Following the unanimous opinion of the Alabama Supreme Court in the Jefferson County occupational tax case, many questions remain.  First, how much money is due to be refunded to the taxpayers of the County and how much is in the escrow account?  Those questions should be answered by the end of September, when interim Finance Director Travis Hulsey will be required to answer questions regarding the tax proceeds received since the January 12, 2009 Order declaring the old occupational tax invalid.  Mr. Hulsey will also have to account for the sums spent during the stay the trial court granted while the Alabama Legislature was in session this past spring.

Another question is how relief will come to the taxpayers?  Information about who paid the tax and how much each person paid will not be available until employers in Jefferson County prepare W-2 forms in January of 2010.  At that time, a comprehensive list of who is entitled to a refund will be available. How the refunds will happen is an issue currently before the parties and the Court.  There is a sum of money in the escrow account.  There is also a sum that will need to be repaid to the escrow account.  We are confident that an appropriate remedy for the taxpayers will be implemented by the Court, and when the details of that plan are finalized, we will make that information immediately available.

For now, the County appears to have backed off its legally unsupportable position that it is entitled to the money in the escrow account.  With a bridge loan from Regions Bank, which appears to be for the same amount that counsel for the County have indicated is in the escrow account, the County seems to be taking the position that there is no urgency in resolving the escrow account.  While the County has not yet made a proposal for adequate distribution of the refunds owed, we will hold their feet to the fire and move forward with all due diligence in getting a plan in place for providing the Court ordered remedy to the taxpayers of Jefferson County.

What the County has done since the bridge loan became public is file an application for rehearing before the Alabama Supreme Court to challenge the unanimous 43 page opinion entered by the Court.  While procedurally permissible, the filing gives the appearance that the County intends to stretch this process out even longer, with the possibility of filing a petition to the United States Supreme Court to review certain portions of the Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling.  While such a petition is highly unlikely to be granted, the strategy being followed by the County is legal and within the applicable rules of the Courts.  We will continue to zealously advocate the position of the taxpayers of Jefferson County at each step and will work diligently to defeat these attempts to delay the provision of relief to the taxpayers.

For now, we hope the County will do the right thing and work with us quickly to establish a mechanism that the Court will accept to provide refunds.  We also hope the County Commission will do what the right thing and bring its furloughed employees back to work.  The County chose not to secure the escrow account and access funds to prevent the furloughs.  Hopefully, the County Commission has heard the voice of the people and will now demonstrate responsible leadership in bringing those workers back and begin moving the County towards a sustainable financial footing.