Mayor Sandy Stimpson announced the final proposed budget for 2019 in the City of Mobile, Ala. on Thursday, which included a projected a $4 million increase in revenues along with a $2 million debt decrease in the city’s financials.
“We have delivered a balanced budget to the Mobile City Council that directs resources to the core functions of city government,” Stimpson said in an e-mail to constituents. “Our efforts to reduce the City’s debt have been rewarded with decreases in overall debt level and annual debt service. Over the past three years, the annual debt service has decreased $2 million. Over the last two years, most of our bond issues have been refinanced to take advantage of lower interest rates and tourism has increased from 3 million visitors to 3.4 million. These are just a couple of the factors that have led to revenue increasing by $4 million.”
In an effort to promote increasing revenues to the city, Stimpson makes his case for taxing e-commerce businesses at the same rate as brick-and-mortar businesses in the final proposed budget.
“If all e-commerce were taxed at the same rate as brick-and-mortar sales, roughly $23 million more in sales taxes would be generated,” he said. “Today, less than one-half of that amount is taxed. Another way of looking at this is that, over a ten year period of time, some $120 million in revenue will disappear even if the level of e-commerce remains flat.”
You are invited to attend a public hearing on Mayor Stimpson’s proposed budget this Tuesday, September 4th at 10:30 am during the regular Council Meeting in the Auditorium at Government Plaza. https://t.co/TxmWO5m6au
— City of Mobile (@City_of_Mobile) August 30, 2018
Where will the money go?
According to the final budget:
- Nearly $52 million in total will be spent on the Mobile Police Department, this includes Field Operations, Investigative Services and Administrative Services.
- Over $15.4 million in total will be spent on public works including street sweeping, trash collection, and storm drain maintenance.
- Build Mobile will get a total of $4.4 million to be used for historic development, planning & zoning, and other Build Mobile services
You can view Stimpson’s full proposed budget here.
