DevLee

Auburn, Ala. – The Auburn City Council will consider three ordinances authorizing the Lee County Revenue Commissioner to assess and collect City ad valorem (property) taxes at its Tuesday, April 21 meeting. These ordinances do not authorize a new tax or a tax increase, but instead authorize the assessment and collection of existing taxes. The City Council must authorize the County Revenue Commissioner to assess and collect the property taxes annually. Auburn’s property taxes total 26 mills and break down as follows:

5 mills – General Fund
5 mills – Special Five Mill Tax Fund
5 mills – Special Additional School Tax Fund
11 mills – Special School Tax Fund

Of the 26 mills assessed to Auburn property owners, 16 mills are legally restricted and must be used for education purposes, specifically to pay debt service on school debt or provide funds for school operations. The remaining 10 mills are split between the City of Auburn’s General Fund and the Special Five Mill Tax Fund. Revenue from the City’s General Fund provides monies for paving and maintaining roads; public safety services, such as police and fire protection; and community events such as the Annual Easter Egg Hunt, Bike Bash, and CityFest. General Fund revenues also provide infrastructure improvements such as traffic signals and bridges, new bike paths and sidewalks, and public safety facilities, such as fire stations. In addition to providing public services through its General Fund, the Auburn City Council appropriates funds to Auburn City Schools directly from the General Fund. The City Council has allocated $6,988,003 to Auburn’s school system for Fiscal Year 2009.

The City of Auburn utilizes a Special Five Mill Tax Fund for debt repayment on capital projects. All projects must be approved by Auburn voters. In January, Auburn citizens voted to use revenue from the Special Five Mill Tax Fund for $9 million in public works projects, including the Donahue Drive – Magnolia Avenue intersection improvements and the Frank Brown Recreation Center renovations. A complete list of projects is available online at www.auburnalabama.org/5mill. Previous Five Mill projects include the City of Auburn/Auburn University Yarbrough Tennis Center, the Auburn Public Library expansion, the Auburn Soccer Complex, Town Creek Park, and Town Creek Cemetery.

For more information, please contact Auburn City Hall at 501-7260.

SOURCE: Auburn City Press Release

Meter-Free Parking Available During AU Spring Break

Auburn, Ala. – The City of Auburn would like to remind citizens to ShopAuburn this spring and keep your sales tax dollars local. Meter-free parking will be available downtown March 16 – 20. Citizens are invited to shop downtown and take advantage of the new metered spaces available on the first floor of the Auburn Municipal Parking Deck, located off Tichenor Avenue between College Street and Gay Street.

Auburn’s sales tax revenue supports Auburn City Schools; provides for infrastructure improvements such as the Samford Avenue Extension; supports public services such as police and fire protection; provides for the maintenance and paving of roads; and helps sponsor community events such as the Annual Easter Egg Hunt, Auburn CityFest, and Bike Bash. For more information, please contact the City of Auburn Finance Department at 501-7220 or visit www.auburnalabama.org/fi.