LAPLACE – In St. James Parish a single vote decided the fate of a proposed new tax on Saturday.

By a vote of 538-539, voters in St. James Parish rejected a proposed 1.25 millage that would have been used to support several programs providing meals for those in need.

Voters there, however, did give the green light to two tax renewals on the ballot. The moneys these generate fund the parish’s human resources department street lighting.

Two candidates in the St. Charles Parish Council-at-Large Division B race will be heading to a runoff.

Democrat Jarvis Lewis garnered the most votes in that race at 47 percent. Current Parish Council District 7 representative Julia Fisher-Perrier will be his opponent in the runoff. She had 38 percent of the vote.