Tax Millage Rollup/ Highway Updates

As you know from previous e-mails, many taxing entities are conducting meetings in August to vote on increasing their tax millages.  Congratulations are in order to the Harbor Center in Slidell and Recreation District Number Four in Lacombe for voting to not increase their millages. Fire District 3 in Lacombe did vote to increase its millage and unfortunately its meeting was held the same night (an hour difference) as the Lacombe Recreation District meeting, which required citizens, including myself to bounce between the meetings. Although this was probably coincidental, I'll be offering legislation next year to prohibit coterminous taxing districts from having millage rollup meetings on the same day. I think it is also important that taxing districts have the most current projected property tax revenue before voting on millage increases.  Both of the taxing districts at last night’s meetings had incorrect figures which underestimated their projected property tax revenue.  The schedule of subsequent tax millage meetings appears below:

1088 Interchange Project set to be let August 26, 2009

The contract for the development of the new 1088 Interchange is set to be let on August 26, 2009, allowing the contractors to begin bidding on this project. Work will begin sometime in the fall of 2009 to begin the building of this interchange. This interchange has been sorely needed for a number of years, particularly with the  traffic from the newly opened  Lakeshore High School located at 26301 Hwy. 1088 in Mandeville, as well as Marigny Elementary, located at 1715 Viola Street.

The interchange will provide an additional access point to I-12 in St. Tammany Parish by constructing where LA 1088 currently crosses over I-12. The new interchange will be 3 miles east of the LA 59 interchange and 5 miles west of the LA 434 interchange. In the area of the interchange, LA 1088 will be a four-lane divided highway with 12 ft. travel lanes, 10 ft. outside shoulders and 4 ft. paved inside shoulders. LA 1088 will transition from a four-lane divided highway to the existing two-lane highway north and south of the proposed interchange. There will be two LA 1088 bridge structures crossing I-12 in this