Photo by Sarah Finnegan
Students walk together on their way to school. Homewood city and school officials are seeking an exemption from a statewide cap on the ad valorem property tax rate, an issue which Jefferson County residents will decide Nov. 6.
Update: This amendment will be listed as Local Amendment 1 on Jefferson County ballots and Local Amendment 2 on Homewood ballots.
Citizens of Jefferson County will vote on whether Homewood can receive an exemption to the statewide lid bill at the ballot box in November.
The lid bill caps the ad valorem property tax rate that cities in Alabama can charge. Homewood’s City Council and Board of Education are seeking an exemption that would remove that cap, though any future change in the property tax rate would require a citywide referendum for approval.
Mountain Brook, Vestavia Hills and Huntsville are also exempted from the lid bill because their rates exceeded the cap when it was put in place. Homewood is the first city to seek an exemption since the law was established.
The City Council and BOE asked for the support of the state Legislature in late 2017, and it was approved in March. However, that approval cannot take effect without the support of a majority of Jefferson County voters during the Nov. 6 general election.
At a Sept. 11 BOE meeting, Superintendent Bill Cleveland and State District 46 Rep. David Faulkner both reaffirmed their support for a lid bill exemption.
“It only seems right that the community can decide for itself,” Cleveland said.
Local property tax revenue is used to support the school system. Cleveland said the need for more funding could arise in the future based on the school system’s growth, and taxing the residents who benefit from Homewood City Schools is a better route, he said, than raising other taxes.
In 2016, when the school system requested funding for several major additions at all five schools, the City Council took on a $110 million bond, half of which was allocated for the schools, and approved a 1 percent sales tax increase to pay off the additional debt.
