:20:40.079
the fire departments over here, and
then I've got JT the mayor of Literiston.

1057
01:20:40.479 --> 01:20:45.880
You're good, You're right at this
point, I'm bringing forward the fire

1058
01:20:45.920 --> 01:20:48.159
districts. You can do it together, or you can do it separate us.

1059
01:20:48.239 --> 01:20:51.319
Up to y'all, whichever way you
want to. Godfather, you make

1060
01:20:51.399 --> 01:21:00.119
the decision on how y'all want to
do it. Oh hey, I'm gonna

1061
01:21:00.159 --> 01:21:04.000
tell y'all someone I know these guys. I know, I know these two.

1062
01:21:04.199 --> 01:21:10.680
I know these two guys really well. I know I know the time

1063
01:21:11.000 --> 01:21:14.720
and the effort that they put in. Uh. I've had uh uh Joe

1064
01:21:14.800 --> 01:21:17.960
Ksrast you called me on many occasions
talking about the money that uh that they

1065
01:21:18.119 --> 01:21:21.800
get and what they need uh.
Down in the Springfield area, Brian Drew

1066
01:21:21.960 --> 01:21:26.039
is doing the f every He's doing
absolutely the best he can. And I

1067
01:21:26.079 --> 01:21:29.720
would tell you that right now they
have two trucks that are not operation and

1068
01:21:29.760 --> 01:21:32.760
they're pulling things all together just to
try to make it happen. So not

1069
01:21:32.960 --> 01:21:36.800
always, can you just say across
the board, we need to just lower

1070
01:21:38.319 --> 01:21:41.079
cause sometimes they're just trying to catch
up for things in the past. So

1071
01:21:41.119 --> 01:21:45.239
which way y'all will go? Penderston
a good person. I think that all

1072
01:21:45.479 --> 01:21:49.039
Love said. I'm about Brian Durry
and the fire chief in Springfield and Lives

1073
01:21:49.159 --> 01:21:54.199
Fairs Fire District too. Uh.
We have optating a roll to ten meals.

1074
01:21:54.439 --> 01:21:58.000
That's which we can only operate out
and we are gonna proceed back to

1075
01:21:58.119 --> 01:22:01.720
ten meal. Uh. We've operated
in the deficiency since the float of sixteen.

1076
01:22:02.840 --> 01:22:05.520
Like Jeff just said, you know, we have a a fire engine

1077
01:22:05.640 --> 01:22:10.479
one of our bumpers sound of service. It takes over thirty thousand dollars to

1078
01:22:10.560 --> 01:22:13.560
make the repair it does. It
doesn't make sense to repair a truck that

1079
01:22:13.720 --> 01:22:15.720
was built in nineteen ninety nine at
this point, all right, and then

1080
01:22:15.760 --> 01:22:19.000
we have a tanker truck because we
don't have good fire understand there, we

1081
01:22:19.159 --> 01:22:21.800
have to bring our water with us. Were one of my twenty five hundred

1082
01:22:21.840 --> 01:22:26.960
gallon tankers to the tankers run it
out and to make it even harder.

1083
01:22:27.399 --> 01:22:30.359
It's a standard I mean people,
you're gonna do well. A lot of

1084
01:22:30.399 --> 01:22:31.880
those you're able to print of the
room. People may age three weeks still

1085
01:22:31.960 --> 01:22:35.600
drive, but the youngsters can't.
So we can't can't even have the trucks

1086
01:22:35.640 --> 01:22:38.520
to make it to the scene even
if we were to change the tank.

1087
01:22:38.640 --> 01:22:44.439
So we have to replace that truck. Also, the cost of doing business,

1088
01:22:44.479 --> 01:22:45.640
and all of us see it in
our hogs. You know, the

1089
01:22:45.720 --> 01:22:49.239
pairs councils mentioned that. Everybody's mentioning
it. I'll just make a quick little

1090
01:22:49.399 --> 01:22:54.880
mention of it. You know,
a fire truck whatever we bought that truck

1091
01:22:54.960 --> 01:22:57.920
I just talked about. I was
there to firefomt We bought it. We

1092
01:22:58.039 --> 01:23:00.560
paid one hundred and twenty thousand dollars
pct brand new in nineteen ninety nine.

1093
01:23:01.399 --> 01:23:05.199
All right, Today that's just a
commercial cab truck, like a Coca Cola

1094
01:23:05.239 --> 01:23:09.359
Tite trucks, one of those.
That's a five hundred thousand dollars truck.

1095
01:23:09.399 --> 01:23:13.520
Today most of us are driving around
a custom cab truck which has rollover safety

1096
01:23:13.600 --> 01:23:15.840
features. That's really where you want
your firefighters in. That's between six hundred

1097
01:23:15.840 --> 01:23:20.399
and a million dollars for that truck. So and give you a little respective.

1098
01:23:20.880 --> 01:23:24.399
We do the Fire's Poker Round every
year. Some of you who's heard

1099
01:23:24.439 --> 01:23:27.960
of it, some here. We're
there this past weekend. You know,

1100
01:23:28.479 --> 01:23:34.079
my volunteers were about six months preparing
to put that event on so we can

1101
01:23:34.159 --> 01:23:39.439
make money to purchase fire trucks.
And we just celebrated like we are on

1102
01:23:39.479 --> 01:23:42.520
the top of the world right now
because we did. We bought a rescue

1103
01:23:42.560 --> 01:23:46.159
truck. It is beautiful, it's
got ten thousand miles on it. It's

1104
01:23:46.239 --> 01:23:51.680
huge. One hundred and thirty thousand
dollars for that truck. It's twenty years

1105
01:23:51.720 --> 01:23:56.800
old. With y'all, we had
to celebrate purchasing a twenty year old fire

