A road proposition to rededicate a sewer debt millage to road maintenance failed by 133 votes in New Iberia.

A ballot proposition to rededicate a 6.85 sewer debt millage to road maintenance in the City of New Iberia failed Tuesday night, with voters narrowly choosing not to go forward with the measure.

Voters said no to a proposition proposed by city government that would have transferred the sewer debt millage to be used for road improvements and maintenance.

By the end of Tuesday night, 51% of voters, or 3,332 New Iberia residents, said no to the measure, while 49%, or 3.199 voters, said yes, resulting in a voting difference of 133. Unofficial turnout was 35.2%.

Mayor Freddie DeCourt and the New Iberia City Council had proposed the millage rededication earlier this year as a way to provide a stable source of revenue for road maintenance and improvements, one of the most often cited issues of concern for New Iberia residents.

DeCourt, who has spent the past month campaigning for the propsoition, said Tuesday night after the final numbers came in that the voters had made their decision.

“We’ve got the best voters in the world and they’re always right,” DeCourt said. “I got the message.”

If the proposition had passed, it would have provided source of funding for roads in the amount of $750,000 for 20 years. Although the city has already been conducting road improvements this year with the New Iberia Streets Program that was funded through a bond, DeCourt has said the one-time bond is not enough to make all the needed repairs to the roads in New Iberia.

During Tuesday’s election, Iberia Parish voters also supported a proposition to renew a .25% sales tax dedicated to the Iberia Parish Mosquito Abatement District. The renewal allows the district to provide ground aerial spraying, mosquito larviciding, mosquito populations monitoring and disease surveillance.