What you need to know about Constitutional Amendment 5 heading into Nov. election

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - One of the things voters are going to want to keep an eye on when going to the polls in November is a constitutional amendment concerning property taxes.

The Louisiana Constitution can be a bit complicated at times. One of the things it requires is that all property be reassessed every four years and for millages to be adjusted. One of the eight constitutional amendments on the ballot in November, Amendment 5, would essentially let city or parish governments reassess whenever officials want instead of every four years.

Lafourche Parish Assessor Wendy Thibodaux, who helped write the amendment, explained the highly complex bill at the Baton Rouge Press Club on Monday, Oct. 17.

“The constitution says that if a taxing district doesn’t levy that maximum rate again, what was just adjusted, if they don’t levy that higher rate before the next reassessment, they lose that adjustment in millage rate,” said Thibodaux.

Barry Erwin with the Council for a Better Louisiana spoke at a webinar with PAR Louisiana and said he supports the amendment.

“You would probably support it if you really understood it,” said Erwin. “It allows the local government to keep that same taxing authority at the millage rate even though it’s not levying at that point. It doesn’t give any more authority to do anything, it just gives some flexibility that they don’t have to levy a tax increase unless they need it for an emergency or some specialized circumstance.”

A vote “For” the amendment would give districts the flexibility to adjust their property tax collections when the need arises. A vote “Against” would keep the current system the way it is, meaning every four years.

CLICK HERE for more information on Constitutional Amendment 5.

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