The City of St. Martinville passed a half-cent sales tax by an overwhelming majority during Saturday’s runoff.

With an unofficial voter turnout of 24.8%, 70% of voters that turnout out voted in favor of the sales tax while only 30% voted against the measure.

The tax is expected to draw an estimated $505,839 per fiscal year and will go toward maintaining and operating the city’s waterworks plant and system, solid waste disposal facilities, sewers and sewerage, drains and drainage facilities, streets, bridges and sidewalks, electric transmission and distribution systems, public buildings and recreational facilities within the city.

“I am deeply moved by our community’s decision to invest in our collective future,” Mayor Jason Willis said in a prepared statement. “Your support paves the way for significant improvements in our city’s infrastructure and public services.”

Willis said prior to the election that the tax was a way to invest in St. Martinville’s future. The city’s economy primarily leans on sales taxes to pay for public infrastructure within city limits, and Willis said the tax would give the city the means to maintain critical infrastructure in St. Martinville.

“Every time we shop (in a neighboring city) we are contributing to their sales tax which helps them to improve,” Willis said in a video published prior to the election. “Let’s start investing in our city.”

Factors that led to the council approving a sales tax to enter Saturday’s election included a revenue deficit St. Martinville faced a $900,000 last year. Since 1975, the city has relied on sales taxes to maintain and upgrade sewerage, parks, electricity and other city owned facilities.

The tax will likely go to paying for a bond that will allow St. Martinville to pay for maintenance on city infrastructure.