Commissioner concerned over tobacco money

Cleburne County Commissioner Emmett Owen said in an interview Tuesday morning that he is concerned about how tobacco tax money is being used in the county.

Owen told The Cleburne News that since its’ inception some $600-$700,000 has been collected, all of which has been used on road projects including maintenance and resurfacing.

As he sees it, the money should be going to economic development and expansion of parks and recreational programs. “I am not against the money being spent, I am just against what it is being used for,” he said.

According to Section 45-15-243.04 of the bill establishing the tobacco tax, the funds “shall be distributed to the Cleburne County General Fund to be expended for the purposes of economic development, the development of parks and other recreational programs and facilities, and for the promulgation of public health programs and facilities.”

“No where in that do I see where we need to be maintaining or resurfacing roads with that money,” Owen said.

He apparently is not the first to be concerned because the Attorney General was asked for an opinion in May 2009 “Does the provision in Section 5 of Act 2003-323 authorizing the county commission to expend the proceeds of an additional tobacco tax for economic development, among other things, authorize the county commission to expend the funds for transportation infrastructure, maintenance, and improvement?

And a second question asked, “Assuming the answer to Question 1 is yes, if the county commission opts to expend proceeds of the tobacco tax for transportation infrastructure, maintenance, and development, must the county commission identify a specific, delineated, economically sensitive development purpose for expending the funds, or may the county commission treat general transportation infrastructure, maintenance, and improvement as economic development use because such transportation infrastructure, maintenance, and improvement serves as a primary stimulus for all economic development?”

The Attorney General, Troy King at that time, responded by saying that in his opinion the act “does not specifically authorize the county commission to use the tobacco tax funds for transportation, infrastructure, maintenance, and improvement in the county” and “the term ‘economic development’ is not defined in the act, and there is no general definition of the term found in the Code of Alabama, Thus, the term must be given its commonly accepted meaning. . . .This Office has recognized that an economic development project may include transportation infrastructure, maintenance and improvement.”

The AG further states that it is his opinion “that the term ‘economic development’ includes transportation infrastructure, maintenance, and improvement” and that use of such funds “must be related to economic development.”

The opinion further states, “the act requires the county commission to find that a particular expenditure for transportation infrastructure, maintenance, or improvement serves an economic development purpose” and the commission “must make a determination that the expenditure for a particular road will serve to enhance or stimulate economic development in a specified area.”

Owen said he opposed bringing up a resolution for adoption in Monday afternoon’s commission meeting because he feels the tobacco tax money should be distributed more equally among the districts and used for what he feels should be as set out in the original law and not for road maintenance.

The resolution needed full support of the commissioners to be considered and Owen opposed it.

The resolution stated, in part, that the county has “authorization due to an Attorney General’s Opinion to apply proceeds from the existing tobacco tax to economically sensitive county road infrastructure within the county”

Owen said anyone can get an AG opinion and he feels a final decision should be left up to a judge to rule on the issue. The resolution seeks to use $100,000 of the tobacco tax proceeds in FY 2011 to improve county roads 11, 49 and 65 due to their use by heavy trucks and equipment serving the timber, construction and agriculture industries hauling timber, baby chickens, poultry, hay, livestock feed, commercial nursery plants and a winery.

“As far as I know none of the tobacco tax money has ever been spent in Districts 1 and 2 and certainly not on any new projects,” Owen added.

Owen noted that the Cleburne County Chamber of Commerce hopes to get $10,000 next year from the commission. “That is really a small amount of money and they can’t even expect much out of us while all this money is being spent on road maintenance. I don’t think it is right,” he said.

Following the commission meeting Monday night, Owen said he attended a meeting of the chamber where he also voiced his concerns over how the money is being used.

Cleburne County Commission Ex-Officio Chairman Ryan Robertson said the matter could come up for a vote at a future commission meeting.

Read more: Cleburne News - Commissioner concerned over tobacco money.

Buy discount cigarettes from Europe. A lot of your favorite brands.