The Spanish Fort City Council approved a new tax and higher business fees in September 2014, measures expected to raise more than $95,000 a year for the fast-growing Baldwin County city.
In two unanimous votes on Monday, Sept. 15, the council agreed to create the city’s first-ever tax on gasoline — one cent for every gallon sold within Spanish Fort’s corporate limits — and to raise the municipality’s annual business license fee from $60 to $100. Mayor Mike McMillan was absent from the meeting; he was in Washington, D.C., with other Eastern Shore mayors lobbying for the proposed Interstate 10 bridge.
Two revenue measures, two public hearings
Public hearings were held before each vote. No one spoke for or against the business license fee increase, but two residents voiced concerns about the gas tax.
Resident Sonya Hess Van Cleave told the council that gas prices were already too high in Spanish Fort and across Baldwin County and that an additional tax would only worsen the problem. She suggested the council consider raising property taxes instead.
Tracey Wilson Goens, who owns Wilson’s Service Station on U.S. 31, said she had first heard about the proposed gas tax only that Monday. She questioned what the additional revenue would be used for and why the council had not looked at other options, such as a lodging tax.
“Gas is already high,” she said. “I mean everybody has got to have gas. People are looking to save. I’ve got some people that told me they drive to Loxley and Robertsdale to get gas because it’s cheaper.”
Fees unchanged since incorporation
City Attorney David Conner said Spanish Fort was evaluating all of its taxes and fees, some of which had not changed since the city first incorporated in 1993. The annual business license charge was one such fee.
Before voting, Councilman J.R. Smith noted the long gap. “This is the first time in 21 years that we have raised the fee, and I think the economy well outpaced us in that aspect,” he said.
Where the money would go
The additional revenue was pegged at $45,000 from the gas tax and $50,000 from the increased licensing fee. Conner said the money would go toward meeting rising demands for city services, including the purchase of new police vehicles in the coming year, road and drainage projects, and improvements to recreational amenities.
“Because of the growth of population over the last 10 years and the anticipated growth in the next 10 years, demands on things like services” had increased, Conner explained, framing the votes as a response to Spanish Fort’s rapid expansion along the Eastern Shore.
The council’s action reflected the balancing act facing many Baldwin County municipalities during those years, as booming residential and commercial development strained budgets built for a much smaller town. For Spanish Fort, the modest penny-per-gallon tax and the higher license fee represented a first step toward aligning the city’s revenue with the cost of serving a growing population.