Baker Collected Revenues From Expired Tax

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — An audit finds the city of Baker collected a half-cent sales tax dedicated to police and fire department salaries for more than two years even though city voters did not renew the tax after its 10-year run.

The Advocate reports the special half-cent sales tax was first approved by voters in 2001, but the audit says the tax was to be levied for 10 years and should have expired in 2011 unless voters renewed it, which they did not.

Baker Mayor Harold Rideau disagreed with the finding, insisting the half-cent sales tax is not a 10-year tax. Rideau said city officials understood the sales tax to be permanent and were given that information by the State Bond Commission.

The audit is on Tuesday's Baker City Council meeting agenda.