Iberia Parish Levee Development Voted Down
Iberia Parish voters overwhelmingly chose not to approve the development of a levee and drainage system in the southern part of the parish.
With 100 percent of precincts reporting, 2,102 voters cast votes for the project with the remaining 7,798 casting disapproving votes.
The 5-mil proposition would create funding for the construction of a 20-mile long levee system along Iberia Parish's coastline.
Advocates for the levee system said the project would protect Iberia Parish homes and businesses from potential flood waters in the occurrence of a tropical weather system or hurricane that would push in from the coast.
Opponents of the proposition argued that Iberia Parish residents and business owners could not afford to pay more taxes in the wake of the weak oil and gas industry economy.
Iberia Parish Levee, Hurricane & Conservation District Executive Director Ray Fremin told KPEL Friday, the 5-mils would cost owners of a $100,000-home would pay $12 per year under the plan; owners of $200,000-homes would pay an extra $62 per year.