FERRIDAY — Ferriday taxpayers are invited to share their opinions on a potential property tax increase at a hearing next month.

A public meeting to discuss the potential increase, which would add $25 in annual tax for a Ferriday resident with a $100,000 property, will be at 12:15 p.m. Aug. 23 at town hall.

Proposed adjustments in the general alimony millage and millage for fire and police protection officials will increase taxes by .25 mills for Ferriday residents.

If approved, the general alimony millage will decrease .13 mills from 4.66 mills to 4.53 mills. At the same time, officials plan to propose a .38 mill increase for police and fire protection from 9.35 to 9.73 mills.

Mayor Sherrie Jacobs said the increase will give more money to police and fire protection.

Concordia Parish Assessor Jerry Clark said Ferriday voters approved a fire and police protection millage rate of 10 mills this past year but officials only set the rate at 9.35.

Clark said if the Ferriday aldermen chose to keep revenues for fire and police protection the same as last year, the tax rate would decrease to 9.1 mills, which when combined with the general alimony decrease, would save the owner of the $100,000 property $38.

Clark said Ferriday property value rates increased from a value of $10,802,140 to $11,101,900. Clark said the increase is mostly in connection with a rise in values of Ferriday’s commercial properties.