§9038.57. Taxing district in the city of Lake Charles
A. Creation. The governing authority of the city of Lake Charles is hereby
authorized to create, by ordinance, a special taxing district and political subdivision of the
state, referred to in this Section as the "district".
B. Boundaries. The district shall be comprised of all or a portion of the area of land
described in R.S. 33:4699.1.
C. Purpose. (1) The district shall have as its purpose cooperative economic
development with the city of Lake Charles, in order to provide for the financing of the costs
and expenses associated with the following:
(a) The renovation, restoration, and development of a hotel in the city of Lake
Charles within the area of the district set forth in Subsection B of this Section.
(b) The utilization of sales tax increment financing of the costs and expenses
associated with infrastructure improvements constructed in accordance with the Downtown
Plan for the commercial or residential development of all or any portion of the property
located within the boundaries of the district in accordance with the terms and conditions of
the voter referendum held on May 5, 2007, and the design guidelines as referenced therein.
(c) The site plan for any hotel constructed immediately adjacent to the Lake Charles
Civic Center pursuant to the authority of this Subsection shall set forth the elevation and
design of the hotel and designate the parking area reserved for hotel guests. This site plan
shall be approved by ordinance prior to construction of the hotel by the governing authority
of the city of Lake Charles.
(2) As used herein, the term "costs and expenses" shall include the costs of
construction, renovation, or relocation of the following:
(a) The hotel and related improvements.
(b) Public buildings and other public structures such as parking garages, streets,
sidewalks, streetlights, boardwalks, piers, marinas, and related works, utilities, and fixtures.
(c) Any other costs associated with an economic development project as provided
for in R.S. 33:9035.1.
D. Governance. In order to provide for the orderly development of the district and
effectuation of the purposes of the district, the district shall be administered and governed
by a board of commissioners established by the ordinance creating the district.
E. Rights and powers. The district, acting by and through its board of
commissioners, shall have and exercise all powers of a political subdivision and special
taxing district necessary or convenient for the carrying out of its objects and purposes
including but not limited to the following:
(1) To sue and to be sued.
(2) To adopt bylaws and rules and regulations.
(3) To receive by gift, grant, donation, or otherwise any sum of money, property, aid,
or assistance from the United States, the state of Louisiana, or any political subdivision
thereof, or any person, firm, or corporation.
(4) For the public purposes of the district to enter into contracts, agreements, or
cooperative endeavors with the state and its political subdivisions or political corporations
and with any public or private association, corporation, business entity, or individual.
(5) Appoint officers, agents, and employees, prescribe their duties, and fix their
compensation.
(6) To acquire by gift, grant, purchase, lease, or otherwise such property as may be
necessary or desirable for carrying out the objectives and purposes of the district and to
mortgage and sell such property.
(7) In its own name and on its own behalf to incur debt and to issue bonds, notes,
certificates, and other evidences of indebtedness. For this purpose the district shall be
deemed and considered to be an issuer for purposes of R.S. 33:9037 and shall, to the extent
not in conflict with this Section, be subject to the provisions of R.S. 33:9037.
(8) Establish such funds or accounts as are necessary for the conduct of the affairs
of the district.
F. Hotel occupancy tax. (1) In order to provide funds for the purposes of the district,
the district, acting by and through its board of commissioners, is hereby authorized to levy
and collect a tax upon the occupancy of hotel rooms, motel rooms, and overnight camping
facilities within the area provided for in Subsection B of this Section. The tax rate shall be
at least equal to the aggregate rate of all such taxes levied and collected within the city of
Lake Charles by the state of Louisiana, local governmental subdivisions, and other political
subdivisions or special taxing districts, except for the rate of the tax on the occupancy of
hotel rooms levied by the Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention and Visitors
Bureau.
(2)(a) The word "hotel" as used herein shall mean and include any establishment,
public or private, engaged in the business of furnishing or providing rooms and overnight
camping facilities intended or designed for dwelling, lodging, or sleeping purposes to
transient guests where such establishment consists of two or more guest rooms and does not
encompass any hospital, convalescent, or nursing home or sanitarium, or any hotel-like
facility operated by or in connection with a hospital or medical clinic providing rooms
exclusively for patients and their families.
(b) The tax shall be paid by the person who exercises or is entitled to occupancy of
the hotel room and shall be paid at the time the rent or fee of occupancy is paid. The word
"person" as used herein shall have the same meaning as contained in R.S. 47:301(8).
(c) The hotel shall not advertise room rates to the general public at below market
rates for comparable hotels as reflected in the information received by the Lake
Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention and Visitors Bureau. If this information is not
available, the district may use data collected by any other public agency which regularly
creates or receives data regarding room rates for comparable hotels in the parish.
(3) The tax so authorized shall be imposed by ordinance adopted by the district,
acting by and through its board of commissioners, without the need of an election.
(4) It is hereby recognized that without the accomplishment of the purposes of the
district that there would be no collection of a hotel occupancy tax by any taxing authority
within the district. Accordingly, if the district elects to levy and collect the tax authorized
in this Subsection, such levy shall be deemed to supersede and be in lieu of any other tax on
hotel occupancy within the district except for the following:
(a) The tax on the occupancy of hotel rooms levied by the Southwest Louisiana
Convention and Visitors Bureau.
(b) Any hotel occupancy tax which is levied on a per head or per person basis.
G. Hotel occupancy tax financing. (1)(a) The district may issue revenue bonds
payable from an irrevocable pledge and dedication of up to the full amount of hotel
occupancy tax increments, in an amount to be determined by the district, to finance or
refinance any project or projects, or parts thereof, which are consistent with the purposes of
the district. A hotel occupancy tax increment shall consist of that portion of the hotel
occupancy tax revenues collected by the district in an amount determined by the board of
commissioners and which is in lieu of other such taxes levied by other taxing authorities.
