Tax increase voted No. 7 story of 2007

With a boxcar company eyeing the Shoals as a location for a plant that would employ 1,800 workers, Shoals leaders formulated a plan.

The plan called for raising sales taxes by half-cent on the dollar, with the funds going directly into economic development. That includes incentives for the boxcar plant.

It worked well, with the Legislature approving a bill that allowed Colbert and Lauderdale county commissioners to vote on an increase. The bill was signed by Gov. Bob Riley early in June and approved by both commissions later that month.

Approval of the half-cent sales tax and its successful funding toward economic development puts it at No. 7 among the Top 10 local stories of the year.

"It was an amazing year for a lot of reasons," said Macke Mauldin, who organized meetings that ultimately hammered out the plans for how the funds would be overseen. "The community really came together. I think it was a logical thing to do."

The tax increase took effect Aug. 1 and is expected to generate $6 million a year. Some of the funds would go toward the boxcar plant, National Alabama, which chose the Shoals on the heels of the increase.

The Shoals Industrial Development Committee was formed as part of the plan. The group, which is made up of elected officials, must approve all expenditures from the fund.

The board positions are tied to the elected positions, rather than the individuals who are in the positions. "It's absolutely apolitical," Mauldin said. "It's all about economic development and I think everybody sees it as fair."

"This funds economic development in a way that the Shoals Economic Development Authority was originally developed to be funded, and probably a little bit better than what it was expected to do," Mauldin said. "There are so many people thinking about the Shoals who were never on the radar screen before this.

"If you go forward 15 to 20 years and look back on 2007, you'll see that it was a true turning point of how we view ourselves and believe in ourselves more than any time in history."

To the consumer, the increase means a $100 purchase would cost an additional 50 cents.

For a time, passage of the tax bill was in doubt, as the Legislature dealt with a logjam and the Senate was fighting over operating rules. But it passed in the waning days of the session.

Bernie Delinski can be reached at 740-5739 or bernie.delinski@timesdaily.com.