School tax vote OK’d

By Staff
Leada Gore, Hartselle Enquirer
After months of wrangling, the future of Hartselle’s new high school is now in the hands of voters.
Hartselle’s City Council unanimously passed a resolution setting a March 11 date for a 7.5 property tax vote. It also approved a resolution to support a half-cent sales tax increase if the property tax passes.
The combined taxes would raise some $1.4 million per year to fund the construction of a new high school.
The approvals came on the heels of a petition presented bearing the signatures of some 900 people expressing support for a referendum. Though not legally required, the petition was a “show of support,” according to City Attorney Larry Madison.
That gesture was enough to convince the council’s lone holdout, Bill Drake, to vote for setting the referendum date.
Drake had previously voted against calling for the referendum, essentially squelching the proposal. Hartselle’s Legislative Delegation requires a unanimous request before approving a property tax referendum. Hartselle officials found a way around that, however, by asking for a 7.5 mill tax increase. That amount keeps the city under the limit required to set the referendum date itself and bypass legislative approval.
Normally, property tax measures comes back before voters every 30 years. This property tax would not but could be repealed by the council after the bond obligation is met.
Legislative approval is not needed for a sales tax increase.
The resolution also calls for the city to withhold the cost of the election from its school board appropriation. The referendum will cost some $15,000.
If voters approve the property tax, the sales tax resolution will come back before the council for final approval.
Council members, many of whom made “no new taxes” pledges when they ran for office, have come under fire in recent weeks.
Councilman Mark Mizell said while he wouldn’t normally support a sales tax, he feels this case is a special circumstance.
Now, the issue of selling the tax increase is in the hands of the school board, according to its Chairman Dr. Andy Dukes.