By Joshua Huff, sports editor
TRUSSVILLE — The city of Trussville pledged to explore all avenues in regards to providing support to local businesses impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
In a press release on Monday, Trussville Mayor Buddy Choat said that his administration will “explore any and every avenue available to protect the health and safety of its citizens, first, and second, harness its resources to support every local business in the city.”
This follows the news that the city’s move to institute a local business loan program using Amendment 772 (Section 94.01 of the Alabama Constitution) was shot down by the Alabama Attorney General’s office. The program allowed for local banks to pledge an amount to be loaned out to city businesses, which in turn the city would pay the interest on the loan. The Attorney General’s office halted Trussville’s attempt to move ahead with the program, arguing that the loan program “did not satisfy the requirements of using public funds for a public purpose.”
The city of Trussville disagreed with the Attorney General’s guidance, the press release said, but it intends to follow the guidance issued.
“I am disappointed that the city cannot move forward with this plan for small businesses,” Choat said. “These small businesses are the backbone of our community. We understand the legal reasoning for this opinion and we are still considering other ways to help.”
The city of Trussville plans on working with the state legislative delegation to find alternate ways to support its citizens and local businesses.
“It is my hope to come up with something to get small businesses in Trussville the help they need and deserve,” Choat said.
Despite the setback, the city of Trussville has managed support local businesses by waiving late payments on sales and use taxes, waiving late payments on tax revenue for food service and restaurants, and waiving late payments on alcohol and liquor taxes. Further, the city council and the mayor have actively worked with the Trussville Chamber of Commerce and other organizations to encourage everyone to buy local.