VIDALIA — A Concordia Parish Police Jury policy change may force parish residents to take better care of their yards.

President Melvin Ferrington said the jury will no longer be able to apply grass-cutting fines to residents’ tax rolls. Instead, any unpaid fines for grass cutting will levied on property as tax liens.

Ferrington said, during the jury’s Monday meeting, that the change is being made to avoid any potential legal trouble that might result from tacking fines onto tax rolls.

The change will take affect on September 1.

“Normally, we would cut the grass if it is excessively high and send the person a bill,” Ferrington said during the jury’s Monday meeting. “Then we would give them 15 days before we apply it to their tax roll.”

A tax roll is used as a basis for calculating taxes to be levied on residents. When the grass cutting fines are applied to a tax roll, residents pay more than their property’s assessed value.

With the policy change, the police jury won’t recoup fine money annually. Instead, the jury will collect money once a property is sold, Ferrington said.

“If we keep having to cut the grass, we will just keep adding to the lien until eventually the parish might own the property,” he said.