1106
01:23:56.840 --> 01:24:00.520
truck. Is that the world we're
supposed to be end right now? Where's

1107
01:24:00.520 --> 01:24:03.520
all the priorities lending and laying it
at in the world with what's the most

1108
01:24:03.600 --> 01:24:10.960
important if the fire department. If
we can't get in work and maintain all

1109
01:24:11.000 --> 01:24:15.880
the requirements that are needed to satisfy
the property insurance asociations and Louisiana to fire

1110
01:24:15.920 --> 01:24:18.359
answer trading, it's going to go
over well. Now after insurance rating to

1111
01:24:18.479 --> 01:24:21.800
go up, you pay more money
to hear an insurance agent and look all

1112
01:24:21.840 --> 01:24:26.439
right, Adians are very nice people. They live really well too. All

1113
01:24:26.520 --> 01:24:30.039
right, I'd rather you keep that
money local, where you can see where

1114
01:24:30.079 --> 01:24:33.079
your dollars are, you know,
Thank you gentlemen over here you mentioned earlier.

1115
01:24:33.640 --> 01:24:38.800
Locally. I'm a fire district too. Everybody in my fire district's money

1116
01:24:39.159 --> 01:24:42.399
it is at the fire stations.
You can see it anytime you want to

1117
01:24:42.760 --> 01:24:45.800
come through. Some of us can
make you scratch your head, like,

1118
01:24:45.880 --> 01:24:48.119
wow, you're really still using that
old truck. So we have a nineteen

1119
01:24:48.119 --> 01:24:53.399
eighty five model truck'staling service nineteen eighty
five. Matter of fact, I'm the

1120
01:24:53.439 --> 01:24:58.199
nineteen eighty three my own aerial platform
stilling service. Those trusts, most people

1121
01:24:58.239 --> 01:25:00.840
don't use them anymore. They're too
old. We have to put a choice

1122
01:25:02.039 --> 01:25:10.119
outfitting firefighter coat and paints. That's
five thousand dollars for one firefighter. The

1123
01:25:10.319 --> 01:25:14.239
SCBA is that the air bottles we
wear to go into the fires. That's

1124
01:25:14.439 --> 01:25:19.439
nine thousand dollars for one. Every
fire engine is required to have four,

1125
01:25:21.319 --> 01:25:25.600
all right, I have seven engines. It's twenty eight of those. I

1126
01:25:25.720 --> 01:25:30.319
have four service trucks. Four more
lowers for fire and service trucks nine thousand

1127
01:25:30.560 --> 01:25:33.800
per so it goes the list goes
on and on and on. So you

1128
01:25:33.840 --> 01:25:38.760
got it. I can justify it, and I can say the fire departments,

1129
01:25:39.119 --> 01:25:42.520
and I know I've communicated with all
the fire districts today, and I'll

1130
01:25:42.560 --> 01:25:45.079
have one chief sit here talking a
minute, and I don't know if we

1131
01:25:45.880 --> 01:25:47.399
do. Guys is gonna come speak
in another minute for fire stret four.

1132
01:25:48.000 --> 01:25:53.920
But we all everybody's gonna roll.
There's up. And I go back to

1133
01:25:54.159 --> 01:25:57.760
something too. There's a lot of
payroll stuff been discussed. Well, when

1134
01:25:57.800 --> 01:26:02.199
you have volunteers selling chickens, doing
all the raffles and doing these things to

1135
01:26:02.239 --> 01:26:05.479
help pay the bills, we haven't
even got to pay, all right,

1136
01:26:05.479 --> 01:26:10.319
that's not even our problem. Our
problem is keeping up to day equipment and

1137
01:26:10.479 --> 01:26:15.159
serviceable to protect our citizens. That's
our priority, all right. So that's

1138
01:26:15.239 --> 01:26:17.760
that's why we're rolling ours up.
If anybody's got any questions for me,

1139
01:26:20.359 --> 01:26:25.960
nothing, that's easy. Who nice
questions, all the thank you? Yes,

1140
01:26:26.000 --> 01:26:29.640
you may tell me about you you
feeling tried to get it, try

1141
01:26:29.680 --> 01:26:34.720
to do some bunch. Yes.
So my fire station, our primary station

1142
01:26:34.840 --> 01:26:40.560
is Springfield and Terry Street. That's
our headquarters. So I mentioned the age

1143
01:26:40.560 --> 01:26:44.840
of the Buildings earlier, the Buildings
building in nineteen seventy one. It's our

1144
01:26:44.920 --> 01:26:47.279
primary fire station. You should have
been in there, Darren Ida with us.

1145
01:26:47.800 --> 01:26:50.159
I thought we were about to get
a new station, all right.

1146
01:26:50.239 --> 01:26:55.680
The building was moving. Literally we
had water blowing through the walls through from

1147
01:26:55.720 --> 01:26:57.960
the front to the back. The
guys were in there with shop backs and

1148
01:26:57.960 --> 01:27:00.760
squeezes, right, it was,
and I didn't want to admit to them,

1149
01:27:00.760 --> 01:27:02.720
but this first time, I was
really concerned that we were about to

1150
01:27:02.760 --> 01:27:09.640
lose the building. All right,
been there for every hurricane since July ninety

1151
01:27:09.680 --> 01:27:12.560
nine. I'm in chief, I
know. Jeffrey said, you're the oldest

1152
01:27:12.600 --> 01:27:16.640
serving for a little official elected.
Okay, elected you because only elected.

