Five years ago, the residents of Lake Carmel, a New Orleans suburb, agreed to tax themselves $250 for five years to beautify and secure their neighborhood. Voters in Lake Carmel and four other New Orleans neighborhoods are scheduled to vote to approve the collection of an annual fee for six years to pay for security and other improvements.
The Lake Carmel neighborhood will enhance its security by installing video-surveillance cameras at the entrance, if the $250 renewal fee passes. Voters must approve the collection of a fee with a majority vote. The fee would be collected with the property taxes.
Around 80 percent of the fees pay for a 24-hour guard at the entrance of the neighborhood, according to Edward Washington, a member of the homeowners’ governing board and president of the Lake Carmel taxing district. “We also hire two NOPD officers to patrol one hour each day,” explains Washington.
