Council Votes 5-2 for Sales Tax Increase, Ending Six Weeks of Political Theater
Mobile's council approved a one-cent sales tax increase on a 5-2 vote. An analysis of how Mayor Sam Jones got what he wanted, what Gina Gregory extracted in return, and…
Gregory Signals Yes: Mobile Councilwoman Agrees to One-Cent Sales Tax in Deal With Jones
Councilwoman Gina Gregory announced she would supply the fifth vote for a temporary one-cent sales tax increase, in exchange for a written commitment to an efficiency study and a list…
‘You Can’t Reform a Junkie With More Drugs’: Mobile Business Owners Sound Off on the Sales Tax Plan
Retailers, accountants, builders and executives across Mobile weighed in on the proposed one-cent sales tax increase, with most arguing City Hall must cut spending before reaching into shoppers' pockets.
One Vote Short: Mobile’s Sales Tax Standoff Hardens Into Political Chicken
With an $18.5 million deficit and a five-vote requirement, Mayor Sam Jones fell a single council vote short of a one-cent sales tax increase, leaving three members holding extraordinary leverage.
Mobile Finance Committee Meeting Runs Long as Budget Shortfall Fix Stalls Again
A Mobile City Council committee meant to address a lingering budget shortfall ran more than an hour behind schedule on Monday, and the session ended without a resolution after Mayor…
Mobile’s 100 Best-Paid City Employees, Disclosed in the Middle of a Budget Fight
Documents produced during the city's deficit crisis show 100 employees earning between $63,127 and $161,333. The public works director tops the list, ahead of the police and fire chiefs.
Sales Tax Hike Falls 3-3-1 as Mobile Council Rejects Jones, and Layoffs Loom
Buried under hundreds of angry emails and calls, Mayor Sam Jones's penny sales tax died in a 3-3-1 vote on Tax Day. As many as 300 city jobs are now…
Counting to Five: The Sales Tax Vote Rests on One Council Member
Mayor Sam Jones has made his case for a penny sales tax. The measure was laid over Tuesday, and the arithmetic on a seven-member council now points to a single…
Jones Abandons Pay Cut, Asks Council for a Penny Sales Tax Increase
With city workers descending on City Hall, Mayor Sam Jones dropped his 10-percent pay cut and took a one-cent sales tax increase to the council's finance committee instead.
Mobile’s $18.5 Million Hole: Every Option on the Table, and None of Them Painless
Facing an $18.5 million shortfall, Mobile officials weighed pay cuts, a sales tax increase, a garbage collection fee and layoffs. Each carried a political price nobody wanted to pay.