SPANISH FORT, Ala.—The City Council could consider as early as Aug. 1 a resolution authorizing RDS/Alatax Inc. to handle the collection of the city’s sales, use, rental and other taxes deemed applicable.

City Clerk Mary Lynn Williams said all options were explored before pursuing the agreement with RDS, delivered as a first reading during the July 22 council meeting.

Specifically, Williams said she had a sit-down meeting with officials from the Alabama Department of Revenue through which she determined state services would cost almost three times as much per transaction as RDS. The city completes an estimated 1,200 transactions per month.

Williams said she also considered outsourcing the services to another private company located in north Alabama, but that firm she determined specializes in municipalities smaller than Spanish Fort.

The third alternative would be for the city to assume in-house responsibility for tax collections. Such a step would require the purchase of specialized software and the hiring of a minimum of two full-time collectors, one of whom must be a certified examiner.

"I didn’t think that would be cost-effective at this time," Williams told the council.