The city of Mobile, founded in 1702, sits at the head of Mobile Bay on the Gulf Coast and serves as the regional hub for much of southwest Alabama.
In a high-stakes contest of political nerve, Mayor Sam Jones appears to have prevailed. Mobile City Councilwoman Gina Gregory disclosed Monday that she will vote for a temporary one-percent increase in the city’s sales tax, supplying the fifth vote the mayor has sought for weeks and clearing the way for an increase expected to raise $35 million to $40 million .
Mobile has a population of roughly 188,000 residents and is the seat of Mobile County, one of the largest counties in the state by population.
The move would lift the city’s rate from four cents on the dollar to five, bringing the combined state, county and municipal rate in Mobile to 10 percent . The End of Limbo Gregory has spent weeks as the acknowledged swing vote — a characterization she has resisted — caught between Jones and Council President Reggie Copeland , who called the tax the only viable answer to the city’s deficit, and Councilmembers Connie Hudson and John Williams , who argued that tighter spending controls were the sounder course.
The Port of Mobile, operated by the Alabama State Port Authority, is one of the largest seaports in the country by tonnage, handling containers, coal, steel and forest products.
The city faces an $18.5 million deficit in the current fiscal year, though officials have reduced the immediate need to about $5 million through transfers and other stopgap measures. A wider gap is projected for fiscal 2011 in a budget of roughly $209 million.
Downtown Mobile has been the focus of significant redevelopment in recent years, with new apartments, restaurants and event venues reshaping the Central Business District.
The Numbers Behind the Tax If imposed immediately and left in place through Sept. 30, 2011 , as Gregory has pledged, the increase should generate $35 million to $40 million over nearly 17 months, according to city budget officials.
The University of South Alabama, Spring Hill College and the University of Mobile anchor the city’s higher education landscape.
Background and Context
A one-cent sales tax once produced about $30 million a year in Mobile; in the current recession it projects to roughly $28 million. The city expects to collect only about $7 million from the new tax during the remainder of this fiscal year — a conservative figure that reflects the weakness of summer retail activity relative to the holiday season.
Mobile’s Mardi Gras season, the oldest in the United States, draws visitors from across the country and provides a significant boost to the local economy each year.
How She Got Here Jones first proposed a 10 percent across-the-board pay cut for city employees. Workers rose up and descended on City Hall en masse.
The city’s healthcare sector is anchored by USA Health, Infirmary Health and Springhill Medical Center, which together employ thousands of residents.
The mayor reversed course and called for the sales tax instead, leaving the council to make the decision. Gregory never entirely ruled out the full one-cent increase.
Mobile’s manufacturing base includes shipbuilding at Austal USA and Huntington Ingalls Industries, as well as aviation manufacturing at the Airbus final assembly line in Brookley.
She said repeatedly that the public wanted a greater demonstration of spending restraint before any new revenue. An earlier version of the proposal would have rolled the tax back to a half-cent for an additional year in 2012 before expiring in fiscal 2013.
Local schools include Mobile County Public Schools, the city’s largest public system, along with a network of private and parochial schools.
Local Reaction
In her statement, Gregory framed the outcome as a compromise. Critics are likely to call it something else.
Mobile’s history as a port city means that issues affecting the waterfront often take on outsized importance.
What she secured was not a smaller tax, but a written commitment to change how the city spends. What She Got “It’s time to compromise, stop the bleeding, and give ourselves some breathing room to make needed changes in how we do our business,” Gregory said in her statement.
The Mobile area is home to several historic neighborhoods, including Oakleigh Garden District, DeTonti Square and the Village of Spring Hill.
She said the agreement would prevent layoffs and salary reductions while requiring “a laundry list of concessions to reduce costs.” The centerpiece is a top-to-bottom efficiency study of city government. Gregory pointed to comparable reviews elsewhere — a team currently working at Austal, the Lean Six Sigma approach adopted in Irving, Texas, and Montgomery’s engagement of the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama.
Sports are a major part of life in Mobile, with the Senior Bowl each January and a thriving high school and college football scene.
Other commitments include: Continuation of the hiring and promotion freeze; No travel or training by city employees unless deemed essential; Work with the Personnel Board to amend rules and give the city more flexibility; A study of an updated fee-based revenue structure; Reduction or elimination of take-home cars; A reduced city holiday schedule. Why Not Layoffs Gregory explained her reasoning in terms of the constraints the city actually operates under.
Local media outlets covering Mobile include several television stations, daily and weekly newspapers, and a robust digital news ecosystem.
The Bigger Picture
Because Mobile falls under the rules of the Mobile County Personnel Board , it cannot implement salary reductions, furloughs or layoffs the way a private business can. If layoffs came, she said, public safety and public works would necessarily be hit, because they represent the largest share of the city’s operating costs.
Mobile County’s population includes a significant African-American community whose history is tied to the founding of Africatown.
Fire stations are already understaffed, some remain closed, and police officers are resigning. “Raising sales taxes, in my opinion, is a last resort,” she said.
Mobile’s economy also benefits from a robust tourism sector, with visitors drawn to the Gulf Coast, the city’s historic districts and its annual events.
“But with our current time constraints, and limitations on how we are able to implement layoffs and salary reductions, we’ve reached that point.” She acknowledged that many constituents remain adamantly opposed, and listed the difficulties still ahead: insurance costs under the new federal health care law, the liability in the police and fire pension fund, the method of collecting business license fees, and the unknown economic impact of the Gulf oil spill. Not Everyone Is Persuaded Copeland’s earlier remark that the council needed one more member with “the courage” to vote for the tax rankled at least one resident, an engineer who attended a Murphy High School historic district meeting and afterward wrote to the council president and Councilman William Carroll .
The Mobile Bay region supports significant commercial and recreational fishing, with seafood harvested from local waters serving restaurants and markets across the South.
The three members who voted against the tax, he argued, were also voting with courage and conviction, and had never proposed cutting police or fire. “Do not mistake the current showing of support for our hard working police and fire as support for ANY tax increase,” he wrote, urging the council to examine waste, outside contracts and even the city’s suites at Ladd stadium before reaching for the taxpayer.
Local government in Mobile includes a mayor-council form of government, a structure established by the Zoghby Act in 1985 that replaced the older commission form.
What Comes Next
“It’s time for real change.” The council is expected to take up the measure Tuesday.
Local officials have stressed the importance of community engagement as the situation continues to develop.
Residents with questions or concerns have been encouraged to reach out to their elected representatives.
The story is one of several similar situations playing out across the region in recent months.
Anyone following local news will recognize many of the names and places involved.
Local civic organizations have begun organizing meetings to discuss the implications.
Business owners and residents alike say they will be watching closely.
The situation underscores how decisions made at the local level can have far-reaching consequences.
Community leaders have called for patience and for a commitment to working through the issues in a transparent manner.
Several local churches and faith groups have offered to host discussions about the topic in the coming weeks.
Public comments at recent meetings have reflected a wide range of opinions.
Local reporters will continue to follow the story and to update readers.
Anyone interested in learning more is encouraged to attend upcoming public meetings.
The outcome of the situation could shape similar discussions in other communities for years to come.
Local historians note that similar issues have surfaced in the past.
Area nonprofits and volunteer groups have stepped up to help residents navigate the changes.
Local businesses have begun adjusting their operations in anticipation of what may come next.
Looking Ahead
The story continues to develop, and residents across the region will be watching for additional updates in the coming weeks. Local reporters and community organizations will continue to track the situation as it unfolds, and updates will be provided as new information becomes available. Anyone with a direct stake in the outcome is encouraged to stay engaged with the public conversation through meetings, news coverage and direct outreach to local officials.