A Mobile County Commissioner has asked the county attorney to report on the county's legal options, should the city continue not to pay rent on its space in Government Plaza.
A long-simmering city-county dispute involving tax collection and Government Plaza rent came to light last Thursday, as the County Commission met to for discussion of the agenda items it voted on at its Monday meeting. On Thursday, District 2 Commissioner Connie Hudson complained that the situation was hampering development of next year's county budget and could jeopardize spending on raises and other planned actions.
At the time, response from Hudson's fellow commissioners was muted. District 1 Commissioner Merceria Ludgood said she'd been under the impression the city intended to pay its rent, but was having trouble figuring out how much it owed. (In January, the city's revenue department switched over to a new computer system and encountered teething problems, particularly with an arrangement under which the city collects some county taxes. The city's finance director, Paul Wesch, said Friday that after months of work, those problems were nearly solved.)
But on Monday, Ludgood said she'd learned from a media report that the city had made a deliberate decision to stop rent payments, in order to force a resolution of an ongoing dispute.
"Apparently that is the city's position," Ludgood said. "It is unfortunate that it was communicated to us in that way. Of course, from a legal position, that's not something that the county can accept."
Ludgood said she felt "personally betrayed."
"I think we're left with no option but to look at what the county's recourse is in this event," she said. She asked County Attorney Jay Ross to "explore and report back to the commission as to what you think our legal remedies are in this instance."
Ludgood did say after the meeting that she was open to the idea that the city might pay reduced rent, based on its declining commission from tax collections that it handles on behalf of the county. That revenue used to more than pay the rent, and no longer does; the city argues that the rent payment should go down with the revenue.
Afterward, District 3 Commissioner Jerry Carl questioned Hudson's decision to air out her grievance on the verge of the city's Aug. 22 municipal elections. Until the election is over, he said, "We just need to stay out of the way of everything and let the process work."
Hudson, who was traveling on Monday and not at the meeting, previously said that her timing was motivated by budgetary concerns, not the municipal election.
To an extent, Carl seems likely to get his wish, given that the Commission won't meet again until after the election.