The Vermilion Parish Police Jury has approved the creation of a new economic development department.
Officials say the department will operate on a $200,000 annual budget for the next three years. Half of that budget will come from the police jury, while the other half will be funded by the sheriff's office, school board, and the parish's municipalities.
Police Jury President Nathan Granger says that even though this new department is being formed, it does not necessarily mean Vermilion Parish residents will see higher taxes.
Granger says the police jury will begin discussing who will sit on the economic development board and who the department's new leader will be at next week's police jury committee meeting.