VIDALIA — When the voters of Concordia Parish head to the polls in November there will be one new tax to vote on.

At Monday’s meeting of the Concordia Parish Police Jury a motion was passed allowing the Concordia Parish Council on Aging to place a 4-mill tax on the upcoming roster to be voted on.

Jury President Melvin Ferrington said the jury would assist the council in any way possible.

President of Board of the Concordia Council on Aging Guylyn Boles said the new millage, if passed, would amount to roughly $400,000 per year.

Boles said budgetary cuts and the rising cost of fuel have forced the council to eliminate some services they previously offered.

“This could help us a lot,” she said of the millage. “We have had to make too many cuts.”

Boles said the millage would help to increase the number of meals the council could deliver and increase the amount of people included in its transportation program.

Of three vans the group normally uses to transport of the elderly, the council can only afford to use two Boles said.

The Council on Aging is currently serving 3,500 residents of Concordia Parish.

In other news, the jury passed a motion to make an emergency declaration for the Old Courthouse building.

Ferrington said the air conditioning unit that cools the building stopped working.

While the unit has been temporarily repaired Ferrington said it is “in real poor condition.”

The passage of the emergency declaration will allow the jury to eliminate the bidding process and have the unit replaced more quickly Ferrington said.

The parish has not purchased a new unit, yet Ferrington estimated the cost for a new unit to be $70,000 or $80,000.

The jury also agreed to aid the City of Vidalia in an effort to maintain the Vidalia Canal.

Vidalia’s Mayor Hyram Copeland and Street and Sanitation Superintendent Lee Staggs asked the jury for assistance in the matter.

Staggs said a section of the ditch has become so overrun with small trees and brush that water can no longer flow through the ditch.

“It’s a serious problem,” he said.

Jury member Whest Shirley said the section of ditch Staggs described is behind Vidalia Lower Elementary School.

The jury passed a motion to have L-64, their contract company, cut and clear that section of ditch.

The jury also approved a request from Concordia Parish Sheriff Randy Maxwell to purchase new equipment for the county jail.

The jury approved the purchase of 44 orange jumpsuits, 48 sheets and 48 blankets at a cost of just over $1,300.