(b) Dedication of hotel occupancy tax increments to pay the revenue bonds shall not
impair existing obligations of the district and shall not include tax revenues previously
dedicated by the district for a special purpose.
(2) The district may pledge the taxes collected under the authority of this Section to
any financing of the hotel property in furtherance of the purposes of the district. Such
financing may include but shall not be limited to loans, mortgages, the issuance of bonds, or
the issuance of certificates of indebtedness.
H. Bonds. (1)(a) In addition to any other authority provided for in this Section and
pursuant to a cooperative endeavor agreement authorized by R.S. 33:9038.34(A), the district
may issue revenue bonds payable solely from an irrevocable pledge and dedication of up to
the full amount of any sales tax increments designated by the board of commissioners of the
district to finance or refinance or to pay all of or a portion of the costs of projects associated
with infrastructure improvements constructed in accordance with the Downtown Plan for the
commercial or residential development of all or any portion of the property located within
the boundaries of the district.
(b) For purposes of this Subsection, the "costs of projects associated with
infrastructure improvements" means the costs of construction, renovation or relocation of
public improvements, including but not limited to public buildings and other public
structures such as streets, sidewalks, streetlights, boardwalks, piers, marinas, and related
works, utilities, or fixtures. Such cost shall also include the costs of surveys and the
professional fees associated with the preparation of plans and specifications associated with
the project's development.
(2)(a) Notwithstanding the limitations on the use of state sales tax provided in R.S.
33:9038.34(A), a sales tax increment may consist of that portion of state sales tax revenues
of any or all taxing authorities including the state of Louisiana and any political subdivision
whose boundaries are coterminous with those of the state collected each year on the sale at
retail, the use, the lease or rental, the consumption and storage for use or consumption of
tangible personal property and on sales of services, all as defined in R.S. 47:301 et seq., or
any other appropriate provision or provisions of law, as amended, from taxpayers located
within an area of the district designated by the board of commissioners as provided for in
Subparagraph (b) of this Paragraph which exceeds the sales tax revenues that were collected
by such taxing authorities in the year immediately prior to the year of designation of such
area.
(b)(i) The board of commissioners of the district shall establish the area from which
sales tax increments are to be pledged and dedicated to the payment of the revenue bonds,
hereafter referred to as the "sales tax area." After the establishment of the boundaries of the
sales tax area, the board shall designate the initial annual baseline collection rate for the sales
tax area, which shall be the amount of the sales taxes collected in the sales tax area in the
fiscal year of the city of Lake Charles most recently completed prior to the establishment of
the sales tax area. In addition, a monthly baseline collection rate shall be determined by
dividing the initial annual baseline collection rate by twelve.
(ii) The initial annual baseline collection rate and the monthly baseline collection rate
shall be certified by the chief financial officer of the city of Lake Charles. The certification
shall also be published one time in the official journal of the city of Lake Charles.
(iii) If the amounts of the initial annual baseline collection rate and the monthly
baseline collection rate are not contested within thirty days after the said publication, then
such amounts shall be conclusively presumed to be valid, and no court shall have any
jurisdiction to alter or invalidate the designation of the amount of either the initial annual
baseline collection rate or the monthly baseline collection rate.
(c) The increment of the sales taxes which are to be pledged and dedicated to the
payment of the revenue bonds shall be the amount of the sales taxes which are collected in
the sales tax area each year in excess of the initial annual baseline collection rate. Such
pledged sales tax increment may include all or any portion of such excess as determined by
the board of commissioners of the district.
(3) Dedication of sales tax increments to pay the revenue bonds shall not impair
existing obligations and shall not include tax revenues of a tax authority previously dedicated
for a special purpose unless a majority of the electors within the territorial jurisdiction of
such tax authority voting at an election held for such purpose approves the use of such tax
for the purposes provided for in this Subsection.
I. Contesting ordinance or resolution; time limit. Any ordinance or resolution
adopted by the district authorizing the pledge of tax increments collected, as provided in this
Section, to secure bonds, debt obligations, or any other authorized financing shall be
published at least twice in the official journal of the city of Lake Charles within ten days after
adoption. Such publication shall include a notice advising the public that for thirty days after
the date of last publication, any person in interest may contest the legality of the ordinance
or resolution and of any provision therein made for the security and payment of the debt
obligation or the levy and collection of such taxes by filing the appropriate legal action in the
Fourteenth Judicial District Court of Calcasieu Parish. After that time, no one shall have any
cause of action to test the regularity, formality, legality, or effectiveness of the ordinance or
resolution, and provision thereof for any cause whatever. Thereafter, it shall be conclusively
presumed that every legal requirement for the levy and collection of taxes, the issuance of
bonds or other debt obligations, or the pledge of tax increments collected, including all things
pertaining to the authorizing thereof, has been complied with. No court shall have authority
to inquire into any of these matters after the thirty day period after publication.
J. Term. The district shall dissolve and cease to exist one year after the date all
bonds, notes, and other evidences of indebtedness of the district, including refunding bonds
are paid in full as to both principal and interest.
K. Liberal construction. This Section, being necessary for the welfare of the city of
Lake Charles and its residents, shall be liberally construed to effect the purposes thereof.
NOTE: See Acts 2006, No. 850, §3, relative to intent of Act to conform Part
III of Chapter 27 of Title 33 with certain La. Supreme Court decisions.