Tax hike one step closer to reality

By Patrick Johnston
Published: May 12, 2008

County officials and others supporting a one-cent sales tax increase in Barbour County breathed a sigh of relief late last week.
That’s because the Alabama Legislature approved House Bill 916 Thursday night, paving the way for county commissioners to vote on the sales tax proposal later this year. The bill passed on the next to last day of the legislative session.
“Santa Claus came early,” Commission Chairman Earl Gilmore said Friday morning. “We’re all happy it went through.”
Gilmore says that commissioners will not be able to vote on the proposal for at least three months, and a public hearing will be announced and required before the expected vote. The proposed increase could come before commissioners by late summer to early fall. Barbour County voters will not vote on the proposal, though.
Most county commissioners have expressed overwhelming support for the increase, which would generate an estimated $1.9 million per year. If approved, an estimated $950,000 would go to the county’s general fund for pay increases and other needs.
An estimated $475,000 would go to the county’s road and bridge fund. (The commission has borrowed money from the fund for several years to cover shortfalls in the general fund.) The remaining $475,000 would be split evenly between Eufaula City Schools and Barbour County Schools.
Rep. Billy Beasley introduced the legislation, and it was passed by the Alabama House in late April. There were concerns it would not be voted upon by the Senate because of the filibuster of another bill introduced by Sen. Myron Penn, who represents Barbour County. However, the stalemate was eventually broken and senators were able to once again consider legislation from across the state, including the Barbour County sales tax proposal.
Barbour County commissioners have warned that unless the increase is implemented, the county will be forced to cut services and employees.
“We’ll have to make some decisions about Barbour County that we don’t want to make,” commissioner Fred Cooper said in an earlier Tribune article.
Another piece of local legislation the senate approved last week could lead to voting centers throughout the county.
The centers would allow voters to cross precinct lines to cast their ballots.
“Voting centers will allow us to have more than one precinct voting in one place,” Anna Neville of the Board of Registrars office said in an earlier Tribune interview.
Voters could cross precinct lines or even commission district lines to cast their ballots. In essence, there is no wrong place for voters to vote.
The centers would likely be located in nicer facilities such as the Clayton courthouse or the Bevill Center though voters used to selecting candidates at a church or neighborhood center might have to travel a longer distance.