Calcasieu Parish police jurors on Thursday unanimously voted in favor of a resolution allowing its legal counsel to file a brief that would allow the parish to act as an impartial adviser in a lawsuit involving the Cameron Parish Police Jury, the School Board and Cameron LNG.
The decision allows Sam Gabb, the panel’s legal counsel, to file an amicus curiae brief in support of the lawsuit filed by the Cameron Police Jury and School Board for the Cameron PILOT, or “payment in lieu of taxes,” program. The program would require Cameron LNG to pay a fixed amount now instead of paying property taxes after its 10-year exemption ends in 2029.
Judge Ward Fontenot ruled against the lawsuit in January, saying the Cameron Police Jury lacked the authority to supplement taxes with a fix negotiated amount, for any business. It will go before the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal on Feb. 14.
Cameron Parish Administrator Ryan Bourriaque told the panel that the parish is dealing with financial issues that impact infrastructure, schools and other services.
“When you have a parish of 6,700 (residents) and you do not collect a sales tax, you cannot address those services,” he said. “The funding is not there. You have to have a tax revenue system from somewhere.”
Under the PILOT program, Cameron LNG would pay the parish $4.5 million annually for the next two years and $24.5 million annually for the next 20 years.
Cameron Parish School Board member Sheila Miller spoke about the $8 million deficit the board is experiencing. She said the PILOT program would generate $7 million for the board annually.
“If the PILOT is successful, our classrooms will be state-of-the-art, and in turn would increase our test scores drastically,” she said.
District 7 Police Juror Chris Landry said he disagreed with Fontenot’s decision on the lawsuit. “To put it plainly, the judge is wrong,” he said. “Without a doubt ... we need to stand by Cameron Parish.”
Gabb said the brief gives the Calcasieu Police Jury the ability to “let our voice be heard by the court.”
The panel also recognized Robin Martin, who recently retired after working for the parish for 25 years. Martin was the executive director of the parish’s Public Safety Communications District E911.
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