CENTRAL La. POLITICS: DOES THE RAPIDES PARISH POLICE JURY HAVE ANY COMMON SENSE?

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

DOES THE RAPIDES PARISH POLICE JURY HAVE ANY COMMON SENSE?

Showing a complete lack of common sense, and willingness to waste taxpayers' money on unnecessary legal fees, the recent signing into law of HB 416 still in not good enough to show the Rapides Parish Police Jury that it cannot rebate sales tax revenues, that have been dedicated to the Rapides Parish School Board.

First, there already was an existing attorney general's opinion that said that the Jury could not give rebates of the dedicated sales tax revenues. Common sense should have told them that anyway, through a simple understanding of the word "dedicated".

And even now that Gov. Jindal has signed HB 416 into law, as Act Nos. 720, with an effective date of July 1, 2008, which also says that the Jury cannot give rebates from dedicated sales tax revenues, the Police Jury is awaiting yet another attorney general's opinion. Schools Superintendent Gary Jones said that "the Police Jury should not need an attorney general's opinion."The question has been answered," he said. "They need to go ahead and take appropriate action." (See: "Advantage Rapides School Board? New law supports district on tax rebates, but questions linger").

"Usually when they amend statutes, they do it for the purpose of changing the existing law or clarifying existing law," Parish Treasurer Tim Ware said. So the question is: "Are they changing existing law or clarifying existing law?" id. Mr. Ware should stick to bookkeeping, which hopefully he knows something about, and leave the legal opinions to lawyers. In my legal opinion, and using some common sense, you cannot give away something that didn't belong to you in the first place.

Additionally we learn, that the Police Jury has already hired the law firm of Adams and Reese, one of the largest and most expensive law firms in the state, while it is already represented by the District Attorney.

I think that the School Board needs to give the Police Jury a deadline within which it must return its tax revenues that the Police Jury illegally gave away. If that deadline is not met, the Board needs to sue the Police Jury, hopefully with some local less expensive lawyers.

During this time of economic woes, in which working class taxpayers, who get no rebate and find it difficult to buy gasoline and food and pay their electricity bills. I think that is is shameful that our Police Jury is even giving rebates to big business and industry.