The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1911-02-25
The Franklin Drainage Commissioners
Meet.

| meet.
| The Franklin Drainage District
through its old board of commits.
sioners, petitioned the Police Jury
at its last regular meeting, to re.
organize under the new law pass.
ed by the Legislature il 1910
The Police Jury granted this re.
quest, reorganized the District
under the new law, and appointed
Messrs. Wilson McKerall, ST.,
James A. Peterman and S. T.
McCardell, Sr., commissioners.
The Governor then appointed
| Messrs. E. A. Delahoussaye and
John D. Bell to fill the remaining
vacancies.
The board met on Monday last
for the purpose of organization,
electing Wilson McKerall, ST.,
president, James A. Peterman,
vice-president, and John D. Bell,
secretary.treasurer.
The Commission has taken up
the question of the drainage of the
district, with view of doing
some new work. OF course, the
work which the people of Frank
lin are most interested in, and
which will benefit them more than
it will the remaining portion of
the District, is the extension of
the canal from the Basin to the
town, so as to provide q five or
six foot channel instead of the
drainage ditch now existing.
The Commission has had Mr..
V. E. Smith to make a survey of
the proposed extension, who has
located the route, estimated the
amount of excavating to be done
on which to base the probable
costs.
The funds in the treasury of the
District and to be derived from the
two and one-half mill tax voted
in 1899 are not sufficient to cut the
canal and at the same time retire
the bonds now outstanding, 80 the
proposition which confronts the
board is the question of providing
funds with which to do the work,
The present Commission can
raise this money only by borrow
ing it and issuing bonds therefor.
'hese bonds to be of such demon.
nations and payable at such time
IS the Drainage Commission NAV ,
determine. The Commission.
however, must be, in order to Dor.
'ow the money and issue bonds.
properly authorized, and this au-
horization must come from the
axpayers. In other words, there t
must be an election held in the G
district and the property tax.
layers must vote on the question Q
Il the bond issue. At present a q
'etition is being circulated mong 9
ne property holders, petitioning 4
ne board to call an election. to {
ote on the question of contracting Il
DEBT not to exceed the amount e
$50 900, and to issue negotiable tt
onds therefor, to run for a period
twenty-five years. If author. v
ed, the Commission shall then il
sue the bonds. The issuance of 81
lese bonds shall not, however, Il
'ean the voting of additional tt
'xes. The tax of two and one. b.
al mills voted in 1899 will con. fo
nue. 20 run until 1919, and from B
e proceeds of this tax the
ltstanding bonds of the old issue &c
III be paid, then the Drainage at
commission will continue to lew is
ID collect the taxes for an ad- ia
tional six years, at the end of
1ich time the last bond of the a
W issue will be paid. In this Gil
~ it will be seen that no add. wi
nal taxes will be voted, but the tn
( now levied, instead of being ma
oPPed from the rolls in 1919. I'm
II be continued to 1925; and if VIC
assessment continues to in. in
'ase in the same ratio as it has
creased during the past years. is
lch no doubt it will, there will an
no necessity of levying two wo
I one.half mills after 1919. hal
e rate OF taxation must be de. wo
mined by the board, and as the
lrd can levy taxes and collect ish
amount sufficient only to pay POI
interest and that portion of pie
principal falling due each DIRE
re-, and as the board must the
re these calculations prior to Mr.
issuance of the bonds, and Sta
Fefore base it's estimate on the
ceeds from the tax under the D
sent assessment, then as the IL
'ssment increases, the rate of L uec
ltiOn will decraasc pan