By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – The St. John the Baptist Parish Council agreed to table a measure to reduce the compensation paid to business owners who collect and file their sales taxes on time because the sponsor wanted more time to determine what other taxing bodies wanted to do.

The ordinance, proposed by Councilman Ronnie Smith, requires the parish decrease the amount of compensation to business owners from 2 percent of the total taxes collected to 1 percent. He said the move could save the parish money that would go toward helping the parish school system escape its current budget crunch.

“I just need more time to speak with (School System superintendent) Dr. Courtney Millet about this,” Smith said after the meeting. “One way or another, I still want to move forward with this.”

The parish and the School Board each collect a 2.25 percent tax on sales, while the Sheriff’s Office collects an additional .25 percent. The proposal, which has the potential to save the parish nearly $250,000, would put collection fees more in line with St. Charles Parish, which recently lowered its compensation rate to 1.1 percent.

Parish President Natalie Robottom’s administration indicated its opposition to the proposal since it would take away revenue from parish businesses. She said the decrease could end up resulting on a loss of jobs in the parish.

Smith asked that the ordinance be tabled for future debate at later meetings, and the council agreed unanimously without discussion.

In other action Tuesday, the council approved a trio of agreements between the parish and Entergy for the staging of equipment on parish land in the event of an emergency.

The agreements allow Entergy officials to use the St. John Community Center and the neighboring Highway 51 Library, both in LaPlace, as well as Regala Park in Reserve, as staging areas for trucks and equipment.

Robottom said the locations were strategic areas in the parish that allow Entergy crews to mobilize quickly in the event of a massive power outage in the parish during a tropical storm or hurricane.

Robottom said the crews on the east bank of the parish would mostly handle outages and other issues on the east bank. She said Entergy crews staging on the west bank of St. Charles and St. James parishes would serve St. John Parish’s west bank residents.

The council also approved a resolution in support of a special use permit for a truck stop on Airline Highway at the intersection of Louisiana Highway 54 in Garyville. Planning and Zoning Director Mike Henderson said the truck stop, which would include video poker facilities, has garnered the approval of the Parish Planning and Zoning Board.

Parish administrators also addressed concerns about new street signs on the parish’s major intersections. St. John Parish Chief Administrative Officer Marie Brown-Mercadel said larger street signs would be installed at five major intersections within the parish. The new signs, which are slated for Belle Terre Boulevard, Carrollwood Drive, Cambridge Drive, U.S. Highway 51 and Main Street, will attach to new traffic light poles across Airline Highway.

Mercadel said the parish is responsible for installation, funding and maintenance. Each sign will cost $150. She said the parish is working with the state Department of Transportation and Development to ensure proper procedure is followed prior to application for permit to post the signs.