Published: August 27, 2008 01:55 pm         

Fultondale raises sales, lodging taxes

By Adam Smith

The North Jefferson News



The City of Fultondale has several progressive projects in the works, but residents will soon have to pay more to help fund them.

Sales tax in the city will increase from 3 to 4 percent and lodging taxes will increase from 6 to 8 percent.

The ordinance, passed at Monday’s city council meeting with unanimous consent from the council, will go into effect Oct. 1.

The city reportedly began contacting businesses on Tuesday to inform them of the increase to give them ample time to comply.

The penny sales tax increase will bring the city an estimated $1.2 million over last year, while the lodging increase will bring in about $155,000 in additional funds.

Projects that would be funded by the penny tax increase include the building of a new middle school for grades six through eight and improvements to the high school campus.

The money would also be used to fund municipal and public safety projects like a new library, while converting the existing library into a new public safety complex.

Mayor Jim Lowery said the additional revenue would also enable the city to hire more police officers, purchase updated equipment and explore options of hiring full-time firefighting personnel.

Lastly, Lowery said a portion of the funds would be used to revitalize the southern end of U.S. 31 and aid future development of Fultondale’s two interstate exits.

Funds from the lodging tax increase would be used to develop a new convention complex and make improvements to Black Creek Park.

Lowery said he has been in talks with national hotel chains about partnering with the city on a convention complex.

He said the city had also been in talks with the Jefferson County Board of Education about the future of a new middle school.

“The elementary school is packed out,” Lowery said. “If we don’t do something, we’re doing to end up with a sixth through 12-grade school. Something has to be done.”

This would not represent the only time the city raised taxes to help build a new school facility.

A penny sales tax increase was approved two years ago to help build the new Fultondale Elementary School. The city was reimbursed for the cost of the $16 million school after courts upheld a ruling that allowed $1 billion of state tax money to be distributed to public schools throughout the state. In all, Jefferson County received $376 million from the ruling.

After one year, the penny tax was reduced by a half-cent and was removed completely in January.

Lowery said he hoped residents would be supportive of the tax increases. “They’ve been behind us before,” he said. “With the last tax, we did that for a specific period of time for specific reasons. They people did see the projects completed, so I think they’ll have the confidence that we’ll be able to complete these projects.”

Lowery said a timeline to complete the projects has not been established and the city is in the preliminary stages of planning.