Members of the Madison County Quorum Court are worried that a proposal to increase the sales tax will fail again if it does not include a provision limiting the time the tax increase will be in place. Justices of the peace are weighing whether to ask voters in November to raise the sales tax by 1 percentage point.
The panel agreed that the proposal should include a clause that the sales tax increase would expire in 12 years. They are scheduled to consider the proposal at a 6 p.m. meeting Monday.
"I think we, as a court, need to do what we can to get this thing passed," Justice of the Peace Pattie Shinn said during the discussion Monday night of adding a "sunset" clause. "We need the money. As presently written, it's not going to pass."
Residents said they appreciated the Quorum Court's consideration of including an expiration date for the tax in the proposal.
The change would bump the total sales tax collected by the county from 2 percent to 3 percent. If voters approve the new tax, the combined county and state sales tax would be 9.5 percent; it would be 11.5 percent in Huntsville, which has an additional 2 percent sales tax.
Voters rejected a similar proposal in 2013.
In May, Pettigrew resident Jim St. Clair told the Quorum Court that he intended to fight a second attempt to increase the sales tax. On Monday, however, he told the Quorum Court that he liked the idea that the proposed new tax would not last forever.
"I like the sound of that already if the grandbabies aren't going to be paying for that," St. Clair said.
After the meeting, St. Clair said he thought the consideration of an expiration for the tax showed that the justices of the peace are listening.
St. Clair described himself as "anti-tax" but said he could be persuaded to back it knowing that the sales tax would expire. He said he still has a few reservations about how the money would be spent. He would like the Quorum Court to give priority to ensuring the future of the county Solid Waste and Recycling Center and to the sheriff's office, he said.
Ron Giles, who lives east of Huntsville, said the Quorum Court showed that it is bending to the concerns of county residents. If the increase passes and the county continues to need funding after the expiration date, they can return to voters to renew it, he said.
County Clerk Faron Ledbetter anticipates that an additional 1 percent sales tax would generate an average of $1 million per year for the county general operating budget.
County officials are still discussing how to divvy up the money, but Ledbetter will have a proposal ready Monday showing how the money would be allocated, he said.
The additional revenue would go toward building funds for a county jail and courthouse restoration, increased jail staffing, the Solid Waste and Recycling Center, the county libraries, the rural fire departments and the county general operating budget.
"Those are all areas that are needing the money right now," Ledbetter said.
By law, a share of the additional county sales taxes collected also would go to Hindsville, Huntsville and St. Paul.
County Judge Frank Weaver told the Quorum Court on Monday that it should consider the pros and cons of adding a tax expiration clause. Departments receiving additional revenue from the tax would have to anticipate when they would stop receiving that money.
Setting the tax to expire also limits the amount of money the county will receive for two priority projects -- courthouse restoration and the county jail, Weaver said.
"I don't think it's going to build a jail," Weaver said. "I do think that it would take care of some of the problems we're having with the courthouse, along with grant money."
Justice of the Peace Rodney Reynolds expressed support for the expiration clause.
"I think that will give the public a chance to see if we're spending the money for a good cause," Reynolds said. "I think that will help it pass. It's not going to be an indefinite."
NW News on 07/23/2014