Election Information

• What will we look like in 20 years if we do nothing different? What are our opportunities to do new things in new ways for added economic impact?
• Spearheading 20-year regional visioning effort – LAUNCH 2035 – with business leaders in Limestone, Madison, Morgan counties
• Hired Civic Analytics of Austin and EntreWorks of Arlington as consultants
• Raised $107,500 from private sector for Phases 1 and 2.
• Recruited 25-member Leadership Team
• Three task forces formed: 1) Entrepreneurship, 2) Land Use Planning, 3) Workforce Development
• Hired Red Sage Communications of Decatur to produce logo, website

• We believe the steps taken to earn Unitary Status will provide enhanced opportunities for academic excellence to all students in Huntsville City Schools.
• We believe the HCS/DOJ Consent Order offers a clear roadmap to earning Unitary Status which will benefit our local education system.
• We salute Huntsville City Schools leadership for its hard work in achieving this agreement and their continued efforts to earn Unitary Status.

• Only 2 states allow elected superintendents — Alabama and Florida.
• Of 15,000 superintendents in U.S., less than 100 are elected
• Elected superintendents can’t be removed for failure in performance until next election
• Elected comes from limited pool w/low qualifications
• High-quality education begins with high-quality leadership – Superintendent & Board
• An appointed Superintendent is selected from the most qualified in the U.S. and is held accountable by an elected school board and public
• The Board of Education sets the vision and they and the Superintendent work as a team
• Next Madison County Superintendent election in 2018

• Several ad valorem taxes, providing over $58 million in annual funding of the Huntsville, Madison, and Madison County Schools, were scheduled to expire in December of 2017.
• The general election ballot on December 12, 2017  included a referendum on the renewal of six different City and County property taxes, which are dedicated to supporting local schools – 16 mills for Huntsville, 9.5 mills for the city of Madison, and 9.5 mills for Madison County.
• Property taxes are levied against the ‘assessed value’ of property – homeowner’s rate is 10% of value; business’ rate is 20% of value.
• Alabama has the lowest property taxes in the U.S.  Average Alabama property taxes are $523/year and the U.S. average is$1,400/year.
• None of the taxes on the ballot were new taxes.
• The referendum passed with over 70% vote for all three systems.

• Grants certain powers held by legislature to county commissions – 1) Economic development; 2) Services including planning, zoning, sewer, fire protection, etc; 3) Taxation
• Madison County has only economic development authority
• Baldwin & Shelby Counties have full home rule
• Madison County becoming more urban
• Master planning for growth not allowed
• Property values not protected due to lack of zoning
• Metro land use planning with cities not possible
• High-density neighborhoods need sewer option
• High-density neighborhoods need full-time fire department – would offer insurance reductions
• May include taxing power by vote or referendum

• We support a pro-business climate as critical to our continued economic growth and are opposed to the formation of unions.
• We discourage elected leaders from agreeing to the demands of public employee unions.
• We support a state constitutional amendment on right to work. This would make us one of 10 states in the country to make right to work this high-level priority and make it more difficult to overturn in the future. It will give us a leg-up in economic development and we urge you to vote YES on this in November.

Huntsville:

• Election Information–https://www.huntsvilleal.gov/government/voting-elections/
• Mayor–https://www.huntsvilleal.gov/government/mayors-office/
• City Council–https://www.huntsvilleal.gov/government/city-council/
• School Board–https://www.huntsvillecityschools.org/about/leadership/board-education
• Boards and Commissions–https://www.huntsvilleal.gov/government/city-council/boards-commissions/

Madison: 

• Election Information–https://www.madisonal.gov/198/Elections
• Mayor–https://www.madisonal.gov/172/Mayors-Office
• City Council–https://www.madisonal.gov/217/City-Council
• School Board–https://www.madisoncity.k12.al.us/district
• Boards and Commissions–https://www.madisonal.gov/90/Boards-Committees

Madison County:

• Election Information–https://www.madisoncountyvotes.com/
• County Commission–https://www.madisoncountyal.gov/government/about-your-county
• School Board–https://www.mcssk12.org/Page/165