Former Northport Mayor Speaks Out Against Proposed Property Tax Increase

NORTHPORT, AL — Perhaps no other platform issue has been as central in the political career of former Northport mayor Bobby Herndon than the city having its own school system.

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So it should come as no surprise that the thrice-elected former mayor, who resigned midway through his latest term at the end of the calendar year, took to social media Sunday morning to speak out in opposition to a proposed property tax increase referendum to provide additional funding to the Tuscaloosa County School System.

Voters will decide on the 8-mill increase across two ballots on Feb. 14 — 5 mills for one measure and 3 mills for the other. The way the law is currently set up however, the proposed increase would technically net an additional 7.5 mills if the measure passes, with TCSS officials saying the added mills would result in $15 million in additional revenue for the county school system.

ALSO READ: COLUMN | The Unraveling Of Northport City Hall

Questions regarding the future of Northport's push for its own school system have been many, especially with Herndon's abrupt resignation around the same time the results of a second feasibility study were returned to Northport City Hall.

While Herndon insisted his resignation was prompted by the lack of council support for renaming a city street in front of his personal business, it has been difficult to ignore the timing of the feasibility study results and the city's unwillingness to release the study until the vacancy on the council has been filled.

In a video posted to Facebook on Sunday morning, Herndon wore a blue T-shirt with a white "NCS" on the front, representing "Northport City Schools."

Despite the push by the county school system ahead of the Valentine's Day referendum next month, Herndon speculated that the effort for a Northport school system was still in play and voiced his opposition to the county receiving more property tax revenue while Northport is still left without a direct say in how its schools are run.

The last two times the county took to the polls to vote on a similar tax increase — 1996 and 1987 — the measures failed by 2-to-1 margins. The last time voters approved a property tax increase to fund local schools was when any kind of local property tax was first implemented ... in 1917.

As it stands, Tuscaloosa County receives 10 mills of property tax to fund local schools, which is the least amount allowed by state, yet TCSS has pointed out that it is one of the largest school systems in the state and growing rapidly in student population.

TCSS has argued that the revenue generated from the proposed property tax increase would provide more opportunities for more students and a steady source of income to fund its immediate needs and others that may arise in the years to come.

Still, Herndon has been vocal about the need for a Northport city school district and has been quick to throw out accusations of TCSS officials without providing much more than firsthand anecdotal evidence and repeated talking points.

"I'm very passionate about Northport city schools," he said. "But as a Dad, a Granddad, a citizen of the great city of Northport, Northport's never going to be the city it can be until it has its own school system."

Herndon then expressed his skepticism as TCSS has been holding community meetings and presenting its proposals if the property tax increase passes.

"I know the county school board's made presentations and showing what their proposals are and how they're going to rebuild the schools and all this stuff across the county, but we have no guarantees of that," Herndon argued. "If you and I were to go to a bank to borrow money to do something, then we'd have to fill out all kind of paperwork and all kind of agreements and all kind of contracts that have to be definite things that's going to take place if we build or if we don't build. We come up failing to do what we have said that we would do but we have nothing that we can hold them liable for."

Here's a look at the Feb. 14 sample ballot:

Herndon then thought back to a several instances when he was mayor and claims he went to the Tuscaloosa County Commission to ask for an extension of the county's 1-cent sales tax to help fund education.

"I know during my time as mayor, there were two, maybe even three different occasions where I went to the County Commission on behalf of and with the county school system to ask for an extension of the 1-cent sales tax to help out with education," he said. "[The County School System] said, if you'll go up there with us, first thing we're going to do with this money is build a new Northport Middle School — grades 6, 7, 8. So I went the first time and then they got the extension and of course the school never happened. Other things were built."

TCSS Superintendent Keri Johnson told Patch on Sunday following Herndon's 8-minute Facebook video that the funds generated by the 8 mills of property tax would allow the school system to add numerous improvements for all students in Tuscaloosa County.

As Patch previously reported, this would include more school resource officers and security improvements, pre-k for all families who want their child in pre-k, smaller class sizes, and a range of capital improvement projects aimed at alleviating overcrowding in the rapidly growing school system.

"It would also generate funds to address immediate needs in our facilities, including specific projects in the Tuscaloosa County High School feeder pattern, which we have discussed publicly and can be found on our TCSS website," she said. "We've shared our plans in person with the current Mayor of Northport, as well as leaders of other municipalities across our county, and expressed our commitment to making these improvements for our students. We will continue to offer opportunities for people to hear the plans in person and ask questions over the next few weeks."

The former mayor, however, went on to argue that if the millage increase passes, it will end up just being money that the county school board can use on "any school, any project, any time they want to."

"I'm not in favor of that," he said. "I am in favor of funding for the schools but for the schools in Northport. I know that the City Council, if it hasn't changed since I've been out of office almost a month, the city council could vote to put 5-mill property tax, vote that in and all that money would go to the citizens of the schools in Northport."

While Herndon insists he was informed by the county tax assessor's office that this increase would generate $1.7 million, it falls well short of the independent forecasts for what the city would need to make its own school system financially feasible.

