Our modest household pays a paltry twenty-nine cents a day in property taxes for the privilege of owning a home in Opelousas. Before we moved here, we paid $4.56 a day in New Orleans, nearly sixteen times more. In 2023, city leaders proposed a significant millage increase to fund infrastructure and transform their ability to deliver badly needed services. It would’ve raised our cost of living here to a still-low $1.16 a day. However, it faced externally funded anti-tax opposition and an apathetic electorate and failed by 250 votes.
Nevertheless, the city continued with its expensive plans to use bond debt financing to construct limited-use, artificial turf high school sports fields in its loveliest public park. We’ve been trying for more than a year to help city leaders grasp the folly of the scale of these plans.
But it gets worse, much worse.
On March 3, the Monday before Mardi Gras, the mayor’s office abruptly called (and then canceled) a special meeting of the council as part of an effort to provide a legally required public notice for something none of us saw coming—a one-cent sales tax that provides what I estimate to be $5 million, or nearly a quarter of the city’s annual budget, expires in May 2025 and requires a vote of the people for renewal. That this fact was not made public sooner is a painfully big question. But we are where we are, and a successful vote for renewal, now scheduled for July, seems a long shot.
If the city loses the referendum, a quarter of its $20 million annual budget will disappear. In fact, since the tax officially expires in May, that loss will already be underway.
The lack of news and information regarding this looming fiscal disaster is disturbing. And one can only hope the administration will launch a strong campaign to raise awareness and support. But if the headwinds against the millage are any indication, convincing the poor people of this town to tax themselves on everyday purchases when the state is already doing so without their vote, is a longshot.
On March 11, the day of the regularly scheduled council meeting, I sent an email to city leaders in Opelousas. I received no reply. This is what I said:
To the Mayor and City Council:
I believe in the future of Opelousas. We all need to do our parts for that future to be bright.
We won’t always agree, but if you act transparently and with assertive outreach and public participation, we can help this city thrive together.
I also know that if citizens like me don’t shout “Look out!” when we see you driving off a cliff, we’re as responsible as you when things go wrong.
The extravagant plans for South Park are a fiscal cliff, and the car is speeding without enough hands on the wheel.
I realize that the mayor and ODDD have invested substantial time and money, and feel like we must stay the course. You’re trapped in the classic sunk cost fallacy. But if (when?) the sales tax referendum fails, investing millions in a limited-use, high school sports stadium and track could be a fatal blow to the city’s finances and threaten our future.
Nothing about this stadium project meets the criteria of good governance. As I explained in a prior email, the design is a toxic, injury-inducing threat to the health and well-being of the young athletes it’s meant to serve and the surrounding neighborhoods and watershed. It will produce adverse health outcomes, the opposite of what you all want to see happen.
I’m sorry to write that, but as a lifelong public servant and activist for public participation and good government, I feel qualified to tell you.
There have been no proper public hearings or input, no transparency, and no clamor by the public for this investment. In fact, the vast majority of people we’ve encountered oppose this project and see it as at the expense of improving our water systems and roads. This perception runs deep and will fuel opposition to the sales tax renewal.
South Park plans are the most significant non-infrastructure investment in the city’s 300-year history. Yet that expenditure only benefits a tiny fraction of the general population of Opelousas.
As a poor town, we cannot afford to overspend on South Park or anything else, as the chaos in Washington, DC, continues to shake the foundations of our government, education systems, healthcare, and social safety nets. Cuts to the Department of Education combined with Louisana’s new voucher program will seriously undermine OHS and its ability to have strong athletic programming.
Even the anticipated construction costs are now in jeopardy as the price of aluminum is up 70% since January, thanks to tariff threats. With the additional interests and costs of bonds, the final bill for the stadium will easily exceed ten million dollars. And without feasibility studies to determine demand, income potential, operational costs, insurance, and maintenance, we’re wearing blinders as we head for the cliff.
In addition to the lack of adherence to good governance, legal questions arise due to fundamental gaps in how the city is supposed to operate. These questions could open the city to undesired scrutiny and meddling by politically opposed factions.
The City of Opelousas has not had an appointed Parks and Recreation Commission since 2019, despite its legal mandate to oversee all aspects of park management. Without this oversight, current plans lack the transparency and due process required for significant public investments.
The solution is for the City to immediately reappoint the Parks and Recreation Commission to ensure transparent and lawful oversight of all park-related projects.
The mission of the ODDD is to foster commercial growth and economic revitalization downtown. Investing millions in a limited-use high school sports facility—particularly one that may not be accessible to the general public—raises questions about how such an expense aligns with the district’s goals.
As a concerned citizen, I expect all public funds to be used in a manner that is transparent, legally sound, and beneficial to the entire community. The City risks potential litigation, financial mismanagement, and public backlash without a clear legal basis for this expenditure.
It gives me no pleasure to call you all out on this situation. But here we are. It’s not too late to scale back the stadium plans to save millions of dollars and still have an above-average football facility.
The people of Opelousas need and deserve a city that serves everyone by first providing public safety, dependable infrastructure, and clean water. Without transparency, outreach, and public participation, you will not successfully deliver on that responsibility. You have the power to steer us in a better direction. And it starts with reigning in extravagant spending.
We’re all in this together. Thank you for your public service! Please do better! How can I help?
NOLAmotion Blog 
You must be logged in to post a comment.