Facing steady population growth and mounting demand for better roads, Baldwin County officials in December 2014 stepped back from a proposed $30 vehicle tag fee and began weighing other ways to pay for roughly $150 million in planned construction.
County Commissioner Tucker Dorsey, who first floated the tag fee in October, said there was no immediate pressure to settle on a funding source before the spring legislative session in Montgomery. “We are backing up a little bit and thinking of other ideas,” he said, adding that the county wanted a firm agreement with the state transportation department on project goals before moving ahead. Both the tag fee and a possible gasoline-tax increase, another option on the table, would require approval from state lawmakers.
Commissioner Chris Elliott, elected earlier that year, said road conditions dominated his campaign. “During the campaign, that’s all I heard about were roads, roads, roads,” he said, arguing that the county and legislature needed to confront “inadequate revenue sources for roads.” Elliott suggested Baldwin County could position itself to tap state discretionary money to help cover the work.
The discussion came a day before Probate Judge Tim Russell was set to assure the commission that the county’s tag operation was running efficiently. Russell contrasted Baldwin’s program with Jefferson County, where long lines had prompted officials to ask city governments for help selling tags. He said his office could administer an added $30 fee if lawmakers supported it and voters approved a state constitutional amendment, but that his office would not take a position on the proposal. The fee, if adopted, would be charged on top of the existing value-based annual tag fee.
The numbers underscored the stakes. Baldwin County issued 250,652 tags in 2013; a $30 charge on each would have raised more than $7.5 million a year.
The project list officials floated in October reflected the county’s fast-growing corridors. It included widening Alabama 181 from near Daphne to Fairhope, building a third bridge over the Intracoastal Waterway, extending 20th Street toward Canal Road near Orange Beach, constructing an interchange at Interstate 10 and County Road 13 near Spanish Fort, and widening U.S. 31 through Spanish Fort.
The search for new revenue came at a time when both state transportation dollars and the county’s own budget remained tight, leaving commissioners to balance rising infrastructure needs against limited resources.