Despite the results of the latest feasibility study remaining behind lock and key at City Hall, numerous independent sources have told Patch that for Northport to truly have the financial means to start and maintain a city school system, the proposed property tax increase would need to be in excess of 30 mills. The jury, however, remains out for City Hall with respect to the potential costs of seceding from TCSS.

"The City Council is doing a great job as far as they've been giving out $300,000 for the past three years, $300,000, to schools in the city of Northport, which is great," he said of educational grants generated by Northport's 2019 1-cent sales tax. "I commend them for that. But if you add the $1.7 million that the five mills would generate, if the council was to do so, that would be $2 million a year."

Indeed, Northport has collected roughly $19 million in the three fiscal years since its 1-cent sales tax went into effect. However, nearly all of this revenue has been committed to different projects and initiatives, leaving the proposed millage increase and Northport's portion of the county's 1-cent sales tax as two other alternatives that officials believe could provide the financial springboard for secession from TCSS.

Regardless of where the lion's share of the funding for a Northport school system would come from, it's worth noting that factors such as city sales tax revenue and county sales tax revenue would impact exactly how much of a millage increase the city would need to break away on firm financial footing.

And while the $2 million mentioned by Herndon is certainly not pocket change, the former mayor's arguments over the years have consistently failed to acknowledge the amount of debt the city of Northport would absorb if it broke away from the county school system.

Using the newest school in Northport as a singular example, Northport Intermediate School alone would add $24 million in debt to the city's books if City Hall is able to see its takeover come to fruition.

Click the link below to watch the presentation given this week by TCSS officials to members of the Tuscaloosa County High community. Unable to see the link? Watch it here on our Facebook page.

Still, Herndon insists his alternative proposed would provide additional revenue that city leaders could spend on schools within the city limits. What is not acknowledged in his argument, though, are the questionings relating to if the City Council has the authority to levy any kind of property tax increase without the support of Tuscaloosa County's legislative delegation and, most importantly, voters at the ballot box.

"That [revenue] would stay strictly in Northport and don't get me wrong, I love all the county schools, I love everybody," Herndon said. "But my heart for service is with the citizens of the city of Northport and the educational needs of the students that live in the city of Northport ... We still have to be getting the same amount of money which they're not spending much money on buildings and haven't been for a long time."

What's more, Herndon recommended the funds could be managed by the City Council's Community Outreach Committee, which has spearheaded the secession efforts to this point.

District 4 Councilwoman Jamie Dykes, who chairs the Committee and has been an outspoken proponent of a Northport city school system, declined to comment on Herndon's suggestions when contacted by Patch.

Council President Jeff Hogg, who represents District 5, also opted against directly commenting on Herndon's Sunday morning Facebook video, but did express a different perspective as the vote approaches.

"I can’t speak for everyone but even though I selfishly want to see a majority of improvements made in the city limits of Northport, I do have a heart for all children no matter where they are located," he said. "I’ve said it time and time again, no one likes taxes, but it’s never wrong to invest in children’s education. They are the leaders of the future."

In looking ahead to the vote on Feb. 14., Herndon offered another alternative by posing the creation of a "Northport district of the county school system," where any tax revenue generated inside the city limits of Northport would be used for schools in Northport.

This newest proposed alternative, however, is also problematic, namely when considering that property tax revenue — whether its generated in Lake View or Northport — all goes into the coffers for the county school system.

Simply put, the handling of tax revenue is not as fluid as Herndon argues in his video and the City Council has very little, if any, real authority in prying those tax dollars from its statutory custodians at the Tuscaloosa County School System.

"The only way we're ever going to get everything that we can get and everything that we can use and be the best city we can be is to have her own the school system," he said. "But until that gets here, if the City Council would vote the 5-mill [increase] in, or if the county school board was to create a Northport district like I was talking about, that would be a great start. But to vote to give 8 mills of property tax that there are no guarantees on and nothing that we can hold them to, I'll be voting no on Feb. 14."

Here's a look at Tuscaloosa Patch's past in-depth coverage of the issue:

• Officials Weigh In Ahead Of Study For Northport School System (June 4, 2021)
• Takeaways From Northport City School System Feasibility Study (June 7, 2021)
• Council Eyes Next Steps In Starting Northport City School System (Dec. 9, 2021)
• Column: The Separatists & The School System (Dec. 11, 2021)
• What's At Stake As Northport Looks To Split From TCSS (Dec. 16, 2021)
• Northport Approves Facilities Study For City School System (Feb. 7, 2022)
• Northport To Consider $100K For City School System Due Diligence (March 3, 2022)
• Could Chelsea Vote Signal Future For A Northport School System? (July 25, 2022)
• County Approves Special Election For Vote On Property Tax Increase (Nov. 6, 2022)
• Competing Narratives Set Tone For TCSS Property Tax Referendum (Nov. 20, 2022)
• TCSS Speaks With County High Community On Property Tax Vote (Jan. 26, 2023)

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