Eat, drink, dance – and vote

Saturday, May 3, might be the middle of the Crawfish Festival here, but it’s also an election day with over $9 million in annual revenue for Parish Government at stake.

Anonymous dissidents have been crying foul in the social media, claiming that the St. Martin School Board pulled a similar trick during last year’s Festival, “sneaking by” a $40 million bond issue and renewing a sales tax worth $6.6 million a year on a scant 5.4 percent voter turnout.

It’s an established axiom of governance that tax proposals fare better with a low turnout than with a high one, but it’s also a fact that election days are mapped out well in advance by the Louisiana secretary of state’s office without regard to local fairs and festivals.

May 3, in fact, is also likely to be a runoff election for various municipals offices in St. Martinville left undecided by the April 5 primary.

The eight proposals on the ballot May 3 are all renewals, continuing existing property taxes to support:

•Roads and bridges – 4.57 mills raising $1,450,000 a year;

•Drainage – 6.49 mills, $2,050,000 a year;

•Libraries – 4.21 mills, $1,300,000 a year;

•Recreation – 1.29 mills, $410,000 a year;

•Public health – (3.29 mills, $1,050,000 a year;

•Courthouse – 2.20 mills, $700,000 a year;

•Fire protection – 6 mills, $1,900,000 a year;

•Industrial park – 1.91 mills, $600,000 a year.

The dedicated renewals would all run for 10 years.

This year’s Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival will be May 2-4.