Referendum for local tax increase to build new schools approved by Legislature
MONTGOMERY – The Alabama Legislature passed a bill last week paving the way for Madison residents to vote on a proposed 12-mil property tax increase.
The additional tax revenue would support the construction of new schools for the Madison City Schools district to combat overcrowding.
House Bill 129, sponsored by Rep. Mike Ball and handled in the State Senate by Sen. Tom Butler, passed Thursday. A similar bill for the Town of Triana also passed, needed since students in Triana attend Madison City Schools.
Butler said both bills have been sent to Gov. Kay Ivey for her signature, and they should be signed this week.
Voters in Madison and Triana must then decide whether they want the tax increase. Both Madison and Triana city councils will need to set a date for a special election.
If it passes, the tax increase will take effect at the beginning of the school district’s next fiscal year, Oct. 1. It will provide 10 mils for a new elementary and middle school, one mil for high school additions and one mil for instructional programs and safety.
At the State of the Schools address Feb. 26, Madison City Schools Superintendent Robbie Parker proposed building a new elementary school on 20 acres of land the school district already owns next to the Kroger on Wall Triana Highway. It would hold about 900 students.
Parker also proposed building a new middle school, which would hold 1,200 students in grades six to eight. It would be built behind the central office on Celtic Drive.
“If the tax passes, my recommendation is that we move to get these schools built for 2021,” Parker said.
Officials said building the new schools is vital to stem a major problem the school district is having handling the rapid growth rate. Parker said in about two years, the school district will be out of space at the elementary school level and the middle school level.
A 12-mil increase would mean $1.20 more in taxes on each hundred dollars of assessed value, which is about 10% of the property’s actual value. So, 12-mils would add $120 annually per $100,000 actual value of the property, or $10 per month.