1153
01:27:17.159 --> 01:27:21.880
I was suckered you were elected,
right, So but anyway, yeah,

1154
01:27:23.079 --> 01:27:26.159
the buildings, we're trying to get
into a new building right now. You

1155
01:27:26.239 --> 01:27:29.439
know there's and we did. We
got some moneys from the front of the

1156
01:27:29.479 --> 01:27:32.800
state. We're very fortunate Figure Section
are passed some funding down to us.

1157
01:27:33.279 --> 01:27:36.760
Unfortunately, I'm a very naive person. I'm not a contractor. I have

1158
01:27:36.920 --> 01:27:42.000
cows, I know firefighter. I
didn't know how much it cost to build

1159
01:27:42.000 --> 01:27:45.079
a fire station, so I didn't
ask for enough money. So you know,

1160
01:27:45.119 --> 01:27:46.800
a million dollars isn't enough to build
a fire station. I'll find it

1161
01:27:46.880 --> 01:27:50.119
out. So yeah, we're we're
sitting there trying to figure out how we're

1162
01:27:50.159 --> 01:27:53.960
going to do this. We had
to cancel the one project we were working

1163
01:27:54.000 --> 01:27:56.840
on because we couldn't afford it,
and they were trying to move it to

1164
01:27:56.920 --> 01:28:00.319
another to fit the same agenda we
were trying to get to get a office

1165
01:28:00.359 --> 01:28:03.600
with the original plans. Just not
enough money. But all you volunteer departments,

1166
01:28:03.840 --> 01:28:08.680
all your fire departments across the parish, we're equally as broken. We

1167
01:28:08.800 --> 01:28:12.239
all have the same expenses. Some
you don't hear from a minute's got even

1168
01:28:12.279 --> 01:28:15.359
more expenses for payroll and such as
that. But I didn't want to go.

1169
01:28:16.119 --> 01:28:18.560
I was gonna be along with yeah, we're gonna yeah, just wait

1170
01:28:18.600 --> 01:28:23.439
till I gets up here. But
yeah, so yeah, anybody think were

1171
01:28:23.520 --> 01:28:25.960
questions, not gonna have an answer
from me if I kept me. After

1172
01:28:26.039 --> 01:28:28.920
we're talking. I love talking about
the fire service. That's been my life

1173
01:28:28.960 --> 01:28:31.880
within thirty one years at it.
So thank you for your support. Ball

1174
01:28:32.199 --> 01:28:36.319
talk where you were going to talk
about smaller it's like a road source and

1175
01:28:36.399 --> 01:28:41.760
you're trying to bring in Swart your
fire and batties, trying to be created.

1176
01:28:41.920 --> 01:28:45.720
Yeah, so something. You know. I've been Jeff's office a number

1177
01:28:45.800 --> 01:28:47.760
of times over the years. I've
burned his phone down many of days trying

1178
01:28:47.800 --> 01:28:53.800
to get creative. I'm telling you
right now, I am absolutely hate as

1179
01:28:53.800 --> 01:28:57.800
the room taxes, just sizing with
every five of them. My being.

1180
01:28:58.640 --> 01:29:02.079
I wish to ever established a tax
base for the parish. Years ago.

1181
01:29:02.680 --> 01:29:04.840
We would have come up with a
better plan, but this is what we

1182
01:29:04.920 --> 01:29:09.119
all kind of grew into the rock
and kind of stuck with it. Sales

1183
01:29:09.199 --> 01:29:13.640
tax is more fair because everybody likes
somebody mentioned somebody past the three was paying

1184
01:29:13.720 --> 01:29:16.319
for it, especially to people coming
in to dine and enjoy our stores,

1185
01:29:16.600 --> 01:29:20.279
people coming married and enjoy the rivers
and the restaurants day, would they would

1186
01:29:20.279 --> 01:29:29.399
help pay to not have another avalorum
tax. I kind of got a little

1187
01:29:29.399 --> 01:29:32.840
creative and have approached the parish council
and then under the former council was about

1188
01:29:32.880 --> 01:29:38.039
to come back to dis council.
Is a fire impact fee. That way,

1189
01:29:38.359 --> 01:29:41.439
it doesn't affect those of us that
live here now, it affects those

1190
01:29:41.560 --> 01:29:45.119
developers coming into development. And that's
going to keep some more funding to your

1191
01:29:45.199 --> 01:29:48.640
fire service. Okay, it's one
time feed formula based. I think that's

1192
01:29:48.680 --> 01:29:53.159
the most fair way I can do
it. And it's because we're going to

1193
01:29:53.159 --> 01:29:55.800
be a residential rate if we have
a commercial rate, and I have to

1194
01:29:55.840 --> 01:29:58.840
add the industrial rate because I wasn't
thinking about that when I rooted up.

1195
01:29:59.399 --> 01:30:02.800
But but that way, if I
living up Bryan Stootball staying I got a

1196
01:30:02.840 --> 01:30:06.720
file larks square foot building and he
comes up with Godfather's warehouse over here,

1197
01:30:08.319 --> 01:30:11.199
he has ten thousand square foot warehouse. We shouldn't pay the same amount of

1198
01:30:11.239 --> 01:30:14.600
money for an impact. So that's
why we do a formula based on that,

1199
01:30:14.800 --> 01:30:16.239
and that's why we're going to be
approaching the council with trying to get

1200
01:30:16.640 --> 01:30:23.840
keep put through. I guess sir, yeah, absolutely, fen say so

1201
01:30:26.359 --> 01:30:30.079
or I think I think it's the
most favorite thing to do for those of

1202
01:30:30.159 --> 01:30:32.840
us live here. We're paying.
We've we've heard that tonight, right,

1203
01:30:33.039 --> 01:30:35.840
we're already paying. So every one
of us have got a roofed out.

