2023 Louisiana Laws › Revised Statutes › Title 38 - Public Contracts, Works and Improvements › §38:3087.228. Parcel fee

RS 38:3087.228 - Parcel fee
A.(1) The Lake St. Joseph Recreation and Water Conservation District may levy and collect a parcel fee on improved parcels within its boundaries. The parcel fee shall be imposed by resolution or ordinance of the board of commissioners of the district only after the question of the imposition of the parcel fee and the purpose, rate, and duration of such fee has been approved by a majority of the qualified electors of the district voting at an election held therein. The proceeds from the levy of said parcel fee shall be expended for costs of operation of the district, including management and control of water levels and aquatic plant growth within the district and protection and preservation of the works, improvements, and properties owned or controlled by the district, prescribing the manner of their use by public corporations and persons, and preserving order within and adjacent thereto. Any parcel fee imposed pursuant to this Section shall be levied and collected and be due and owing annually. Such fee may be carried on the tax rolls for Tensas Parish and collected at the same time as parish ad valorem taxes.
(2) If any parcel fee is not paid when due, the district shall proceed against the parcel for collection of the amount of the fee unpaid and delinquent, any collection costs incurred by the district plus interest at a rate not exceeding twelve percent on the unpaid amount of the parcel fee, and in the event legal proceedings are necessary to effect collection, court costs and reasonable attorney fees. However, attorney fees shall be payable by the parcel owner only if demand by the board of commissioners has been made on said owner by certified mail, and such parcel owner has failed to pay the amount due within ten days after such demand.
(3) A judgment obtained for nonpayment of a parcel fee, upon being recorded in the mortgage records of Tensas Parish, shall prime all other liens except those for taxes and prior recorded local or special assessments. If there are one or more property mortgages on such parcel and the mortgage holder or holders have notified the tax collector in the parish of such recorded mortgage in accordance with the requirements of R.S. 47:2180.1, the district, prior to proceeding against such parcel for failure to pay a parcel fee, shall give notice to each mortgagee of the amount of the parcel fee due and owing on such parcel and that such fee must be paid within twenty days after mailing the notice or proceedings will be commenced against the parcel. The notice shall be sent to each such mortgage holder by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by personal or domiciliary service on such mortgage holder.
B.(1) The district may incur debt and issue bonds payable from an irrevocable pledge and dedication of all or a portion of the proceeds of the parcel fee, provided that the question of funding said proceeds into bonds shall have been approved by a majority vote of the qualified electors of the district voting at an election held therein and the State Bond Commission has approved the issuance of the bonds. The question or proposition with respect to the funding of the proceeds of the parcel fee may be submitted at a separate election held for that purpose. The maturities of the bonds shall be so arranged that the total amount of principal, and interest falling due in such year on all bonds theretofore issued payable from such parcel fee, shall not exceed eighty percent of the estimated proceeds to be received from the levy of such parcel fee in the calendar year in which the bonds are issued.
(2) The bonds may be sold at public or private sale and shall be issued pursuant to the provisions of a resolution adopted by the board of commissioners of the district, provided the bonds shall mature over a period not to exceed the period for which the parcel fee, the proceeds of which are to be used to pay principal and interest on the bonds, is authorized. The bonds and the income therefrom shall be exempt from taxation by the state and by any parish, municipality, or political subdivision thereof.
C. The district may incur debt and issue certificates of indebtedness pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 33:2921 through 2925, subject to the approval of the State Bond Commission.
D.(1) A "parcel" as used in this Section shall mean one or more lots, subdivided portions of ground, or individual tracts identified by an individual assessment number on the assessment rolls of Tensas Parish. A partial owner of a parcel shall be responsible for that proportion of the parcel fee equal to the proportion of the value of the entire parcel assigned to the partial owner on the assessment roll.
(2) An "improved parcel" as used in this Section shall mean a parcel on which a permanent building suitable for residential or commercial use is situated.
E. The district may create different classes of real estate and present to the voters a proposition to levy or impose different parcel fees for each class.
Acts 2003, No. 328, §1.