ZACHARY — At the city council's most recent meeting, a Zachary councilman claimed that a city official threatened political consequences if he voted against a millage rate increase.

Councilman John LeBlanc said that the unnamed official made political threats against both him and another council member, who was also not named.

He brought up the issue at a council meeting on July 8, when the body took up an ordinance that would raise the millage rate from 5.07 mills to 5.48 mills. It was introduced and received three yay votes and two nay votes, meaning it will be considered for final approval at a later meeting.

LeBlanc said a member of the city administration asked to meet in May and told him that if he did not vote for the rate hike, he would face consequences.

“I was informed that certain political materials, including photos of a sign at my residence and posts on social media from an elected official colleague, would be used in future campaign advertisements against myself and my colleague if we did not support rolling millages forward," LeBlanc said from a written statement.

LeBlanc said he did not think Zachary needed the extra funds a higher tax rate would generate.

"I do not believe additional tax burdens are necessary at this time to maintain the city's financial health," LeBlanc said before voting no on the ordinance. "My position remains that taxation decisions must be made transparently and without undo influence."

The Advocate reported that Mayor David McDavid said he did not know about the allegations until the meeting.

"I haven’t been in any of his discussions of what he’s talking about. If he’s going to make that allegation, I would think he would offer up some evidence," McDavid told the paper.

LeBlanc told The Advocate that he wants McDavid to investigate and apologize.

Three council members — Jennifer Landry, James Graves and Brandy Westmoreland — voted in favor of introducing the millage ordinance, while LeBlanc and Ambre DeVirgilio were against it.

Raising the millage to 5.48 mils would bring in an extra $98,000 a year, Deanna Mankins, the city’s chief financial officer, told The Advocate. This is a small fraction of the city’s general fund budget of nearly $21.3 million.

The Zachary City Council's next meeting is July 22.