COLONY, Ala. – The Colony Town Council on Tuesday night approved the creation of bank accounts to receive funds from the new state gasoline and diesel fuel taxes, a few days before the deadline for doing so. According to a handout from the Alabama League of Municipalities (ALM) on the Rebuild Alabama Act (RAA) that was distributed at the meeting, the Town had until Aug. 31 to submit its plan for use of the funds generated by the taxes.
Under the RAA, these gas and diesel tax revenues can only be used for transportation infrastructure including:
- maintenance, improvement, replacement and construction of roads and bridges
- matching funds for federal road or bridge projects
- debt repayment for road or bridge projects
- joint road or bridge projects with other municipalities or counties
The funds cannot be used for salaries, any kind of employee compensation, equipment, vehicles or buildings.
Colony’s resolution, based on one recently adopted in Holly Pond, named specific roads in the town which could receive RAA project funds:
- Church Street
- Colony Road
- Green Street
- Johnson Circle
- Twitty Lane
- Ward Hill Road
- Wooley Road
According to ALM, each town will receive a fixed amount of approximately $14,109 plus an additional amount prorated based on town populations.
The council went into executive session before discussing its agenda items, and returned to approve a motion to remove from the agenda an item concerning the possible mishandling of funds being deposited to and withdrawn from the Town’s existing seven-cent gas tax revenue account. No public discussion of the matter took place.
The Colony Town Council meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month at 6 p.m. at Colony Town Hall, with work session at 5. The public is invited to attend.
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