White Castle property owners might see tax hike

The White Castle Board of Aldermen will consider “rolling up” property taxes to capture some new revenue at a meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday, May 17.

Mayor Maurice Brown said it has been years since the town council voted to roll the taxes up after the four-year reassessment of property around the parish.

Brown said he did not know what the town's property tax millage was or what it might be if the council agrees to rolling the taxes up, but said those taxes only comprise $35,000 to $40,000 of the town's budget.

According to Iberville Tax Assessor John Randall “Randy” Sexton, White Castle's original property tax levy before last year's reassessment was seven mills; after reassessment, it dropped to 5.65 mills.

In dollar terms, the owner of a $65,000 home in White Castle is paying $36.73 at 5.65 mills, and would be paying $45 a year at seven mills, or a 19 percent increase, Sexton said. The assessor said owner of a $130,000 home pays $73.45 at the 5.65-mill level, and would pay $91 a year at the seven-mill level.

Sexton noted that the homestead exemption does not cover municipal property taxes. He also said the town council does not have to roll the taxes up to the full seven mills.

Under Louisiana law, property is reassessed every four years, normally with an increase in property values. Millages are rolled back to prevent local governing bodies from gaining additional tax revenues – unless they vote specifically to roll the taxes up to the millage rates they had before reassessment.