Concerns over how Jefferson County would benefit from a potential state gas tax increase dominated the discussion at a town hall Tuesday night in Birmingham hosted by Democratic state legislators that represent the county.
Birmingham resident Tammy Smith said she was worried that the county would get shortchanged.
“This gas tax that [Gov.] Kay Ivey wants … they’re going to get their gas tax and they’re going to leave us out the loop like they do every day,” she told the legislators. This is very unfair. People been left out of the loop for so long in this town. They give us the crumbs.”
Resident Connie Jackson Gaiter had similar worries.
“I’m just concerned that with a gas tax, with all of this revenue flowing in, that we won’t get anything. I have a problem with that because we tend to fall by the wayside,” said Jackson Gaiter, who works with children in suicide prevention. “People tend to think because you’re in an urban county … you can automatically get someplace. I have some clients that can’t even get to treatment because of the buses.”
State Rep. Merika Coleman, D-Birmingham, said there is a divide between rural and urban legislators. Rural lawmakers, who outnumber their urban counterparts, want rural areas to get more tax revenue back than they would put in to a hypothetical increase.
“Those rural legislators want Jefferson County to be a donor county … our citizens don’t get all of that money back,” Coleman said. “The rub right now for many of us on the current gas tax legislation is making sure that Jefferson County gets its fair shake.”
The proposal being considered in Montgomery would allocate the increased revenue to fund infrastructure projects.
More than one resident at the town hall said the increase should also be allocated for public transportation.
“Is there any way that we could get a percentage of that gas tax money to get into public transportation? Because the reality of it is this: We wouldn’t have to pass a gas tax right now had the state of Alabama taken the federal money when it was offered by ex-President Obama to redo our infrastructure,” said the resident, who only identified herself as Anna.
But Coleman said the discussions in Montgomery would dictate that gas tax revenue “can only go to roads and bridges.”
Jefferson County Commissioner Lashunda Scales, who attended the meeting, said the commission is planning to consult with the state House delegation from the county to ensure that the county gets a proportional amount of revenue.
“We have got to intelligently make this gas tax work for us,” she said.