Stimpson floats idea of mayoral salary increase, voices concerns about SSUT tax impact

Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson said during the annual State of the City and County program held on Jan. 9 that future mayors should be compensated accordingly because of the complexities of the job.

During his segment of the program, which was moderated by Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce President Bradley Byrne, Stimpson reversed an earlier stance on the mayor’s salary, saying that whoever seeks the job as mayor in the future should be compensated accordingly.

Currently, the mayor’s salary is $140,000 a year, and Stimpson said it should be higher.

“In 1985, the (mayor’s) salary was $60,000,” he said. “That’s equivalent to $190,000 today; I make $125,000, and because I sold a business that I was involved with for 40 years, I was able to do that. But you can’t expect somebody to operate a $5 billion business and pay them $125,000. It probably won’t impact this mayor’s race, but it could impact future mayor’s races. What I’m hoping is that it broadens the talent pool; that’s the bottom line.”

When asked if he would receive public backlash on his change on the mayor’s salary, Stimpson said, “You have some mayors in cities that have a city manager. That city manager tends to all the day to day stuff. In the city of Mobile, the mayor is the city manager as well as the mayor. I think we can make a case, and when we get some more information, we’ll share with the city council as to why we should do that.

“At the minimum, in dollars now, should be $190,000. That’s not my specific proposal.”

Stimpson said he plans to bring the proposal to the city council in the next week or so.

Another concern Stimpson had was about the Simplified Sellers Use Tax (SSUT), known as the eight percent tax, which allows eligible sellers to participate in a program to collect, report, and remit a flat eight percent sellers use tax on all sales made into Alabama.

An eligible seller is one that sells tangible personal property or a service into the state of Alabama from an inventory or location outside the state but does not have a physical presence in the state of Alabama and who is not otherwise required by Sections 41-4-142 or 40-23-190, Code of Alabama 1975, to collect tax on sales made into the state.

While the SSUT has been helpful for counties, particularly Mobile County, Stimpson said Mobile and other major cities in the state, along with small businesses, have been losing out on revenue.

“I get it, the General Fund is flush and the counties are getting more money,” he said. “But it’s to the detriment of the major cities and the detriment of the mom-and-pop stores. What we’re doing is giving Amazon and all of the out of state businesses a tax cut. When you look around at the mom-and-pop stores that have been shuttered, and they can’t compete with an Amazon.

“My fear is that you’ll see more mom-and-pop stores shuttered, and you’ll see more of the big box retailers. Amazon is using our roadways; they’re using our fire department and everything to take care of them.”

While Stimpson, along with other mayors in Alabama’s largest cities, hope to push for an alternative, commissioners Randall Duiett and Connie Hudson have mixed reactions.

“If that’s what the Big 10 mayors want to do, then they can expect a fight from the county,” said Dueitt. “They can expect a fight from the Association of County Commissioners of Alabama, and Sonny Brasfield (ACCA executive director). I have all the faith in the world; that’s our platform. We’re not going to back off from that money; we’re not going to let these Big 10 cities come in and take money that’s coming to the county.

“That’s not against the mayor, that’s just letting you know that we’re not going to back down from a fight on that.”

“I think the way it has been structured so far, everyone was agreeable to it,” said Commissioner Connie Hudson, who recently announced she was running for mayor of Mobile. “I don’t know if we need to have additional discussions between the ACCA and the League of Municipalities to determine if there’s another way to go.

“I will say the way the money is distributed the county does spend a great deal of money throughout the county and the municipalities, on education, all that funding that affects everybody. So, we’re all in this together, and we’ve got to figure out a way; it just can’t be like a family fight. It’s all to the benefit of our communities and our citizens, and if there’s a better way, I’ll be open to that. I think that if everybody was agreeable who came to the table, it’s a fair distribution.”

Hudson said it was the first time she heard about Stimpson’s complaint.

“It depends on what specifically he’s talking about with funding, because the city gets funding from the county for different projects and a lot of help and resources,” she said. “Of course, we’re big supporters of Pay-As-You-Go, which supports projects in the city. There’s always been a partnership and sharing because we’ve got shared goals.”

As for Stimpson’s proposal to raise the mayor’s salary, Hudson said: “I wouldn’t disagree that it should be raised to a nominal degree, but city officials do not get raises if there’s a cost-of-living raise. I think you have to be careful that you don’t increase it so much so citizens wonder what is the motivation of the person whose serving in that office.

“For me, whether it increases or whether it stays, I’m committed to moving forward because I want to be of service to the citizens, and that’s what I’m about. If they’re trying to attract somebody who is giving up a job, that’s a different perspective.”

Courtesy of Call News.