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 what might have been.
Tag: Mobile sales tax
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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 of cost concessions.
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‘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.
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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.
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Tea Party Leader Says Mobile’s Budget Hole Began at City Hall, Not at the Cash Register
A Mobile tea party organizer argued the city’s $18.5 million shortfall was the product of optimistic budget assumptions, and urged the council to exhaust cost cuts and asset sales before raising the sales tax.
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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.