By Misty Castile | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – Bossier and Caddo Parish voters will decide the future of a regional hotel tax expected to generate $1.7 million a year. Bossier voters will also decide whether to renew more than $4 million annually in property taxes.
The Louisiana State Bond Commission approved the measures Thursday for the Dec. 12 ballot.
The State Bond Commission reviews local tax election applications for compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements. Commission staff found both Northwest Louisiana applications met the technical requirements to be presented to voters.
Commission members approved the local election applications without objection. The approvals allow the taxing authorities to put the measures before voters but do not determine whether the taxes will continue.
Bossier Parish is seeking renewal of two property taxes totaling 2.81 mills for health units and parish roads and bridges.
A mill is a property tax rate equal to $1 in tax for every $1,000 of taxable assessed value.
A 0.82-mill tax for parish health units is expected to generate about $1.19 million annually. Revenue would be used to construct, equip and maintain parish health unit services. The tax would continue for 10 years, from 2028 through 2037.
The second proposition would renew a 1.99-mill property tax expected to generate about $2.88 million annually. The money would be used to build, repair and maintain roads and bridges under Bossier Parish’s parish wide road system. It also would run from 2028 through 2037.
Both taxes were last approved by voters in November 2016 and are classified by Bond Commission staff as renewals. Together, they are expected to generate about $4.07 million annually, based on current taxable property values.
At that annual collection level, the two taxes would generate roughly $40.7 million over the proposed 10-year period, although actual collections could change as taxable property values rise or fall.
The estimated cost of putting the Bossier propositions before voters is $71,600.
Bossier and Caddo voters will also decide whether to continue a 1.5% hotel occupancy tax for another 12 years.
The tax applies to hotel and motel rooms and overnight camping facilities within the jurisdiction of the Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau. It is expected to generate approximately $1.72 million annually.
Revenue would be divided among three organizations. One-half percentage point would support the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission for sporting events and sports tourism, one-half percentage point would support the Independence Bowl Foundation for promotion of Division I football events, and one-half percentage point would support the Ark-La-Tex Regional Air Service Alliance for regional air service development.
The tax was last approved by voters in November 2015 and is also considered a renewal. If approved, it would run from July 1, 2027, through June 30, 2039.
At the current estimated collection level, the hotel tax would generate about $20.6 million over 12 years, though collections would depend on hotel occupancy and taxable receipts during that period.