By Lee Weyhrich
Staff writer
PINSON — Pinson City Council’s vote regarding the proposed 2-percent sales tax increase has been tabled until the next meeting, but the council did discuss some details of the possible tax.
According to the Mayor Hoyt Sanders and council members Robbie Roberts, Dawn Tanner and Joe Cochran, feedback regarding the tax increase has been predominantly positive with no real backlash.
The proposed increase would put Pinson in line with most other municipalities and would make the total amount taxable on general sales at 10 percent. Sanders and Roberts both suggested a 1-percent increase rather than the full two due to a county tax that is currently in dispute.
The other negotiable point is what the additional tax funds will be used for. Cochrane initially suggested the increase in order to fund a possible police force, but as no clear decision has been made by the council in that regard, other proposals have been made.
Roberts suggested three possible plans for the taxes. The first plan would fund the police force and make improvements at the Rock School. The Rock School Center would then, potentially, be used by the library while the new police force would take over the old library facilities. The second option would also approve the currently proposed increase, but one percent would go to increasing the number of deputies, and the other one percent would go to various improvements in the city. The third option would be to raise the tax just one percent, instead of two. Then use that money to improve the rock school and then consider the law enforcement options afterwards.
One thing the council was able to hammer out is the potential rate increases that go along with a new sales tax. The mayor provided the Council with breakdowns of how Gardendale, Birmingham, Trussville, Oneonta, and Pinson currently do their rates.
Based largely on Gardendale’s model, the Council decided on Sales and Use rates if the full increase should be approved. Consumer Use Auto tax would remain where it is at 1%, as would Consumer Use Farm, Consumer Use Manufacturing Machine, Sales Tax Auto, Sales Tax Farm, Sales Tax Manufacturing Machine, Sellers Use Auto and Sellers Use Farm.
The only increases will be Consumer Use General, Sales Tax Amusement, Sales Tax General, Sales Tax Vending, and Sellers Use General which will all increase from two percent to four percent.