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Thursday, September 2, 2010
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Carlisle group not wanting to be a town
Published October 20, 2009
A band of citizens in the Carlisle community is circulating a petition, countering another group’s effort to incorporate the area into a town.
Cindy Wiggins, chairwoman of Community Action Group, said she is organizing citizens to prevent Carlisle from incorporating.
“I think it’ll put more taxes on the people of our community if we incorporate,” Wiggins said. “The economic times are unstable right now. I don’t believe we have enough money to run a municipality at this time. The way the economy is I feel like we would be jeopardizing our community.”
Another group of citizens, led by Creative Marble owner Dewayne Bickerstaff, has hired Gadsden attorney Josh Sullivan to move forward with the incorporation process.
The group plans to file a petition with the probate judge. The petition needs 45 signatures from qualified electors, which is 15 percent of the minimum 300 people to incorporate as a town. Bickerstaff said more than 45 have already signed the petition.
The pro-incorporation group wants to keep as many Carlisle tax dollars in Carlisle instead of sending some to the city of Boaz. When the Boaz annexation of Mountainboro became official Aug. 14, the city’s 3-mile police jurisdiction extended further south to include Carlisle.
The move meant businesses in Carlisle had to purchase licenses from Boaz at half the normal cost to operate. Boaz will also collect half the sales and use taxes, or 1 percent, from Carlisle businesses.
“Them hiring an attorney upset a lot of people,” Wiggins said, referring to the Bickerstaff group. “We don’t even know the boundaries. We live in the country and that’s where we want to stay. I’ve lived here with the Boaz name on my address for 25 years. What’s the big deal?”
Wiggins is glad to be in Boaz police jurisdiction.
“I think it’s a definite benefit,” she said. “If I were a business owner, I would be glad there was a police station close by. I live on 431 and drive back and forth to Albertville. I see them patrol all the time. In this day and time, I would think an extra set of eyes would be beneficial.
“It’s not like they have to pay hundreds and hundreds of dollars for a business license.”
Wiggins is also concerned about Carlisle taking financial responsibility for road maintenance if it incorporates. She said her community should look at the former town of Mountainboro’s fiscal situation as an example of how expensive running a government is.
“Etowah County has paved several roads for us in the last two years,” she said. “If we were a city, we’d have to take that up. I think there are a lot of things they’re not considering.”
Wiggins said she doesn’t understand the pro-incorporation group’s dislike of Boaz, noting the Boaz Water and Sewer Board helped “us out of a terrible situation with our water. Our grandchildren would have paid for that. Nobody’s had those kind of water bills since Boaz took us over.”
Bickerstaff said the Wiggins action group would not affect pro-incorporation efforts. He said Mountainboro did not have the financial problems as she believes.
Boaz City Clerk/Treasurer Jill Bright said the city received about $86,300 from Mountainboro.
“Most of the money we got was in restricted funds, such as gas and capital improvements,” Bright said. “The restricted money will be spent in the Mountainboro area.”
Bickerstaff said Wiggins’ efforts are unnecesary.
“What she’s doing is just a waste of time, effort and money,” Bickerstaff said. “It doesn’t accomplish anything. If she doesn’t want to have Carlisle incorporated, just vote not to incorporate. It’s real simple.
“If she’d rather give tax money to Boaz rather than her own community, it’s her choice. I don’t understand it but it’s her choice.”
Bickerstaff said while the pro group already has the required number of signatures to submit to a probate judge and call for an election, “we’re not in that big of a hurry.”
Bickerstaff said his accountant discovered a loophole and now he pays his business use tax to Marietta, Ga., where his courier picks up supplies.
“I got out of paying my money to Boaz,” he said. “The state of Alabama ought to know if they’re going to do stuff like this, there are ways around it.”
Wiggins said her anti-incorporation group intends to get as many signatures as the pro side, saying it also has more than 45.
“We are counting on enough names to keep the taxpayers from having to pay to get this resolved,” she said. “We don’t want to have to have a vote on incorporating because that costs the taxpayers money.”
Contact Wiggins at 593-4222 for information on Community Action Group.
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