Dozens of Alabama cities will decide if they want to rescind their police jurisdictions after not complying with a 2021 revenue reporting law.
Eliminating the zones around cities’ corporate limits, and the services provided within them, will impact county governments. But exactly what that will look like varies by community.
“This is an evolving situation,” said Sonny Brasfield, executive director of the Association of County Commissions of Alabama.
Alabama Daily News reported Tuesday that 128 Alabama towns and cities will soon have to stop collecting taxes and fees in the police jurisdictions around their boundaries after failing to comply with a two-year-old law.
The law to restrict police jurisdictions’ growth said that by the end of 2021, municipalities had to notify the state Examiners of Public Accounts that they collect licensing fees and taxes within the jurisdictions outside their corporate limits. Starting in March of 2022, the cities were to report annually fee and tax revenue collected within the police jurisdictions and the services provided in exchange, including police protection. They were given 12 months to provide those reports. Those that did not “may not collect any further license revenue or any other taxes or fees in the police jurisdiction outside the corporate limits.”
It is expected that if they can’t collect tax and fee revenue in the one-and-a-half mile or three-mile borders around their corporate limits, at least some will stop providing services within them, including police protection.
“Is it going to have an impact on counties? I don’t think there is any question that it will,” said Brasfield, who supported the 2021 legislation.
“Our organization has long been concerned with cities exercising powers outside their boundaries,” Brasfield said.
But as far as county sheriffs having to patrol areas that were previously city police jurisdictions, Brasfield said in many rural areas and small towns, that was already happening.
“Many don’t have a police force anyway and the sheriff’s departments are already patrolling those areas anyway,” Brasfield said.
If cities that do have police forces decide to eliminate the zones, discussions will occur with county officials about taking over those areas.
“City police officers and sheriff’s deputies rely on each other every day,” Brasfield said. “(In emergencies) there is no imaginary line in the dirt.”
State law lays out the process for municipalities to eliminate their police jurisdictions and alert county officials. It also says cities and their employees aren’t liable for an elimination of a police jurisdiction or elimination of any service within the jurisdiction.
Sen. Chris Elliott, the 2021 bill sponsor and former Baldwin County Commission member, said municipalities have always had the ability to end or reduce their police jurisdictions — and counties have always had to have a plan to pick up the service slack if needed.
“This is a municipal action — they’ve always had the authority to rescind their police jurisdiction and there is a significant notice requirement that will let the county know …” Elliott, R-Josephine, said.
“… The counties will have time, including a budget cycle to staff up and make changes necessary, if they’re necessary, for the sheriff to take over in that area.”
Depending on the town and the fees and taxes collected in the jurisdictions, not complying with the law could mean losses of upward of $1 million.
Elliott has argued that police jurisdictions, where residents and businesses pay a reduced tax for some city services, is taxation without representation.
“I think this is one of the most significant tax cuts we’ve done,” Elliott said. “Think about all the uncollected sales taxes, the business and license fees, this is a huge tax cut.”
As for what’s next for some of the police jurisdictions, city and county leaders will work that out, Brasfield said.
“We’ll see how this shakes out and there is time for that,” he said.