Steve Bandy /Crowley Post-Signal
Voters across the Acadia Parish will decide the fate of a 2.12-mill tax renewal.
That millage, which partially funds the Cooperative Extension Office and the Rice Arena, was defeated in last November’s municipal elections. It expires at the end of 2019.
If it fails again on Nov. 16, “It may not be the end of the extension service, but it would be the end of the extension service as we know it,” Kurt Guidry, regional director, said.
The funds generated from this parishwide tax — approximately $818,000 annually — pay for repairs and maintenance of the building, supplies used by the staff and about 20% of the annual salaries — “about $120,000,” Guidry said.
“Without this millage, we would have to divert funds that are now devoted to programs and faculty and staff. We would have to find another office because we couldn’t afford this one,” Guidry explained. “The rent and maintenance costs that are now paid by the millage would have to come out of AgCenter funding.”
The local office, like parish offices across the state, relies on the parish for 20% of its funding. In Acadia, that funding is in the form of the 2.12-mill property tax.
The rest is state funding and “very little” federal, Guidry said.
“When people say, ‘The police jury pays for all the maintenance on the building,’ they’re right,” said Kayla Segura, extension agent. “But the police jury uses the funding from that millage to pay those expenses.
“Without that millage, the police jury doesn’t have the money,” she added.
A.J. “Fatty” Broussard, jury secretary-treasurer, confirmed that.
“We get the bills — electricity, water, insurance, etc. — and we pay them, but we pay them out of the millage revenues,” Broussard said. “We don’t — we can’t, by law — use that money for anything except the Cooperative Extension Office and the Rice Arena.”
Per the proposal originally approved in the 1990s and renewed twice since then, funding from the millage is divided between the Cooperative Extension Office (AgCenter) and the Multi-Purpose Facility (Rice Arena). The proposal mandates that neither facility shall receive less than 40 percent of the proceeds, “but we split it down the middle,” Guidry said.
The director acknowledged that the Rice Arena has seen increased activity in recent months, but added, “The moneys generated at the Arena pay for the salaries of the employees there. Everything else — upgrades, repairs, etc. — comes out of the millage.”
And Broussard noted that the influx of people for activities at the Arena has added to local and parish sales tax revenues.
“They come here and use the Arena for their rodeos or horse shows, but they eat at area restaurants and they buy gas and supplies at area stores,” he said.
Segura added that Acadia Parish residents pay “a discounted” fee to use the Arena “because Treg (Myers, director) believes that parish residents are already paying for it thorough taxes.”
Broussard went on to say that, unfortunately, if the millage is not renewed, “The Arena will probably be closed by the end of December so that remaining finds can be diverted to the AgCenter to keep it going as long as possible.”
“And without the Arena, where do we have our (January) livestock show?” asked Guidry. “Where do we hold our (4-H) archery classes? The ATV safety courses?
“There’s a reason it’s called a ‘multi-purpose’ facility.”
There’s also a reason the Extension Office is so named, according to Guidry.
“Let’s say a farmer calls Jeremy (Hebert) with a question he doesn’t know the answer to,” said Guidry. “By extension, he has access to all the resources available right there at the Rice Research Station.”
Without a parish office, Guidry explained, “there would be no direct link to help residents with rice, soybeans, cattle or even their home gardens.”
Then there are the 4-H services.
“We have one of the highest (4-H) enrollments in the state,” Segura said. “A lot of the students we have in 4-H wouldn’t be able to afford it if the millage fails. And none of our students would get the quality of services they now get through the program.
“The money we get is going directly back to the kids in Acadia Parish in terms of services offered.”
Guidry said the decision is now in the hands of parish voters.
“We hope that people understand what we do here and what this office means to the farmers, children and people of the parish,” he said. “If the millage is defeated, the LSU AgCenter (state office) will have to make a decision on what level of services they want to have here.”
Segura added that anyone with questions concerning the services or operations of the AgCenter or Arena should call her at 337-788-8821.
Early voting for the Nov. 16 election began Saturday and will continue through next Saturday, Nov. 9, from 8:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. at the Acadia Parish Registrar of Voter’s Office.
Polls on election day will open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.