Assessed property values in Vermilion Parish rose by more than $10 million in 2022, Tax Assessor Gabe Marceaux told the Vermilion Parish Police Jury during its regular meeting on Wednesday.
The increase was largely due to construction in the northern part of the parish, he said.
That includes more than 300 new homes parishwide, Marceaux said.
“This year, obviously (we have) some better reports than we had last year,” Marceaux said.
The ‘21 real property assessed values were $254,187,228, with 2022 real property assessed values at $262,919,856, an increase of $8,732,628.
Personal property values increased in 2022 by $1,366,928, up from $97,108,455 in 2021 to $98,475,383 in 2022.
Real property is land and buildings. Personal property is movable property.
Taxable property increased by $9.6 million, Marceaux said.
As a percentage of the tax roll, real property accounts for 61 percent of the property assessed. In 2019, that number was 57 percent real property and 43 percent real property.
“You can see where the real property, homes and buildings, as opposed to business values, is definitely changing,” Marceaux said. “Way back in the day, when I first started in the office, we actually had more personal property value than real property. It’s definitely switched over.”
In tax dollar difference, the increase was close to a million dollars, he said.
Some movible numbers were down, like watercraft and inventory.
Oil and gas wells assessed value went up $2.3 million.
Machinery and equipment values increased $800,000, while aircraft assessed values decreased $600,000.
Only one appeal was fined, and was turned in late, but Marceaux said the company won’t be pursuing the appeal because they were not willing to provide the information to the assessor’s office that he would need to reassess the value.
In other business, the police jury approved the reports from the coastal protection and restoration committee, the courthouse committee, the public works committee, the finance committee and the rabies/animal control sub-committee.
During a discussion about hiring of a new registered nurse for the parish health unit, the police jury voted to have parish administrator Keith Roy ask Abbeville General for a comparison of pay rates to make sure the $34 hourly rate the R.N. for the health unit would be hired at would be comparable to what the local hospital pays registered nurses.
Poche also asked that the parish’s two-year contract with Acadian Ambulance be expedited to be ready for the next meeting in two weeks, which the police jury approved.