Bill Calls For Referendum Vote Before Future Tuscaloosa Tax Hikes

TUSCALOOSA, AL — A bill filed this week by state Sen. Gerald Allen, a Republican from Tuscaloosa, proposes an amendment to the state constitution that would require majority support in a referendum vote by municipalities in Tuscaloosa County before any future sales or use tax increases could be implemented.

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The five-page Senate bill, if passed into law, would apply solely to municipalities located within Tuscaloosa County and require a public vote at least three months after any proposed tax increase by a governing body. The amendment would also require a public hearing be held no less than 30 days prior to the date of the referendum by the county commissioner in each district of the Tuscaloosa County Commission.

As it stands, Tuscaloosa County has its two largest cities, Tuscaloosa and Northport, along with the towns of Brookwood, Coaling, Coker, Lake View, and large parts of Vance and Woodstock, both of which have city limits slightly overlapping into Bibb County.

Allen declined to provide an official statement Wednesday on the bill as he worked on other legislative session duties, but did confirm to Patch that the measure, if passed, would only apply to municipal jurisdictions in Tuscaloosa County.

Northport Mayor Bobby Herndon told Patch on Wednesday that he would support a measure giving citizens the authority to decide on raising taxes, which is a shift from the previous mayoral administration and council who voted to approve a 1-cent sales tax increase in 2019 after the Tuscaloosa City Council implemented a similar tax increase earlier that year.

The revenue generated in Northport from its 1-cent sales tax, which is under the moniker of Northport First, has thus far been used on public improvement projects, infrastructure and education grants, while the additional sales tax revenue in Tuscaloosa is put toward Elevate Tuscaloosa — a multifaceted community improvement and revitalization effort made up of numerous programs and championed by Mayor Walt Maddox.

"The citizens need to vote on any kind of raising taxes," Herndon said, pointing out that he was not in office when Northport implemented its 1-cent sales tax via City Council vote. "I know the 1-cent sales tax they did was a reaction because Tuscaloosa did it and [Northport] could see five million dollars of gravy right off the bat, so I think letting the citizens vote would be a good idea."

Tuscaloosa County Probate Judge Rob Robertson, who also chairs the Tuscaloosa County Commission, told Patch he was aware of the bill on Wednesday, but had not fully reviewed it and could not comment as to the county's position at this time.

Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox said in a statement to Patch that the city is in alignment with the Alabama League of Municipalities in the belief that local decisions should be with the leaders closest to the people.

"As it directly relates to SB 139, the people of the city of Tuscaloosa shouldn’t decide what the people of Lakeview, Northport or Vance may want for their community," he said.

While the measure has failed as recently as the last legislative session, Allen said a survey conducted late last month shows public support in Tuscaloosa for having an increased voice when it comes to raising taxes.

According to the survey, which was conducted Jan. 20-22 by Remington Research Group and provided to Patch, 444 "likely 2022 General Election" voters participated, with 76% saying tax increases should be approved by voters. Several polling watchdog groups consider the Kansas City, Missouri-based research firm to skew slightly to the right, but also view it as credible on the whole in comparison to its peers and with respect to its methodology and data gathering techniques.

When asked if they would support the amendment to prohibit tax increases with a majority vote, 55% of those polled by the research firm said they would support the amendment, while 19% would oppose and another 26% remained undecided.

Surprisingly, a majority of respondents who identified along party lines — Republican (83%) and Democrat (68%) — were in agreement as they said taxes should not be raised without a vote of the people and that the county needs additional protections to prevent cities from raising local taxes without a public vote. What's more, 75% of respondents identifying as "non-partisan" supported the previous statement.

The bill was formally introduced on Tuesday and assigned to the Senate committee on Governmental Affairs. Click here to follow along with the bill's progress.

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