By LEONARD GRAY

Managing Editor

LAPLACE — St. John Parish Superintendent Michael Coburn made a brief presentation Wednesday to the River Region Chamber’s Public Policy Committee on the April 29 tax proposition.

The committee makes recommendations to the Chamber’s board of directors, which in turn, sends their advisory to the Chamber membership.

Coburn reviewed the proposition, which is a renewal of a 4.97-mill tax renewed every 10 years. It is designated to fund maintenance of school buildings and generates approximately $185,000 per mill, according to current calculations.

This tax produces some $850,000 annually, Coburn told the committee, and represents 20 percent of the $4.4 million the school board spends on operation and maintenance of school property.

In turn, that $4.4 million is 9 percent of the General Fund Budget. Nine percent also matches the nation-wide average that school systems spend on building maintenance.

Coburn told the committee that the tax was first approved in 1977 and was renewed in 1987 and 1997.

Accompanied to the meeting by Chief Financial Officer Felix Baughton, Coburn also outlined that a home with a taxable value of $100,000 before homestead exemption would pay $11.43 per year. A $150,000 residence would have a tax bill of $34.28, and a $200,000 residence would have a $57.13 tax bill.

The election is set April 29. Absentee voting is scheduled April 17-22.