Northshore Sen. Jack Donahue wants to put the skids on the practice of rolling forward millages after property is reappraised. The Mandeville legislator has proposed a bill that would limit a taxing authority's power to roll forward millages without first getting voter approval. Such entities could only increase the tax rate enough to collect up to 2.5% more than they did the previous calendar year. In an interview Wednesday morning, Donahue says if the legislation moves forward, he may limit its reach to unelected entities only. "People have the opportunity to make changes to elected boards like councils with their vote if they don't approve of their actions," Donahue says. "But that's not the case with appointed boards, because they aren't elected." Reappraisals were highly controversial in St. Tammany Parish, where some 3,000 homeowners appealed their assessed values. "I had a crescendo of e-mail and phone calls and conversations from people whose property values had gone up, and then many of these boards rolled millages foward," Donahue says. "It cost people a lot of taxes, and they were understandably upset." Because such a restriction requires an amendment to the Louisiana Constitution, Donahue's proposal itself would require voter approval. The bill calls for an election on Nov. 2, 2010, with the new rule taking effect Jan. 1, 2011. — PF (1012 Corridor)