DENHAM SPRINGS — Voters in Livingston Parish have signed off on renewing the PARDS (Livingston Parish Recreation Tax District 3) millage, with about 62% voting in favor, according to complete but unofficial results.
A similar proposal failed at the polls back in December.
This time around, 1,075 voters, or 38%, voted “No.” Turnout was about 14%.
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Some Denham Springs residents have the chance to decide whether to renew a tax millage for PARDS (Livingston Parish Recreation Tax District 3) that’s been in place for decades.
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The proposition asks voters to approve or decline the renewal of 15 mills on taxable property within the district for 10 years, beginning in 2025 and ending in 2035. According to PARDS Superintendent Gary Templeton, 15 mills has been the recreation district’s millage rate since its inception.
“The millage has always been set at 15 mills since around 1973,” he explained.
This isn’t the first time the renewal measure has appeared on the ballot. In December 2024, district voters rejected the 15-mills renewal. In March of this year, the Livingston Parish Council approved allowing PARDS to place the renewal on the October ballot.
Templeton said that while 15 mills is the core funding millage, the PARDS board tries to adjust the millage to a lower rate when possible, to ease taxpayers’ burden. Keeping the rate at 15 mills allows the district to have that rate in case of emergencies, he added.
“The board has always tried to set the millage at a lower rate when necessary and when possible. But keeping that core funding at 15 mills, they felt was important at this time.”
The millage collected from property taxpayers goes toward maintenance and operations, Templeton said, including upkeep of the parks’ fields and grounds, insurance for sports programs and more.
“We do have some plans for new playground equipment. We built a new soccer complex in the back, and it’s going to need a restroom and concession stand. That’s part of the plans for some improvements. The tennis court needs to be resurfaced,” he said. “All the high schools use our tennis courts at no cost.”
Responding to social media claims that PARDS is building a $300,000 bathroom, Templeton said sometimes contractors bidding for work have much higher estimates than what the board will select for the actual project.
“I don’t know the exact price of building a new bathroom or concession stand. We haven’t started bidding that process out yet, and I don’t know where that number came from,” Templeton told UWK.
Even for the existing bathrooms at the parks, he said that they are in need of TLC especially due to age, but “I don’t think the entire project would be $300,000.” Every few years the bathrooms are repainted and cleaned up, he added.
Programs are self-funded, however, meaning that participants pay registration fees. If the district needed to start adding in maintenance cost into the sports, Templeton said registration would possibly get to the point where parents couldn’t afford to let their children play.
“The millage helps keep that cost low,” he said.
If the measure does not pass, Templeton said that the district has enough funds to get through the end of 2026. The PARDS Board would have to make a decision about whether to lower the millage, which Templeton said would be “a poor decision.”
While there likely wouldn’t be layoffs or major cutbacks, he said adjustments would be necessary and programs would likely see some effects.
“We’re hoping that doesn’t happen. Our goal is to keep the parks open as long as possible and give kids a place to play. That’s the reason we’re here, is for the kids in this parish and adults that use the park and the community to have a place to play,” Templeton said.
A look at millage records
In 2015, PARDS’ tax base totaled more than $160 million with a maximum millage rate of 15. That year, the district collected $2,362,245, according to its records.
Because 2024 was an assessment year, PARDS rolled back its millage rate to 10.72. From 2020 through 2023, the rate had been set at 14.13.
For 2025, with the current rate at 10.72, records show the recreation district is collecting about $3.13 million on a tax base of just over $301 million.
At a June meeting, Livingston Parish Assessor Jeff Taylor explained that state law requires districts to revert to their maximum millage rate at least once every four years or risk losing the higher rate permanently. For his office, that maximum is 8.52 mills.
Taylor stressed that while he is the face of taxes in the parish, setting millage rates is not his responsibility.
“There is an assessment process, and we’re bound by law to do that. Each district has the ability to raise or lower their millages; it’s up to them. It’s not up to me,” Taylor said at the June meeting.
For PARDS, the maximum remains 15 mills.
Upcoming improvements
Bids are in progress for overlaying the track at North Park, Templeton said. He told UWK he estimates that the project would likely cost $90,000.
According to its Facebook page, some of the upcoming improvements for PARDS locations include:
- Constructing 8 new outdoor pickleball courts
- Installing new playground equipment at all parks
- Resurfacing the North Park track
- Adding a splash pad to South Park
- Resurfacing the parking lot at L.M. Lockhart Park
- Installing new camera systems at all parks
- Building a dedicated walking trail at South Park
Templeton encourages anyone concerned about the district’s use of funds to come by or call. There is a monthly board meeting, along with a yearly financial committee meeting that goes over yearly expenditures, that the public can attend.
“Our phone lines are always open for any questions. Social media isn’t always the best place to get those answers. It’s always best to give us a call, and I can sit down and share information with them, open our books and look at them, and whatever they need to do to make them feel secure about everything.”
Early voting runs Sept. 28 through Oct. 4. Election Day is Oct. 11.
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