1204
01:30:35.880 --> 01:30:40.560
We're playing our part. We shouldn't. But with the cost of going up

1205
01:30:40.640 --> 01:30:44.640
instead of me coming after another a
world tax, I'm not even gonna try

1206
01:30:44.680 --> 01:30:47.479
because I've watched everybody else going through
with sales tax the impact. He is

1207
01:30:47.640 --> 01:30:57.560
kind of where I feel my confidence
would be, so anybody else. Thank

1208
01:30:57.600 --> 01:31:01.279
you, sir, Because Rawski I
am the fire chief in the fire protection

1209
01:31:01.399 --> 01:31:08.720
Mistry five. And as Brian was
saying that it's almost impossible for us to

1210
01:31:08.920 --> 01:31:14.199
reduce our milagy, we've been playing
catch ups since the flood. We operated

1211
01:31:14.239 --> 01:31:16.760
at the two hundred thousand dollars deficit
last year. We're projected to do the

1212
01:31:16.840 --> 01:31:20.760
same thing this year. The money
that we had allocated for new fire trucks

1213
01:31:21.279 --> 01:31:28.680
is now going into our budget to
maintain what we've got. We've got substantial

1214
01:31:28.760 --> 01:31:31.960
growth in our district, but with
that growth comes a lot of work and

1215
01:31:32.000 --> 01:31:35.359
a lot of the speech. When
we started in eighty six, we were

1216
01:31:35.439 --> 01:31:40.479
running three hundred calls a year.
We now own four thousand calls a year.

1217
01:31:41.399 --> 01:31:45.039
Impossible to do with the same money
that we're bringing in now. The

1218
01:31:45.239 --> 01:31:50.800
fuel costs, the expenses and dis
touching on what Brian said about the user

1219
01:31:50.880 --> 01:31:59.399
fig the impact fee. When somebody
clears a large spot of land and they're

1220
01:31:59.399 --> 01:32:02.800
going to clear it of the acres, our liabilities starts the men. They

1221
01:32:02.840 --> 01:32:08.840
put a bulldozer on that piece of
property. The school board doesn't get impacted

1222
01:32:08.960 --> 01:32:13.520
right away the sewer system, but
the fire department is out there. We're

1223
01:32:13.600 --> 01:32:16.279
running calls. This year four had
a guy got stuck underneath the bulldozer.

1224
01:32:17.199 --> 01:32:20.960
They had to go out there.
We don't receive revenue off of that property

1225
01:32:21.000 --> 01:32:27.399
for years. So the people who
are paying the taxes today that are paying

1226
01:32:27.560 --> 01:32:30.920
us to protect them, we're using
their money to go out there and take

1227
01:32:31.000 --> 01:32:36.359
care of other things that bring in
zero revenue. So you know we're going

1228
01:32:36.479 --> 01:32:41.680
we'rey ten point one four. I
know they call it a rollback and roll

1229
01:32:41.800 --> 01:32:45.880
forward. We're not going up on
our millage, but we're going to stay

1230
01:32:45.880 --> 01:32:50.279
at the maximum we can claim because
our expension is just like you, sheriff,

1231
01:32:50.319 --> 01:32:56.000
Our salaries are there. My newest
truck is thirteen years old. We

1232
01:32:56.359 --> 01:33:00.319
just bought a nineteen year old truck
out of Newark where and I drove up

1233
01:33:00.399 --> 01:33:05.199
that, we drove it back and
it was forty thousand dollars. My oldest

1234
01:33:05.239 --> 01:33:10.000
trucks are nineteen eighty nine minus.
And you know we still have a in

1235
01:33:10.159 --> 01:33:14.880
service because as you were saying,
the tankers some places don't have hidings.

1236
01:33:15.119 --> 01:33:16.640
We got to bring the water to
them. You know, I have full

1237
01:33:16.720 --> 01:33:20.880
time mechanics to do nothing to work
on these old trucks because we can't afford

1238
01:33:20.920 --> 01:33:26.039
to buy We've taken money. If
we put aside to buy new trucks and

1239
01:33:26.159 --> 01:33:30.600
put it in and operating budget and
trust we at the ten point one four

1240
01:33:31.359 --> 01:33:35.159
it's going to be years before we
get back to where we were for the

1241
01:33:35.239 --> 01:33:42.920
flood and then COVID and then IDA, and you know, to say it's

1242
01:33:42.960 --> 01:33:47.279
a wind fall is a misleading number. It's not a wind fall. It's

1243
01:33:47.439 --> 01:33:54.199
trying to just get back to the
level of service that we had to supply.

1244
01:33:54.880 --> 01:33:57.039
You don't want me to show up
twenty minutes later. You want me

1245
01:33:57.079 --> 01:34:00.399
to show up two minutes earlier.
You know, you don't want us to

1246
01:34:00.439 --> 01:34:04.720
come to the car racks said to
the medical and it's not just firefighting anymore.

1247
01:34:04.800 --> 01:34:12.319
We've become the first line medical treatment
out there for anybody that gets hurt,

1248
01:34:12.439 --> 01:34:15.119
it gets cut, it has a
stroke, the overdoses, you know.

1249
01:34:15.319 --> 01:34:21.439
So you know I asked for y'all
support to help us just to maintain.

1250
01:34:23.399 --> 01:34:28.119
The extra money will not let us
really move forward. It's just gonna

1251
01:34:28.119 --> 01:34:32.520
help us to maintain the services that
we've all come to know and expect.

1252
01:34:33.439 --> 01:34:38.159
And uh, Robert, I'm gonna
turn it over to you, but yourself,

1253
01:34:38.239 --> 01:34:40.920
try not to be as long winded
as my friend back there with you.

