Anniston expecting $300,000 in new revenue

Anniston city officials say they expect to collect around $300,000 in new business license revenue this year after increasing the rates two months ago.

Anniston businesses have through Jan. 31 to pay the new business license fees or face penalties. City Manager Brian Johnson said the extra license fee money has already been allocated to help pay for road improvement projects this year, including repaving Greenbrier Dear Road. After this year, the money will be used at the council's discretion.

The city is in need of extra revenue sources. The council's 2015 budget contains cuts to nearly every department due to declines in sales tax money. Along with new tax sources like increased business license fees, the city also recently hired an economic developer to help lure in more business to increase sales taxes.

According to city figures, Anniston has approximately 3,000 business license accounts, 64 percent of which are experiencing rate increases. Businesses will see an average increase of $211 per year. The figures also show that one third of the city’s businesses will see no rate increase from the changes. The fees, which are now based on a business' percentage of gross receipts as opposed to being flat rates, were adjusted to be more in line with other similarly-sized municipalities around the state.