Letter: Ascension needs to fund roadways

As a resident of Ascension Parish District 4 who also works within the parish, I wanted to share my insight regarding the proposed Ascension Parish Road tax.

I am a licensed civil engineer who was once an Ascension Parish employee working on road projects. During my three years with Ascension Parish, I learned there are nearly 500 miles of parish-owned roadway, but no dedicated funds to pay for their maintenance.

If you have your old property tax bill hanging around, please take a look at where your money goes: fire police, libraries, school, etc. You won’t see roads listed on that bill!

All of the services we pay for deserve to be funded and are important to the community, but we can’t expect roads to be built without funds. It was hard for me to address resident complaints about roadways, when I knew the parish had no money to fix the problems.

It is also important to understand how the tax will be collected. If passed, the tax is a half-percent sales tax NOT a property tax. Most consumers would not think twice about purchasing goods in Baton Rouge, where the tax rate is currently higher than Ascension would be after the increase.

Before deciding you are not willing to pay the minimal increase at the register, consider the impact that decreased traffic delay and increased road safety will have on your quality of life. The increased sales tax will not only be paid by residents, but everyone who spends money in Ascension Parish.

Our students are constantly rated at the top of the state because we invest in our school system. We must invest similarly in our transportation system if we wish to achieve the same high standards in our roads.

Jackie Baumann

civil engineer

Prairieville

Comments

1) Comment by redbeard - 17/10/2012

From what I understand, the only portion of money that goes to roads is 2/3 of one half cent. Which obviously doesn't pay for the maintenance, design and construction of new roads or capacity improvements. My view is why not take advantage of this opportunity to get additional bonding capacity from federal funds, especially bc it is a sales tax...that will put us on par with EBR and Livingston! We get the benefit of having passer-bys pay for some of our roads as well! There is a plan in place, it's viable and it's out there for people to see. I disagree with the argument that the PP and council are playing the same old politics. And to comment on Whatnow: Your comment is ridiculous and has ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with the letter sent to the editor.

2) Comment by cajungurl65 - 15/10/2012

Would'nt it be nice if our elected officials did what they promised. in 1984, the last time AP passed a 1/2 cent sales tax, the promise was to fix drainage. Well, 28 years later the tax is still being collected and projects are incomplete. Why should we trust what they are saying now? If any of you TM butt sniffers would look at the operating budget for AP for roads you would see that there is adequate funds to address road issues. THIS TAX WILL NOT FIX TRAFFIC ISSUES. It may make roads a bit safer to travel but will not solve traffic congestion. And about those 106 miles of additional roads, who will patrol these roads and respond to accidents? This will spread our law enforcement officers very thin. Guess what, we will need another tax to pay for additional police officers and first responders. I also heard that the School Board will be asking for an increase in millages. Pay raises for councilmembers, wasteful spending for useless positions, tax after tax after tax. IT NEVER ENDS. So, what is more important having a bump in the road fixed or having a police officer respond to a crime? You choose.

3) Comment by Whatnow - 14/10/2012

My group? What group? I don't belong to any "group." As far as calling a councilman or woman to get anything done has never, not once, worked for me. I have had to call Tommy personally. My council member only came around when he was first running for office and while running again. I called him several times about flooding on my land and he ignored me. Never returned calls or e-mails. My land never flooded for 100 years until subdivisions were built all around my land. Now they call my land a flood zone. The subdivisions don't flood, but now I have to purchase flood insurance and sandbag with every major storm. So don't tell me your stories about council members and promises. I don't trust any of them. I've lived in Ascension all of my life and the longer I live, the less I see to help individuals who are victims to their lack of planning. That's also why I want to see a timeline in writing. You can trust all you want, but personally, I've been burnt too many times. Every time I have to call my neighbors and kids to come help me sandbag, I want to shoot a councilman!

4) Comment by thequietmajorityinap - 13/10/2012

Yes fear. Your group uses fear to spread your beliefs. Rather than just simply stating educated facts. Example: Your first post below. Your first post attempts to blast this letter as "propaganda" without stating any facts to back up your opinion. You did begin stating facts in your recent post below. Thank you for that. So about those facts... are you saying that our roads don't need intersection improvements, bridge replacement/repair, and road widening? Because I would absolutely disagree. If you were dying of starvation, would you climb to the top of the tree to pick your fruit? Or would you go after the low hanging fruit first? The items you mentioned are the low hanging fruit. That is what can be done NOW to begin fixing the transportation infrastructure. And it can all be done (from my understanding of what I read) with the .5% tax. The councilmen must use this money to fix roads. It is stated in the proposal. Now if you disagree with the order of "projects" or a "timeline" then fine. And I will be right there with you fools yelling up a storm if we see the years go by and nothing beging done with the funds being collected. But this council will want to be re-elected in 3 years, so i'm sure they will make sure the wheels get moving. I've studied the plan they have on that website. And intersection improvements/road widening in all of those key areas would be HUGE! State roads... its easier for me to call my local councilman or Parish President and complain about a road in my area. And its not like the state has been doing anything with the 106 miles of roads the Parish wants to take in. Your friends also like to point out that the first responders will be burdened by bringing these roads in. So i ask, who is the first person on scene when there is an accident or issue on any of these local state roads? Its always are fine group of law enforcement, firemen, etc. And what do that have to do??? They have to wait for a state person to get there before making any major decisions. I HATE being taxed, don't get me wrong. But if charging me an extra few pennies here and there can get those intersections improved as stated in their plan... then I'm all in.

5) Comment by Whatnow - 13/10/2012

thequietmajorityinap, Fear Pumpers? Fear? Geesh, any disagreement does not instill fear. Believe me if I thought this tax would help, I'd be the first to the polls. The parish officials and their supporters want people to believe that this tax will fix traffic problems but it will not. Also included is the taking on of over 106 miles of STATE roads. All that the transportation plan proposes is intersection improvements, bridge replacement & repairs and road widening. The plan does not propose to add lanes or overpasses or alternate routes. The councilmen do not have a guarantee of the projects and a timeline. You would vote for one set of roads and possibly have it changed before the tax even started getting collected. That is why I vote No to More Taxes.

6) Comment by thequietmajorityinap - 12/10/2012

Whatnow, your group of fear pumpers need to stop. All of the political campaigns for the past 10+ years in this parish have talked about addressing the traffic issues. Your group has pointed out so well over the years that people need to "wake up" "read the facts" "stop talking and start doing". Well we finally have a plan to "do" in the area of transportation. I've lived in this parish for a long time now... and this is the first time i've seen an actual plan that will use dedicated funds to help our road system. This horrible local govt of ours MUST use these funds as it is detailed in the plan. It is illegal if the funds are used for anything but the road system. And I'm sure your group of fear pumpers will have your watchful eye on ever penny of it being spent. So here is my proposal to you and your group of fear pumpers.... Vote for this tax. Why? Watching the use and spending of this fund over the next decade will continue to give your group something to do. You win either way! The plan works and the roads get fixed.... or ..... you get to say i told you so and use the failed tax plan as fuel for your next campaign to get the queen fear pumper into the big office. God bless and geaux tigas.

7) Comment by DMJ - 12/10/2012

Turns out...you have to pay for things you need. Go figure...

8) Comment by Whatnow - 12/10/2012

Propaganda. Now let's see how fast the comment section is closed. Check out the facts, people.