Members of the Webster Parish Police Jury are urging voters to renew the Road District A and Road District B Tax to help maintain the 620 miles of roads in the parish when they go to the polls Saturday.
The money collected can only be used for roads and bridges and drainage and cannot be used any place else other than in parish.
The taxes make up approximately 25 percent of the parish road budget.
“We use this money to help supplement the money we get from the state through our transportation fund, which has been declining,” police jury president Jim Bonsall said. “That’s why it’s so important these renewals pass. This has been a very stable source of funding to help maintain our roads.”
The taxes, originally enacted in 1972, are a 10-year renewal and currently stand at 2.65 mill for district A and 3.92 mill for district B. They are expected to generate an estimated $437,250 for district A and an estimated $454,720 for district B.
Road District A goes up north of Dixie Inn, south of Cotton Valley, includes Minden, Dixie Inn, Sibley, Dubberly and Heflin. Road District B includes areas north of the Couchwood area and includes Springhill, Cullen, Cotton Valley, Sarepta and Shongaloo.
Bonsall said the tax not only generates money for parish roads, but also provides municipality funding.
“This funding is very important because it helps us to do a lot of road work in the parish. Plus, this is where municipality funding comes from,” he said. “We give each municipality $16,000 worth of road materials and help out with the installation.”
Towns and communities can use municipality funding as they see fit, as long as it is used for roads, bridges or drainage.
“We can’t maintain the whole parish with these funds,” he said. “Without it, it will be very hard to keep providing the services that we have been.”
