Nathan Prewett
CLAY, Ala. — A 5 mill ad valorem tax ordinance was approved by the Clay City Council on Tuesday night, May 12, to use collected funds from property taxes for public education.
A first reading was held at the April 21 meeting where it was explained by Mayor Jane Anderton that the ordinance would create a fund for school leaders to request funding from pending approval by the council.
This has since changed from having a designated fund to having it as a line item in the budget, as has been done before. It will be given out of the general fund budget, Anderton said.
During a public hearing, Bill McAllister asked if the policy was the same as the one that was rescinded in September 2025 under the administration of Charles Webster.
Anderton explained that the previous 5% property tax was started in order to fund a police station or create the city’s own school system, but they were eventually found to not be feasible, which led to it being repealed. The ad valorem tax passed on Tuesday night was a new and separate policy from the last one, she said.
“The proceeds of this are intended for education-related public purposes,” Anderton said. “That doesn’t lock us in to one recipient or one use but preserves the council’s discretion on keeping the use tied to education-related public benefit.”
She explained further that she believed the ordinance should pass that night before June 1, after which the state legislature will take action requiring a referendum for any taxes. This would cost the city money, she added.
Matt Clay expressed concern about items that are put into the general fund without a way to track them to make sure that they are going toward their intended purpose.
“Accountability is built into this ordinance,” Anderton said. “And that’s important because of public funds, so they must be traceable, revealable and only used for public purposes. So any recipient of these funds has to use those proceeds only for that approved purpose. They need to maintain the records for that if required by the council and be subject to an audit or review by the city if need be.”
Dissent came from Councilor Nathan Thompson, who said that the ordinance was unnecessary when the schools are already being funded by the city. He said that the previous tax brought just under $4.4 million before it was removed and that as of April the city has $12.8 million, with much of it going towards schools.
“I don’t see why we’re taking money from the citizens,” he said. “If there’s a great plan in place that we need this money for I’m all about taxing for this money but let’s give the people an opportunity to vote on it. Let’s make this a 6 mill tax so that residents can have an opportunity to vote on it if we want to put this tax back in place.”
He criticized the way that the tax was announced, saying that there were problems with downloading a copy of the agenda packet until it was eventually fixed.
Councilor Carla Youngblood, who is chair of the finance committee, spoke in favor of it and stated that she did not believe that it would hurt the citizens and would be against it if it did.
Councilor Jody Harris afterward cited a bond in which the issuer agreed to levy and collect taxes to the maximum extent allowed by law.
“My concern is this bond issue—and this is just one, we have three—requires us to raise the maximum possible revenue,” he said. “And by law the maximum we can raise are property levies without a referendum is 5 mills.”
The ordinance was passed by a 5-1 vote, with Thompson’s being the only one against.
During public comments, Hunter Merola, a former employee of the city, said that he had been arrested after a warrant was issued for him several weeks before. He stated that he had a criminal hearing in the near future and asked Anderton if it was true that she would not pursue charges if he did not go through with an employment hearing.
Anderton replied that she would drop it if he resigned in addition.
His mother later spoke and said that he had been fired because he was “not respectful” to Anderton. She said that the incident stemmed from an alleged unauthorized use of a vehicle due to him not returning it on time when it was in a repair shop. However, she insisted that her son was not a criminal.
In other business the council:
- Adopted the city’s flood damage prevention ordinance that has updated language to comply with state law,
- Awarded an asphalt/paving contract to Central Alabama Asphalt & Construction, LLC in the amount of $389,500,
- Awarded a labor, material and equipment contract to Massey Asphalt Pavement, LLC in the amount of $286,800,
- Tabled consideration of a request for a liquor license by Deerfoot Liquor to examine potential constitutional ramifications, and
- Amended a resolution authorizing $3,500 to be added for a fireworks display at Clay City Fest.
Meetings take place every second and fourth Tuesday at Clay City Hall located at 2441 Old Springville Road. Pre-council begins at 6 p.m. followed by the regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. Meetings are recorded for the city’s YouTube channel.
Nathan Prewett can be reached at nthomasp6@gmail.com.