1254
01:34:41.720 --> 01:34:44.800
Now, I can't promise the same
for him. That's why I gotta

1255
01:34:44.840 --> 01:34:46.399
hurt. That says that, I
just feel you're gonna you're gonna hit your

1256
01:34:46.439 --> 01:34:49.520
high spots yet here you want me
to hold the way for you, so

1257
01:34:49.640 --> 01:34:56.079
you can read that over the first
unterviewton. Okay, all right, name

1258
01:34:56.119 --> 01:34:59.319
is Robert, who got to the
charity of the district for just got some

1259
01:34:59.439 --> 01:35:02.920
things high about District four. We
cover about two hundred and twenty five square

1260
01:35:03.000 --> 01:35:09.640
miles of livings and parish, approximately
sixty thousand citizens, it says over here,

1261
01:35:09.760 --> 01:35:15.880
roughly forty three percent of the parish
populations in our district. We currently

1262
01:35:15.960 --> 01:35:20.359
have fifty three full town employees,
seventeen part time employees, and thirty volunteers.

1263
01:35:23.319 --> 01:35:27.880
We've been in existence since nineteen seventy
five and have had prevendous growth within

1264
01:35:27.960 --> 01:35:36.239
our Within our district, let's see, right now, we have fourteen firefighters

1265
01:35:36.319 --> 01:35:43.560
on at seven stations, twenty four
to seven. Our goal is to get

1266
01:35:43.600 --> 01:35:48.560
to ten fire stations with a minimum
of two firefighters that are manned twenty four

1267
01:35:48.560 --> 01:35:53.880
to seven. So that's our goal. Some of our shrub let's say our

1268
01:35:53.920 --> 01:36:00.359
five stations. Original stations are between
twenty five and fifty years old, so

1269
01:36:00.800 --> 01:36:03.880
some of these states were built in
nineteen seventy five. We're still using we

1270
01:36:03.960 --> 01:36:09.960
needed. Part of our plan is
to renovate those far those full time in

1271
01:36:10.399 --> 01:36:15.479
firefighters and and add on the living
quarters forum, which will require once we

1272
01:36:15.600 --> 01:36:20.600
do that, eleven additional fire full
time firefighters. We currently have sixty three

1273
01:36:20.680 --> 01:36:27.199
apparatus. Of the ten first out
endes we have, six of them are

1274
01:36:27.199 --> 01:36:30.079
between fifteen and thirty years old them, so that's our first out engines.

1275
01:36:32.159 --> 01:36:36.560
Well, they got a lot on
here that we purchase four fully equipped firefight

1276
01:36:36.880 --> 01:36:44.439
engines into twenty fifteen for four hundred
and forty thousand dollars each. Today those

1277
01:36:44.479 --> 01:36:48.840
are just shy of a million dollars
for a first out engine. So the

1278
01:36:48.960 --> 01:36:55.720
starting stylary for firefighter operator is about
thirty four thousand, five hundred dollars a

1279
01:36:55.880 --> 01:37:00.680
year and working two thousand, nine
hundred and twelve hours per year. So

1280
01:37:00.960 --> 01:37:05.319
firefighters work on a twelve hour shift. They don't work forty hour shifts like

1281
01:37:05.399 --> 01:37:11.239
the rest of us. So just
to kind of give you all some numbers,

1282
01:37:11.760 --> 01:37:15.439
our Burget budget right now is about
eight point seven billion total. Out

1283
01:37:15.479 --> 01:37:20.239
of that, full point one is
salaries, one point four is payroll expenses,

1284
01:37:20.279 --> 01:37:24.560
Social Security, Medicare, and retirement, and about it. It costs

1285
01:37:24.600 --> 01:37:29.359
us about a billion dollars and other
benefits. You know. The other chiefs

1286
01:37:29.399 --> 01:37:34.760
talked about what it costs a proximately
twelve to fifteen thousand dollars to outfit a

1287
01:37:34.840 --> 01:37:41.840
firefighter just one between the SCBA,
your healing, your bunker, year,

1288
01:37:42.000 --> 01:37:46.159
your boots, everything, you're looking
at close to fifteen thousand dollars to make

1289
01:37:46.239 --> 01:37:49.680
sure that firefighter comes home. And
that's basically what we want to make sure

1290
01:37:49.720 --> 01:37:56.920
we do. District four. I
hate to steal the chiefs under the District

1291
01:37:56.960 --> 01:38:00.760
forty about seven thousand calls last year. There's a little psy four thousands,

1292
01:38:01.840 --> 01:38:05.000
but no, yeah, they do
have a number. So through May we

1293
01:38:05.079 --> 01:38:10.439
did three thy twenty seven calls and
I just had another date. As of

1294
01:38:10.680 --> 01:38:16.319
today, we've done another two hundred
and twenty calls since the end of May,

1295
01:38:17.319 --> 01:38:23.479
So in just over a few days
we've done eight hundred and forty four

1296
01:38:23.600 --> 01:38:29.000
pre plans and four hundred and twenty
nine inspections since January, So that's another

1297
01:38:29.119 --> 01:38:32.159
thing that we have. We have
a fire Prevention Bureau with the District four,

1298
01:38:32.840 --> 01:38:40.439
which is basically the state Fire Marshal
Arm. We have an arm fire

1299
01:38:40.520 --> 01:38:44.960
Bureau that goes out and does these
inspections and does these pre plans on commercial

1300
01:38:45.000 --> 01:38:49.279
buildings, so we're not depending on
these fire marshal will come in. So

1301
01:38:50.000 --> 01:38:56.159
I got any questions from anybody,
so go fire? Have you ever?

1302
01:38:56.920 --> 01:39:01.279
Okay? So we have two well, we have actually had a in twenty

1303
01:39:01.359 --> 01:39:08.560
two we passed another referentum for additional
fifteen emails and that's what we have paid.

