Anniston council to vote on Payday Loan Moritorium

The city of Anniston is considering issuing a moratorium on new payday loan businesses in the city.  During a Monday work session the Anniston City Council discussed placing a 6-month moratorium on new payday loan businesses in the city limits. The moratorium, will give the city time to possibly develop a more permanent way to limit the growth of payday lenders.  Advocacy groups for the poor say Anniston will be the latest in a string of Alabama cities to pass moratoriums on payday lenders, curbing excessive debt for the impoverished and improving economic development. State supporters of payday lenders say such moratoriums are an attack on the free market and limit many residents' ability to obtain needed loans.  City manager Brian Johnson had requested the moratorium to evaluate the council's need to address the concentration of payday lenders in the city. According to city records, there are about 25 payday loan businesses in Anniston, many of which stretch along Quintard Avenue. Johnson said he will get together with the city attorney to determine what the city could do to possibly limit future payday lending growth. He noted that current payday lenders in the city will not be impacted.