Tax renewal faces county voters

By Staff
Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
Morgan County School District voters are going to have to go back to the polls in the near future to decide the fate of a 7.3 mill property tax that was approved in 1976 for 30 years. It expires at the end of this month.
The property tax was approved after Hartselle broke away from the county and established its own school system. It generates about $4.5 million a year.
Superintendent Don Murphy said the status of the tax was brought to the attention of Roger Spillers, finance director, by Bill Shinn, attorney for the Morgan County Commission.
A history of the 7.3 mill tax was provided by Shinn in a letter dated Sept. 7.
He said Amendment #106 authorized a 5.5 mill school district tax in 1957 when the county was divided in five school districts, not including the city of Decatur.
When Hartselle established its own school system in 1975 the county voted to consolidate the school districts and authorize a 5.5 mill tax for 30 years. The tax was increased to 7.3 mills by the county commission in 1979 under authority granted by a constitutional amendment.
Morgan County Commission Chairman John Glasscock said earlier this week he had not discussed the tax issue with school officials but didn’t see a problem of bringing it to the attention of voters in a special election.