1304
01:39:08.640 --> 01:39:14.520
We're usual to pay. We hired
twenty three new firefighters in twenty two

1305
01:39:14.600 --> 01:39:19.399
twenty three, so basically that for
me and that fifteen meals is covering those

1306
01:39:19.479 --> 01:39:26.600
souths. So I don't know.
We have our we're going to be Next

1307
01:39:26.680 --> 01:39:30.880
Monday is our meeting we will advertise
for our public caring and then we will

1308
01:39:31.920 --> 01:39:39.439
July will be the meeting that will
discuss our villagers. We've already started our

1309
01:39:39.720 --> 01:39:43.880
advertisement, so that'll be in the
July meeting. Must be one of those

1310
01:39:43.960 --> 01:39:49.079
bring up and those are broad in. Yes, let's see unto six as

1311
01:39:49.159 --> 01:40:02.319
the fire versus you know, it's
early chime. Call trust your lives eight

1312
01:40:02.439 --> 01:40:09.960
minutes, eight minutes to say that
they read any of us. That's amazing.

1313
01:40:11.119 --> 01:40:15.520
Uh so thin. You can do
a lot of wall side find the

1314
01:40:15.600 --> 01:40:21.880
fires before a uh two hundred eight
or uh land fire. Uh back here

1315
01:40:23.159 --> 01:40:29.319
it was at uh marsh ras a
type way. Uh. I all all

1316
01:40:29.479 --> 01:40:32.560
that. Uh A lot of people. There are a lot of old districts

1317
01:40:32.760 --> 01:40:35.399
and cause that. And that's that's
the one thing about all of us.

1318
01:40:35.479 --> 01:40:42.000
We all work well together. Anytime
they call it will respond. I kind

1319
01:40:42.000 --> 01:40:53.279
of get tired of looking at'em
sometimes see any other questions. Thank we

1320
01:40:53.399 --> 01:40:57.039
got one more coming up, And
I wanna say one more thing about mister

1321
01:40:57.119 --> 01:40:59.920
Druie. I'm gonna talk about any
of the other fire departments, but you

1322
01:41:00.079 --> 01:41:03.840
shared with me today and this is
what I was trying to get to you.

1323
01:41:04.840 --> 01:41:10.840
His firement right now. They don't
have bunks. They stay there all

1324
01:41:10.960 --> 01:41:16.920
night to protect you, and they're
sleeping in recliners. They're sleeping in recliners.

1325
01:41:17.279 --> 01:41:20.840
And that's the ones that are there
to answer the call when the call

1326
01:41:21.039 --> 01:41:25.439
is made they jump out of that
recliner and they jump on the truck and

1327
01:41:25.479 --> 01:41:30.239
they take off. So thank y'all
for what y'all did. Well, thank

1328
01:41:30.319 --> 01:41:39.239
you so much for much we got. I think the one more and that's

1329
01:41:40.319 --> 01:41:45.760
Mayor Taylor from the town of Livingston. Some of y'all look at him,

1330
01:41:45.800 --> 01:41:47.840
and y'all realize that me and him
are close to being twins. I mean,

1331
01:41:47.880 --> 01:41:53.520
when you look right at us,
you see how the height and everything

1332
01:41:53.680 --> 01:41:58.079
is right dead on. So this
is my nephew, and so he's doing

1333
01:41:58.119 --> 01:42:01.880
a wonderful job for us out of
Livingston. So jt and tell people when

1334
01:42:01.920 --> 01:42:04.039
they come to the office. As
somebody comes in and says I want to

1335
01:42:04.039 --> 01:42:06.880
talk to Jonathan, I just tell
them to send them to the back because

1336
01:42:06.880 --> 01:42:11.439
that's my family. The only ones
that do me is that. But I

1337
01:42:11.560 --> 01:42:15.520
mean, I wasn't gonna talk and
I lead over untold buddy something, but

1338
01:42:15.880 --> 01:42:18.319
I wasn't gonna say anything. Town
living said, we're a little different.

1339
01:42:18.319 --> 01:42:23.640
It's gonna take a little bit different
approach. Our budgets around five point four

1340
01:42:23.760 --> 01:42:29.239
million. Our adalorum tax is only
eighty thousand a year. That's all we

1341
01:42:29.319 --> 01:42:32.560
can is four pointy seven seven bills
so yes, we're going to go back

1342
01:42:32.600 --> 01:42:36.159
for that four point seven seven That
doesn't even pay for one employee. We

1343
01:42:36.239 --> 01:42:42.279
got twenty five employees. A lot
of our revenues just comes from utilities and

1344
01:42:42.359 --> 01:42:46.760
sales tax and also share fart.
How was some majority of this paid for

1345
01:42:48.039 --> 01:42:53.640
Jason Golf your phone? How how
is the majority of this paid for well,

1346
01:42:58.520 --> 01:43:02.840
Jack gober One? So I knew
how it was faidful. That's why

1347
01:43:02.880 --> 01:43:06.960
I wanted to ask him that.
So all I hear there's a lot of

1348
01:43:08.079 --> 01:43:12.680
perception from people. And my dad
always says a quote. He says,

1349
01:43:12.720 --> 01:43:14.800
if you can't raise the voice,
I mean, if you can't raise a

1350
01:43:14.840 --> 01:43:17.920
hand to heeld, don't raise the
voice to criticize. So I appreciate the

1351
01:43:18.079 --> 01:43:21.880
people that are here that don't just
get on Facebook and say, you know,

1352
01:43:21.920 --> 01:43:25.840
I was talking about my buddy Paul
earlier. He said they pulled the

