County nixes tax plan that had alarmed local mayors

Ben Nunnally, The Anniston Star, Ala.
·2 min read

Mar. 1—A proposed bill that would use city property tax dollars to fund county license and revenue offices has been dropped, according to Calhoun County officials.

"After careful consideration, the County will not pursue a request to the delegation to introduce the proposed legislation," Mark Tyner, county administrator, wrote in an email Monday afternoon.

The legislation would have seen a prorated portion of each local municipality's ad valorem taxes, which are collected by the county's revenue and license offices, to fund part of the operational budget of each of those offices. According to Tyner, the two offices cost about $1.7 million per year, with less than one-third of that paid by the state and the rest falling to the county.

Local mayors were critical of the proposal, which had been advertised in The Anniston Star for almost a month before it came to the attention of city leaders last week, along with fire department heads and city school boards, which also receive ad valorem tax payments that are collected by the county.

"At present, Calhoun County alone is responsible for funding the vast majority of the expenses associated with collecting these monies," Tyner wrote Monday. "With the passage of the proposed legislation, each entity would have only been responsible for the cost associated with the percentage of revenue they receive from these offices, and Calhoun County would have still been the largest contributor."

Tyner wrote that the county has no way of creating revenue streams without authorization from the state legislature. Unlike a city, for instance, county commissioners cannot create a tax. Tyner noted that taxes previously implemented by the county include a 1-cent sales tax that supports both county and municipal school systems, and also wrote that "records also indicate no other entity affected by the proposed legislation would have seen, what is believed, to be a detrimental loss of revenue."

During a press conference last week, Oxford Mayor Alton Craft was joined in opposition of the bill by the mayors of Anniston and Jacksonville, local fire department chiefs and Oxford school board members.

Oxford fire Chief Gary Sparks and Todd Kirkland, president of the Calhoun County Volunteer Firefighters Association, said any cuts to department budgets could be devastating, especially in the case of long-term leases for fire engines, which are purchased with specific annual budgets in mind.

"We're not like cities; this is all we have," Kirkland said Friday. "The low-end of fire engines starts at $250,000. It's not like going down here to the Nissan dealership and buying a truck."

Monday, Craft wrote in a text message that he appreciated the mayors, fire departments and school boards for bringing the issue to the attention of county residents.

"I hope in the future we can work with the county commissioners to resolve issues before it gets to this point," Craft wrote.

Assistant Metro Editor Ben Nunnally: 256-235-3560.