By Hannah Curran, Editor
CLAY — The Clay Council passed an ordinance to cut the grocery tax by two cents at the regular council meeting on Tuesday, August 23. Alabama is one of only three states with no tax break or rebate for low-income households on groceries, and it appears that the City of Clay may be the first city in Alabama that cuts the grocery tax.
This ordinance removes two percent of the levied sales tax of four percent on certain food items as defined by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for a period of two years, beginning November 1, 2022, and will end on October 31, 2024. This ordinance affects any food for the household such as fruits and vegetables, meat, poultry and fish, dairy products, breads and cereals, other foods such as snack foods and non-alcoholic beverages, and seeds and plants which produce food for the household to eat.
According to Clay City Manager Ronnie Dixon, the premise of the ordinance is to help the people in Clay who shop at Piggly Wiggly, Publix, or either one of the Dollar General Stores.
“As a way of trying to cut their grocery bill, because even though the legislature has talked about it for several years, they still haven’t removed the tax on food that everyone has to pay,” Dixon said.
Clay Mayor Charles Webster said the two cents for two years would put about $1.2 million back in the pocket of the citizens of Clay.
“I think it’s going to be good for our community; it’s going to help people out a little bit,” Webster said. “We can’t do a whole lot, but we were looking at ways to help the citizens of Clay with all the increases they’ve had, with a garbage increase, grocery increase, and fuel increase. So we’re just trying to figure out a way to help, and I think this is the fairest way that we get help the most people in Clay across the board and be fair to everybody.”
Clay Councilmember Chris Nail said the city has discussed the economic burden that has increased over the last several years.
“That’s kind of what we were thinking, when it was brought up that we could try to do something for our citizens of Clay,” Nail said. “We thought about it, there was a recent garbage increase of over 50 percent. So what we did is we want to give back to the community and lessen their burden.”
Nail said the city control’s it’s sales tax, so it’s their way to “lessen the burden of the economic impact of the inflationary period that we’re in.”
As a way of trying to help the people of Clay overcome the increase in cost of living, such as gas and garbage services, Dixon recommended a two-year period of reduced sales tax on grocery items to the council.
“Those grocery items are defined by SNAP,” Dixon said. “Then, from October 1, 2022, until September 30, 2024, the sales tax would be reduced on those items by two cents.”
Instead of paying a 10 cents tax, you would pay eight cents total. Dixon said the city only gets two cents of the tax because they “can’t reduce what the county and the state charge.”
Dixon explained that if you spend $100 a week on groceries, you would save $2 a week on groceries.
“If you save that $2 for 12 weeks, you would have $24, and your garbage service went up about that same amount,” Dixon said. “So it takes some personal responsibility to save the money, but that was the only way that I could come up with how we could impact anyone who wasn’t in a special circumstance. Like everybody is not a senior adult, everybody doesn’t have children, and everybody doesn’t own property, but everybody buys groceries.”
The Clay City Council unanimously approved the ordinance, and the excitement among the council members was evident.
If they choose to buy groceries at one of those four places, they can say two percent, “depending on how much they spend every week would depend on what that two percent was.”
Dixon said the city’s professional management had cut grocery tax. He explained that right now, the city can only start with two years, but at the end of the year, the council will have the opportunity to extend it for another year or forever.
“It’s because the city has been managed well that we have a surplus,” Dixon said. “I treat it like it’s church money. It’s not my money. It belongs to the taxpayers. So I don’t believe the city or the state or the federal government should be a bank of any sort, no sort of repository or a depository. It’s the people’s money, and that’s the only fair way that I could think of to give them their money back.”
Webster expressed his excitement about helping the community.
“I’m excited that we’re financially able to do something like that,” Webster said. “God rewards you for helping people. I think he will reward Clay for what we’re doing to help. I think it’s gonna come back to help us in the long run. We’re just looking for the future to see, God rewards you for doing things for the good of others, and that’s what my prayer is that He rewards the city and we stay financially sound, and everything in the future.”
Nail agreed with Webster that this is gonna help whether it be a minimal amount, but where every little bit right now helps.
“So that’s my thought process behind it, if we can help our citizens that’s what I’m for and I think this will help,” Nail said. “Whether they can can apply this little bit of money to something else that may help help them out. So, that’s where I stand on it.”