1353
01:43:25.880 --> 01:43:28.880
bleachers out because they heard three hundred
people were going to be here. This

1354
01:43:29.039 --> 01:43:31.600
happens every time in the Tennalymics.
They want to get on Facebook, and

1355
01:43:31.760 --> 01:43:36.000
I know, you know, we've
got Action seventeen here and Ken might put

1356
01:43:36.039 --> 01:43:40.479
on Facebook what I'm saying right now. But sometimes I think it needs to

1357
01:43:40.560 --> 01:43:44.640
be said, and I'll be the
one to say it. And maybe I'm

1358
01:43:44.680 --> 01:43:46.319
just as young buck and I'm naive
and I shouldn't say these things. But

1359
01:43:47.000 --> 01:43:49.199
a lot of times, you know, they want to get on Facebook and

1360
01:43:49.239 --> 01:43:53.640
they want to criticize and say on
the couch. But I appreciate I'm going

1361
01:43:53.680 --> 01:43:57.159
to listen to people that come and
show up and talk to us and say,

1362
01:43:57.199 --> 01:43:59.079
hey, we want to see this, we want to see that,

1363
01:43:59.199 --> 01:44:01.479
because there's kind of conversation and you
know, I think when you come,

1364
01:44:01.600 --> 01:44:06.800
you learn some things and you realize
school Board they were bashed on social media.

1365
01:44:08.239 --> 01:44:11.439
They have all this extra money where
they bring in lead for all can

1366
01:44:11.520 --> 01:44:15.119
find out. Man, they are
doing a great job with their money.

1367
01:44:15.159 --> 01:44:18.119
And there's like Uncle Jeff said,
there is a lot of mistrust with government.

1368
01:44:18.840 --> 01:44:24.039
I don't I think this thing right
here. Social media is the reason

1369
01:44:24.079 --> 01:44:28.119
why, because it's a lot easier
to set on Facebook and Twitter and gripe

1370
01:44:28.159 --> 01:44:31.039
and complain and not come to a
meeting and show up and come with facts.

1371
01:44:32.039 --> 01:44:34.439
And I have some facts for you. That's why I wanted to get

1372
01:44:34.479 --> 01:44:36.560
up just real quick. So when
I knew that I was having this meeting,

1373
01:44:36.560 --> 01:44:40.600
I'm a numbers guy. I don't
like to I don't like to criticize

1374
01:44:40.640 --> 01:44:44.239
any entities unless I find out I'm
gonna go talk to them on when they

1375
01:44:44.279 --> 01:44:45.520
hear from them, and I want
to see what I can do to help.

1376
01:44:46.319 --> 01:44:54.119
So I pulled this loaf of gun
reader here and the twenty twenty three

1377
01:44:54.239 --> 01:44:57.960
leaves in a tax commission. Okay, twenty twenty three louis in a tax

1378
01:44:58.279 --> 01:45:02.119
commission. So this kind of shows
overall to me what Livings and Parish is

1379
01:45:02.159 --> 01:45:08.159
doing with their money compared to other
parishes. So Livingston Parish we generated last

1380
01:45:08.239 --> 01:45:12.880
year seventy seven million, six hundred
and seventy four thousand dollars. Okay.

1381
01:45:13.399 --> 01:45:16.880
So I took our population and compared
it to all the parishes so us as

1382
01:45:16.920 --> 01:45:20.880
a whole, that's the money that
was generated from all of our villages in

1383
01:45:20.960 --> 01:45:26.880
this parish last year. That averages
out to five hundred and forty dollars per

1384
01:45:27.000 --> 01:45:30.119
citizen. Okay, five hundred and
forty dollars per citizen. That's all the

1385
01:45:30.199 --> 01:45:35.119
villagers, all the other districts,
Walker Walker School District, them Springs Live,

1386
01:45:35.159 --> 01:45:42.439
of all the parishes, the sheriff's
office hours, everybody's okay, so

1387
01:45:42.640 --> 01:45:46.159
Ascension one thousand, six hundred and
fifty one dollars excuse me per citizen.

1388
01:45:47.039 --> 01:45:53.439
Saint Tammany three hundred and ninety five
dollars per citizen, west beat Rouge eight

1389
01:45:53.560 --> 01:45:58.039
hundred and eighty two dollars per citizen. Ever built three thousand, six hundred

1390
01:45:58.039 --> 01:46:01.680
and twelve dollars per citizen, repegs
Onenty twenty two. It goes on and

1391
01:46:01.800 --> 01:46:05.079
on. So to me, like
I said, I'm a numbers guy,

1392
01:46:05.279 --> 01:46:08.399
I wanted to go look at it
before I came to this meeting night,

1393
01:46:08.399 --> 01:46:11.600
and I wasn't gonna say anything.
But everybody, I know most of these

1394
01:46:11.600 --> 01:46:14.119
people that got up and talked,
and I met with them, and I

1395
01:46:14.319 --> 01:46:17.199
know them personally, and I know
they're not just sticking money in their pocket

1396
01:46:17.399 --> 01:46:21.720
like they're accused of sometimes on social
media and elected leaders that we're taking all

1397
01:46:21.760 --> 01:46:25.720
this extra money. I think we've
got a great people in this parish,

1398
01:46:25.840 --> 01:46:28.560
great leaders. So that's the only
reason I want to get them and talk.

