Episode Details

Lafayette Parish Tax Assessor Justin Centanni joins Discover Lafayette to explain the duties of his office, how property values are determined, and what property owners need to know about the upcoming 15-day assessment review period.

Justin is Lafayette Parish’s 26th Tax Assessor, but his professional path to the office was anything but traditional. With a background in technology and data management, he previously worked in Washington, D.C., for the Department of Defense, helping develop software behind the military’s smart identification cards. He later worked at IberiaBank, where he managed a team responsible for backend data integration, including platforms used to detect fraud and illicit banking activity in real time. Before becoming assessor, Justin served nine years as the District 6 representative on the Lafayette Parish School Board.

Justin says public service was never something he envisioned for himself. He moved to Lafayette at 18 to attend USL and ultimately found that serving the community gave him an unexpected sense of purpose.

“What I learned about myself and public service is that I do take a tremendous amount of personal satisfaction from helping solve problems, helping make decisions. I care a tremendous amount about Lafayette.”

What Does the Tax Assessor Actually Do?

One of the biggest misconceptions about the assessor’s office is that it collects property taxes. It does not. The assessor’s responsibility is to identify and value all property in Lafayette Parish.

That seemingly simple mission involves an enormous amount of information.

The office begins each year with the previous year’s tax roll and continually updates it with information from municipalities, the Clerk of Court and other sources. Building permits reveal new construction and renovations. Conveyance records identify properties that have been sold or transferred. Appraisers visit properties where construction has been completed and determine when values need to be updated.

And Lafayette gives them plenty to keep up with.

Justin says approximately 15,000 properties transfer each year, including residential and commercial property, and more than 1,000 new buildings were constructed in the parish during the past year. Lafayette Parish currently has an approximately $3.3 billion assessed-value tax roll, representing a little more than $30 billion in market value.