City signs resolution against lawsuit involving online sales tax redistribution

HAMILTON — During its Monday, Dec. 1, meeting, the Hamilton City Council unanimously passed a resolution in favor of being included in the unified filing against the Simplified Sellers Use Tax Lawsuit.
The resolution will state that Hamilton (and other local governments across the state) do not share the same position as the larger municipalities and oppose joining them in their lawsuit.
City attorney Jeremy Streetman explained the SSUT lawsuit is being filed by the City of Tuscaloosa, the City of Mountain Brook and a school district, among others.
“The SSUT is a flat 8 percent sales tax for online purchases,” Streetman explained. “That money is restructured throughout the state. Hamilton, along with a lot of local governments and rural counties, gets tax revenue from that.”
Some of the council mentioned the bigger cities want the online tax monies for themselves instead of the funds being distributed throughout the smaller cities and towns.
“The judge has left the lawsuit open for 30 days to see if any interested parties want to intervene,” Streetman said. “The Alabama County Commission Association has allowed resolutions to be passed by city governments and counties.”
Streetman noted every county has joined the lawsuit opposing this.
“The association has a standard resolution we can use, and joining the lawsuit will be no cost to the city,” Streetman said. “We’ll be joining on the side of the Alabama County Commission Association.”
In other city business on Dec. 1, the council:
• Approved a recommendation to allow city employees to use one of their vacation days to be off on Friday, Dec. 26. Mayor Tami Lewis Williams explained the city recognizes Wednesday, Dec. 24, and Thursday, Dec. 25, as paid holidays for full time employees. To be off on Friday Dec. 26, employees will have to use one of their personal vacation days.  
• Tabled a recommendation to renew the city’s membership with the C3 of Northwest Alabama Economic Development Alliance for their services of promoting local economic development. Dues for this membership are $25,000 annually, paid from the city’s general fund.
The council will spend some time reviewing C3’s services, possibly during a work session, and revisit the situation in the future. Most recently, C3 helped Hamilton obtain a nearly $1.5 million Growing Alabama grant to create two spec pads at its I-22 Industrial Park.
• Approved Porter-Higginbotham Engineering Inc. of Tuscaloosa to perform the inspection and certification of four bridges within the city limits for the price of $2,550. Williams explained the city has to have the bridges inspected every two years, with an inspection due in 2026.
• Appointed several members to the city’s zoning board, including Hunter Fikes, Phillip Pugh, Clement Sink, Steve Davis and Emily Peterson. The mayor noted these are three year appointments.
• Approved the hiring of Cody Holland as an APOST-Certified Law Enforcement Officer for the Hamilton Police Department. His official date of hire will be decided after he works out a notice with his current employer. Police chief Jordan Carter explained he is not adding staff, but filling a vacancy left by another officer leaving the department.
• Approved a recommendation to post and start accepting applications for the position of a meter reader for the Hamilton Water Department.  The mayor said this would be to fill a position and not create a new one.  Also noted was that a Grade I Water Operator Certification is preferred. The deadline for applications was set for Friday, Dec. 12,  before 5 p.m.
Regarding the certification preference, the mayor noted the water department has a limited staff, so having an employee trained in another area would be beneficial to the  department and the city.
Immediately after the meeting, Hamilton Area Chamber of Commerce Board Member and City Councilor Candace Ingram presented a plaque and a name plate to the mayor.
Williams, who recently resigned from the chamber board, noted she had enjoyed serving on the board and is excited for the chamber and its current and future efforts on behalf of the city, but she feels the need to focus her energies on her mayoral duties at this time.