Council amends sales‑tax resolution, moves ballot timing to accommodate statewide items

The St. Tammany Parish Council voted on June 4 to advance and amend a proposed sales‑tax resolution that would place a 0.25‑cent sales tax on a future ballot. Council members moved the resolution to the start of the agenda and approved substitute language that adjusts the election timing; bond counsel and council staff advised changes were necessary because local sales taxes must begin on the first day of a calendar quarter and processing requires about 60 days.

Sponsor remarks emphasized the need to avoid the busy November 2026 ballot — which will include multiple statewide constitutional amendments — and to provide additional time for public outreach. “An extra month gives us more time to hear from residents and have thoughtful conversations,” the sponsor said when moving the item onto the agenda.

Public commenters supported postponement to improve transparency and asked for clearer numbers on projected revenue and allocations. One commenter representing a local criminal‑justice organization urged the council to use the delay to be more transparent and to provide accurate fiscal detail.

Bond counsel Jason Akers told the council that dates must align to calendar quarters and that moving the effective start to April 1, 2027 would be necessary to make administrative processes work. After amending the proposal (including a later change to the effective date), the council approved the substitute resolution; the clerk’s minutes record the motion as passing with one absence. The council directed staff to continue public outreach and to finalize proposition language and dates consistent with legal timing requirements.

The revised resolution and the staff’s final fiscal estimates will be posted publicly and brought back for any subsequent procedural votes required before the measure is placed on the ballot.