Demopolis city council places moratorium on tax incentive

In a brief meeting Thursday morning, the Demopolis City Council placed a moratorium on on the current economic sales tax incentive for 120 days.

“What this is about is I’m asking for the council to take the current economic sales tax incentive that we have and allow the new committee on taxation and investment to look at this and, within 120 days, come back and provide us with a plan more fitting to the city,” Demopolis Mayor John Laney explained.

“I’m fine with it if there’s a way that we can more clearly distinguish what we’re trying to do and be more specific about the incentives,” City Councilman Bill Meador added.

The committee will pore over the current sales tax incentive and look to create an alternative with which the council is satisfied.

The council also re-appointed Lyn Foster, Hugh Overmyer and Cobey Rowley to the city’s parks and recreation board after each had their previous term expire in October.

The council approved a special events application from the Demopolis Chamber of Commerce to Alabama Beverage Control that would allow alcohol to be sold during the 2016 Christmas on the River Barbecue Cook-Off.

Laney announced adjustments to the members of the planning commissions that will see Laney and Julius Rembert come off the commission to be replaced by Thomas Bell and Mike Baker.

“I feel if you load up the planning commission with too many city members then by the time that issue gets to the council, it has already been compromised,” Laney said. He went on to express his hope to operate the planning commission and the city council as independent entities and, ideally, prevent the council from ceremonially validating all the planning commission’s proposals.

The council also approved an adjustment that added $120,000 to the general government portion of the budget including the $107,000 the city is required to provide to match a highway improvement grant. Additionally, the city adds $25,000 to the budget of city hall to meet the federal recommendations for overtime.

To open the meeting, Laney read a letter from the Joe Lashley family that expressed gratitude to the Demopolis Police Department for its work in helping to find Lashley when he went missing overnight Oct. 31 into Nov. 1.