1399
01:46:29.000 --> 01:46:40.279
Let's take a little bit of nature
where he's something something, So now

1400
01:46:40.960 --> 01:46:45.479
you pretty much know what's going on
to the parish. The people that showed

1401
01:46:45.560 --> 01:46:49.199
up tonight to talk about their look. There are several of them called me

1402
01:46:49.399 --> 01:46:55.119
that they could not be here.
They had meetings tonight and a lot of

1403
01:46:55.199 --> 01:46:59.960
things going on. But we appreciate
you coming out to the General Poe,

1404
01:47:00.479 --> 01:47:04.000
thank y'all. Thank you for coming
out and being able to allow us to

1405
01:47:04.960 --> 01:47:11.520
speak to you and to bring forth
the things that are important. It's important

1406
01:47:11.560 --> 01:47:15.119
to know what each one of these
districts are going to do. They try

1407
01:47:15.199 --> 01:47:18.600
to tell you what they're thinking.
We've got some that say they're going to

1408
01:47:18.680 --> 01:47:23.600
lower, some that says they can't. I will tell you this that we

1409
01:47:23.680 --> 01:47:28.680
have done the best job we know
to do by law to put the assessments

1410
01:47:28.720 --> 01:47:32.920
when they're supposed to be Anything from
there after that, it just comes down

1411
01:47:33.079 --> 01:47:38.199
to what the districts are going to
charge. But as you heard them speak

1412
01:47:38.239 --> 01:47:43.279
tonight, there's a lot of them
that need the money. And John I

1413
01:47:43.479 --> 01:47:48.000
wanted that piece of paper. You
just had to show that we're spending five

1414
01:47:48.119 --> 01:47:56.840
hundred dollars per citizens and you've got
assension spending one point, I mean one

1415
01:47:57.359 --> 01:48:10.720
six hundred dollars is Phenomenalcus all the
Millagians have put together. Oh no,

1416
01:48:10.840 --> 01:48:14.039
they've got more. They've got a
lot of it. But it shows you

1417
01:48:14.159 --> 01:48:18.039
what we're able to do with five
hundred dollars a third of the money.

1418
01:48:18.520 --> 01:48:23.600
We're able to do this. We
have a top ten school system. We've

1419
01:48:23.640 --> 01:48:27.840
got a first rate sheriff's office.
We've got a good parish council that tries

1420
01:48:27.880 --> 01:48:31.439
to do everything they can. We've
got firemen sleeping in recliners just to make

1421
01:48:31.479 --> 01:48:35.560
sure that everything is there taking care
of for you. I am proud to

1422
01:48:35.680 --> 01:48:40.199
be from Livingston Parish. I don't
shy away from it. I will put

1423
01:48:40.279 --> 01:48:44.600
Livingston Parish up against anybody in the
state. I do all the time when

1424
01:48:44.640 --> 01:48:47.640
I go somewhere and i'm speaking,
Livingston Parish is first. So I can

1425
01:48:47.720 --> 01:48:51.479
assure you that these people that are
having to come back to you every four

1426
01:48:51.560 --> 01:48:55.520
years and ask you for your vote, they're not out there to try to

1427
01:48:55.560 --> 01:48:58.119
make you mad. They're out there
to try to do the best job they

1428
01:48:58.159 --> 01:49:01.319
possibly can. And I applaudge and
for the public that shows up tonight,

1429
01:49:01.720 --> 01:49:04.199
thank you, thank you, thank
you, And for the ones that are

1430
01:49:04.279 --> 01:49:15.079
watching us over for the ones that
are watching us own mister Chapman's podcast,

1431
01:49:15.520 --> 01:49:18.880
and the ones over here to actually
use thank you for putting this out so

1432
01:49:19.039 --> 01:49:21.920
people can see it. So we
can get the word out to more and

1433
01:49:23.039 --> 01:49:27.279
more people. And how many of
y'all would like to see this done again,

1434
01:49:27.600 --> 01:49:30.800
how many of y'all like the transparency
of it. We're going to try

1435
01:49:30.840 --> 01:49:34.279
to do it more and hopefully the
next time when we tell them that,

1436
01:49:34.560 --> 01:49:38.159
look, I don't know if we're
going to get five people here or if

1437
01:49:38.159 --> 01:49:41.319
we're going to get five hundred,
but you might want to make room.

1438
01:49:42.159 --> 01:49:45.520
And then you get here and we've
got ten people to show up, but

1439
01:49:45.640 --> 01:49:49.239
I guarantee you in November, somebody
bring me a doctor pepper or cookie in

1440
01:49:49.319 --> 01:49:54.520
it about November, because they're gonna
be minded up outside my office because they're

1441
01:49:54.520 --> 01:49:59.520
gonna conveniently forget that we had a
meeting, and we're gonna remind them that

1442
01:49:59.640 --> 01:50:02.119
we have meeting for you to come
in and look. So you need to

1443
01:50:02.239 --> 01:50:06.119
go online. You need to look
at your assessments starting now. Come into

1444
01:50:06.159 --> 01:50:11.640
our office. Call us. We
are here. David is going to David

1445
01:50:11.680 --> 01:50:14.960
and Tim are going to be stay
up here and if you want to look

1446
01:50:15.000 --> 01:50:17.279
and see what your assessment is going
to be before you leave, go ahead

1447
01:50:17.319 --> 01:50:20.720
and look at it tonight. But
we're here to take care of you if

1448
01:50:20.760 --> 01:50:26.840
you have any questions, please give
us a call. I'll give you my

1449
01:50:26.960 --> 01:50:30.359
seldom. My office number is two
two five six eight six seven two seven

1450
01:50:30.439 --> 01:50:34.039
eight For all you out at the
public, give us a call and we

1451
01:50:34.239 --> 01:50:40.439
will do whatever we can to help
you because we want to see Livingston Parish

1452
01:50:40.760 --> 01:50:44.680
thrive. That's our goal, that
is our mission, and we are going

1453
01:50:44.680 --> 01:50:46.359
to accomplish our mission. Thank y'all
very much for coming to Night