By KEVIN CHIRI

Editor and Publisher

GARYVILLE – Voters in the Garyville area will apparently get the chance to vote on whether they want to become an incorporated municipality or not, after the Louisiana attorney general on Tuesday recommended approval of their petition.

But the biggest issue of all—whether tax-rich industry in the proposed boundaries will truly be part of the new town—still remains a contentious issue, with two sides claiming they have the facts on their side.

Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell sent his recommendation to Governor Bobby Jindal on Tuesday, saying his staff had determined the Garyville Incorporation Committee had met the six points of the petition for incorporation, and therefore “the petition for incorporation of Garyville is in compliance with the requirements set forth in R.S. 33:1(A), and can be submitted to the voters on the next available election date.”

That day is expected to be July 19.

However, the key issue remains whether the millions of dollars in tax money from big industry such as Cargill, Marathon and Gramercy Aluminum will go to the new town or not.

The Garyville group has drawn their proposed boundaries, including those large businesses in their town, and therefore expects to start drawing money from them, instead of paying to the parish as they currently do.

But at issue is whether those groups are considered Industrial Areas, as designated in state law. If they are legally deemed Industrial Areas, state law excludes them from any future incorporation. But if they do not qualify, then they could be included in the town.

Garyville Incorporation Committee Chair Geri Baloney and her group have contended all along that they are sure the industry will be part of the town, since Baloney told L’Observateur she researched the local court systems and did not find any documentation to prove the businesses had ever followed the proper procedure.

That procedure would include having at least 51 percent of the residents sign a petition seeking such status, running a public hearing in the local paper, getting a resolution from local government with a map, and then have the matter recorded by the local clerk of court.

But even as Baloney said she did not obtain any such documents to support any of the local industry becoming officially designated an Industrial Area, L’Observateur has now obtained those very documents for several of the businesses.

Nalco filed their documentation with the clerk of court in 1969, Cargill filed their documentation in January of 1974, while Marathon—under the former property owners named of ECOL, LTD., filed their documentation in December, 1974.

Parish officials said they can also confirm most of the other industry in the region, including the large Gramercy Aluminum plant, has also done so.

“It’s interesting that we heard the documents haven’t been found,” said St. John Public Information Officer Buddy Boe, “since we just asked the industry people for them and we had them within a matter of minutes.”

Nonetheless, spokesmen with the Garyville Incorporation group still maintained that the attorney general’s approval of their petition, which includes the industry, shows that the industry should be included in the town boundaries.

“We are confident that the attorney general’s office performed their research and came to their own conclusion in the matter,” Baloney said.

For that matter, the Garyville group was excited about the approval of the petition, since it will open the door for the 4,200 people in the region to vote on incorporation.

“We’re elated,” Garyville Vice-Chair Scott Himel said. “We knew that our petition followed the law and were confident the attorney general would do the right thing despite efforts to stop the vote.”

Boe said that the parish officials are not trying to stop the vote, but only ensure that the law is followed properly.

“We’re not opposed to incorporation if that’s what the people want,” Boe said. “We just want the law followed properly.”

Boe said parish officials have sent the documentation on Industry Areas to the attorney general and asked that the petition be reviewed again.

He also said that the parish feels an obligation to protect the industry that is here, and also consider the potential industry that might move here. Should Garyville become incorporated, town officials would have the right to immediately levy a 7 mill tax on all homeowners, without any vote of the people.

“One mill to a person with a $100,000 house is not that much money. But if you add just one mill to the property taxes of someone like Marathon, and their billion dollar expansion, then you are talking about a lot of money,” Boe explained. “That is why we want to be positive all the right steps are followed, and that an industry is not included in the municipality if they have followed steps to ensure that they do not have to.”

Meanwhile, the Garyville group said they are proceeding with plans to start an education campaign, with a town hall meeting set for Thursday, May 8 at 6:30 p.m. in the Garyville Elementary School.