The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-01-29
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Commission Will Pass $5 Street Tax Ordinance at Next Tuesdays
 Meeting

It was practically decided yesterday by the city commissioners. over the ob- jecton of MT. Barber. that at next Tuesdays meeting of the board the ordi- nance to impose a tax of $5 on all per sons who are not at the present time paying any revenue whatever to the city or county will be passed.
 The first draft of the proposed ordi- nance without any amendments and the way in which it will in all probability become a law follows:
 An Ordinance to be Entitled An Ordi-
 nance Making It the Duty of Certain
 Male Inhabitants to Work Upon the
 Streets of the City or to Pay in Lieu
 Thereof the Sum of Five Dollars.
 Be it ordained, by the commission of the city of Birmingham IS follows:
 Section i. That all male inhabitants who have resided in the city of Bir- mingham for 10 days, or more and who are between the ages of IS and 45 years, shall work upon the streets of Bir- mingham for five days each year under the direction of the street commissioner of said city. Provided, however, that any person who assesses and pays state, county and city taxes in this city on real or personal property, or both, amount ing in the aggregate to five dollars ($5) or more, for the current year, and any person who pays license tax to the city of Birmingham for the current year. amounting to five dollars (s5), or more and any person who shall have paid a poll tax in Jefferson county for the current year shall not be liable to street duty under this ordinance nor shall any person be liable to street duty under this ordinance who by nature or disease Is rendered inca pablo of hard labor, who shall procure a certificate of such incapacity from the city physician, or who has lost an arm or leg.
 Sec. 2. It shall be the duty of the city comptroller or his assistant, or any persons designated by said city comp troller, to give three days notice to all persons liable under section l of this ordinance to work on the streets of Birmin gham, to appear at such time and place as the city comptroller shall designate with such tools as may be directed The notice herein provided for shall be given in person or in writing and may be left at the residence or place of business of the person notified, or may be given by mail. addressed to the residence or place of business of the person notified. It shall be the duty of the person served with notice to work on the streets, to appear at the time and place designated and with the tools directed in such notice and to work the streets of the city of Bir- mingham for five days, under the direc- tion of the street commissioner, and any person failing in such duty shall on conviction be fined not less than $5 nor more than S100.
 "Sec. B Each person required to work as provided by this ordiance may relieve himself from so working the streets of the city of Birmingham by paying to the city comptroller the sum of five dollars ($5) for the support of the streets"
 While it will be called "a street tax as is necessary under the law, it is explained that the sum collected under this proposed ordi- nance will be deducted from the street department and transferred to the school department. The commissioners are frank in their statement that this tax is imposed only because of the fact that the city lacks the revenue to op- crate the schools the full year.
 Another feature about the proposed tax as viewed yesterday by the commits sioners is that it will make voters. There are hundreds of persons now in Birming gham who will not pay their poll taxes and therefore do not vote. These persons, it is stated, are always making the most noise about the lack of good government and it is felt that they will prefer paying s1.50 poll tax and get ting a vote than to pay the city of Birmingham $5 and be without suf- fraSe