L’Observateur / July 8, 2000

Next Saturday’s tax elections, if everything goes as anticipated, will attract only one in 10 registered voters. If approved, 90 percent of theregistered voters will complain about the increases in their tax bill.

The point is, if you don’t vote, you shouldn’t complain.

In St. Charles Parish, the four propositions include doubling the 9-1-1millage, adding to the library millage, a new .65-mill tax toward a newhealth unit and renewing the current millage for road lighting.

The 9-1-1 millage, if approved, would go from 0.49 mills to 1 mill to payfor the operation and maintenance of a new 800-MHz system recently acquired by the system with help from parish government, sheriff’s office, volunteer fire departments and the parish hospital.

Approval would also pay for four new operator positions and an additional station in the 9-1-1 Center in Hahnville.

The library millage in St. Charles would support the staffing and equippingof the new St. Rose library branch under development on River Road.The final ballot item is for renewal of the present Road Lighting District millage of 2.69 mills.In St. James Parish, two propositions are on the ballot.The first item is a bond issuance election on whether the St. James SchoolBoard should issue $6 million in bonds to finance building funds. This is a20-year bond issue and would be paid for out of property taxes.

This is nothing new, but a reinstatement of a current bond program to continue the financing toward building and maintaining school properties.

The second item is a 10-year, 6.04-mill property tax renewal for schoolsupport.

All of these are important items, at least to those agencies and offices backing them. Most of their employees will likely vote in support of themas well.

However, anyone in opposition to these taxes in particular or against taxes in general should make their own voices heard. This is howdemocracy is supposed to work. The majority is supposed to rule.Sometimes, when the majority speaks, it may not speak “correctly,” but it is the most fair system ever devised.

We fully support people registering to vote, and then exercising that right at the polls, as many as possible. With absentee voting, there’s no realreason not to vote.

But if you don’t vote, you shouldn’t complain later about the outcome, whether it’s a tax proposition or elective office.

Veterans fought and many died to support our right to vote. Let’s do theright thing and support that effort.

—L’Observateur

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