LAPLACE — St. John the Baptist Parish voters can join the rest of the River Parishes today for the municipal general election.

In St. John, voters are deciding if they want to renew a property tax set to expire at the end of the year.

Passage of the 1 mill tax, which generates approximately $450,000 annually, would extend the tax for 10 years.

The St. John the Baptist Parish Council set the election date for the levy, which Chief Financial Officer Vince Lucia said at the time is used for constructing, operating and maintaining the parish courthouse, jail and office building.

Lucia said the tax has been in place since at least 1996, adding the parish’s Assessor’s Office rolled back the tax to 1.0 from 1.01 mill in 2011.

He said passage of the tax in May would mean no changes in parish homeowner’s taxes.

If the tax wasn’t renewed, “the parish would lose approximately $447,000 for maintenance of buildings beginning in 2016,” Lucia said.