LAFAYETTE – Voters in unincorporated Lafayette Parish will vote on fire protection tax
Voters in the unincorporated areas of Lafayette Parish will vote in December on a new property tax to fund fire protection.
The unincorporated areas do not have dedicated funding for fire protection right now.
Without that funding, the parish’s fire rating would drop, forcing home insurance premiums to go up.
“The parish is at a Class Five. So, the parish goes to a Class Six… that could be anywhere between a 10, 12, or 15-percent increase in insurance premiums annually for a homeowner that they will have to pay. If it jumps two, then you can look at that going up by maybe 20, 25, 30 percent. That’s what we want to show them: you’re either going to pay for it on the front end, or you’re going to pay for it on the back end,” said Lafayette Fire Chief Robert Benoit.
