Fairhope Council Weighs Property Tax Referendum and Mayor’s Sales Tax Plan to Fund Schools

FAIRHOPE, Ala. — The Fairhope City Council is considering proposals to provide about $1.88 million a year in additional local funding for the city’s public schools, including a property tax referendum and an alternative plan offered by Mayor Karin Wilson.

Advisory Committee Recommends 3-Mill Tax

The Fairhope Education Advisory Committee (FEAC) has recommended that the council pursue a 3-mill property tax in a designated school district. The committee reached its recommendation after considering the 2015 Akribos Group Academic Audit and reviewing the needs of all five schools in Fairhope.

The proposed district, District 6, would follow the boundaries of the Fairhope schools feeder pattern. The tax is estimated to generate $1.88 million a year. A 3-mill tax in a designated school district has been discussed in Fairhope for years as a response to the state’s education funding formula.

Before the tax could go before voters, the council must complete several steps and meet certain deadlines required to hold a referendum.

Mayor Proposes Sales Tax Ordinance

Wilson has proposed an alternative called the Fairhope Equitable School Plan. Under that plan, the council could adopt a permanent ordinance directing 10 percent of the city’s sales tax revenue to the schools, an amount estimated at $800,000 to $1 million a year.

Under the mayor’s proposal, the council could reach more than 70 percent of the $1.88 million goal through its own action, without a referendum. The mayor supports the 3-mill tax but has proposed adopting the ordinance first as a step toward it. The city is expected to be debt-free in 2019.

A Shared Goal

The council, the advisory committee and the mayor share the goal of $1.88 million in additional annual funding for the schools. During discussion of the proposals, Council President Jack Burrell said, “I want out of the school business.”