By KEVIN CHIRI

Editor and Publisher

LAPLACE – The St. John Parish government has gone on the offensive to halt the efforts to incorporate Garyville, by sending a letter to Governor Bobby Jindal pointing out what they believe to be three legal flaws in the petition currently under review.

But now the attorney who heads the Garyville group is the one who is firing back. Geri Baloney followed up the parish letter to the governor, with a similar one of her own, insisting vehemently that the Garyville petition is sound and should be approved.

Signed by three top parish leaders, a letter from parish officials to Jindal makes three key points about what they believe are legal problems with the petition recently forwarded to the governor, asking Jindal to call a vote to incorporate Garyville, Mt. Airy and a portion of Reserve.

St. John Parish President Bill Hubbard, Assessor Whitney Joseph and Sheriff Wayne Jones all signed the letter which has asked Jindal to throw out the current petition effort, and force the group to start all over.

But that attempt to halt the incorporation effort has led Baloney, chair for the Garyville Incorporation Committee, to write a letter of her own to the governor, insisting that the people in that area are quite capable of making their own decisions on the matter.

Additionally, she disagrees with the questions of the petitions legality, and believes the petition should be approved by the governor, and an election called for July 19 when the voters will decide whether to incorporate or not.

The organization known as the Garyville Incorporation Committee recently obtained over 1,300 signatures, far more than the 25 percent needed from the expected incorporation area. The names were certified by St. John Registrar of Voters Betty Madere, and forwarded to Jindal’s office, which is currently reviewing them to determine if all legal rules were followed.

If that is deemed correct, the governor will call an election of the area, which is approximately 4,200 people.

However on Wednesday, Hubbard’s office took a letter to Jindal, asking that the petition be thrown out, something that would make the group begin gathering the signatures all over again.

The key points in the parish letter are as follows:

1.) The parish officials believe the boundaries of the incorporation area are illegally drawn, since they include various industries in the area. Parish officials have cited a state law which says industry cannot be included in a newly incorporated area, but organizers of the drive do not agree with the interpretation of the law.

2.) Parish officials believe the incorporation would be an undue burden on many who live in the Garyville area since “the Garyville area contains citizens who are among the lowest income residents in the parish.” They contend any new taxes, which Garyville officials could levy without the vote of the people, would be something the residents could not afford to pay.

3.) The group also says the Garyville organization does not have a sound financing plan to provide all the necessary city services that would be required once the town is on its own, again putting the burden of financing on many people would could not afford to pay it.

However Baloney fired back with a letter of her own that went out to the governor Wednesday night, saying that only one of the three issues raised by the parish merits consideration. And even that issue, she believes, is correctly addressed in the Garyville petition.

Baloney acknowledged there may be an issue of which industries, if any, can be included in the Garyville town limits, but even if they are excluded, she said that was addressed in the petition and would only call for her group to redraw its boundaries.

Baloney continues to insist, however, that she believes state law will, in fact, allow Garyville to draw upon some of the industry tax money, noting previous incorporations where that was allowed.

“A review of the case law indicates that in practically every case where citizens have exercised their right to incorporate, parish officials fight the effort,” she said in the letter to the governor. “I am certain that once this process is concluded, our parish officials will respect the wishes of their constituents and will work with the new Town so that the people of this area can finally enjoy and realize the increase in services and quality of life we long for and deserve.”

The proposed incorporation area includes major industries such as Marathon Oil, Gramercy Aluminum, Nalco Chemical, Stockhausen, and Cargill, which brings into question millions of dollars in property and sales taxes. Should the new town get a portion of those taxes, they would have millions of dollars to address issues in that region which they say have long been overlooked by parish officials.

Without the money, the town would be forced to levy property and sales taxes that would hit residents in a way that Hubbard believes would be an undue burden.

“Of great concern to us is the fact that the Garyville area contains citizens who are among the lowest income residents in the parish, many of whom are living on fixed incomes and in need of assistance,” he said.

But Baloney sounded almost indignant that Hubbard was taking it upon himself to question the intelligence of the Garyville residents.

“Governor, please be assured that the people who live in the area of the proposed incorporation are very intelligent and are quite capable of weighing the competing interest and the pros and cons of this critical decision,” she said in the letter to Jindal. “We are entitled to and capable of exercising our statutory right to incorporate and our constitutional right to vote.”

An official with the governor’s office has given no timetable on when a decision may be made, but continues to say the matter is under review.