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Council votes unanimously to raise taxes, engage in capital improvements

by

Emily Featherston

The Vestavia Hills City Council voted 5-0 Monday to increase the city’s sales, lodging and leasing taxes in order to pay for a slew of projects over the next several years.

Councilors were unanimous in their support of the increases, citing the public work session on April 3 and the city’s strategic planning meetings in January as evidence of a well-researched and discussed plan.

City Manager Jeff Downes reminded the council that in order to pay for the “significant infrastructure and recreational amenity improvements,” the city would need to take out a bond issue and therefore find additional revenue to service the debt.

After Downes went back through the reasoning for the increases, he detailed the specifics of how the taxes will change.

Vestavia Hills currently collects 3 cents on the dollar per transaction, Downes explained. With Monday’s vote for a one cent increase, the total sales tax collected by the city, county and state will go to 10 cents on the dollar, otherwise known as 10 percent.

The lodging tax will increase from 14 to 17 percent, and the city’s leasing tax will increase from three to four percent.

Expected revenues from the increases, which Downes explained are based on conservative estimates of future economic performance, will be about $3.9 million, $187,000 and $45,000 for the sales, lodging and leasing taxes, respectively.

Pulled from vhal.org

“Both sets of taxes would put us at par with many of our communities,” Downes said, “and from a lodgings tax perspective, be below many of the cities surrounding us.”

All five members of the council spoke in favor of the measure, with Councilor George Pierce saying he wanted to note the measure will address more than just the Community Spaces Plan.

“It really is more than just community spaces,” he said, adding that the effects of the capital projects will be felt long after the bond is paid off.

“This gets us past 30 years,” he said.

Councilor Kimberly Cook likewise noted her optimism, but said she wanted to note that she knows the council will need to be vigilant in staying on budget and schedule with the projects.

“I think that tonight is just the beginning, and beginnings are exciting, but I’ll remind the council that it’s just the beginning of a lot of hard work,” she said.

The council also approved the extension of the city’s contract with TCU Consulting Services for the execution of the Community Spaces Plan.

Additionally, Downes said, the firm will be put in charge of the widening of Crosshaven Drive, a project the firm agreed to take on at no additional cost.

Downes said that the process for the next steps of the capital improvement plans will begin immediately, with the city moving forward with seeking out professionals to underwrite and go to the bond market as soon as possible.

“The goal would be to go to the bond market in early summer,” he said. “The sooner the better.”

The new tax rates will take effect June 1.

Also at the meeting, the council approved a conditional use permit for five unrelated individuals to reside at 220 Erwin Circle.

City Clerk Rebecca Leavings explained that a complaint came through the city’s Action Center that there was an excess of cars parking in the cul de sac of the road, which led the city to discover that the five college students were living in the single-family home, which is a violation of the city’s zoning code.

Emily Featherston

Leavings said that the city notified the property owner and eventually got in touch with the leasing agency that rented the property to the students, as well as the students and a few of their parents. She explained that there had not been complaints of parties or lack of lawn upkeep, and that several of the neighbors had attended the Planning and Zoning Commission’s meeting about the request and spoke in support of the students. The commission ultimately sent the request to the council with a unanimous negative recommendation.

City Councilors raised questions to Leavings about whether or not the rental company has a Vestavia business license, which she said they do not, and concerns from the fire department, as a violation of the zoning code comes along with a violation of the fire and building code.

The request that came before the council was to allow the students to live in the home until the end of July, though students and neighbors requested the conditional use be through May 2019 when the students graduate.

The council discussed their concerns about going against the city’s zoning code, but noted that the legal process that would result from voting down the request would end in a similar timeline, but at an additional cost to the city.

Ultimately, the council voted 5-0 to approve the conditional use through July 31.

Other Council Business Included:

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