SPANISH FORT, Ala. — Careful planning and three consecutive years of conservative budgeting leave the city of Spanish Fort poised for a financially promising 2011.

“There’s some hope out there, and I’m really upbeat about it,” said Mayor Joe Bonner, discussing the city’s strong financial performance in 2010 despite a national economic recession and the four-month BP oil spill.

Indeed, the $6.16 million operating budget for fiscal year 2011 is the largest in the city’s history.

There’s no question, Bonner said, that the oil spill resulting from the April 20 explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig wreaked economic and environmental havoc across the five Gulf States.

But the spill’s measurable impact on the city of Spanish Fort was mild, contrasted with its Baldwin County neighbors to the south.

“If I could have put a number on that I would have filed a claim with BP,” Bonner said, noting the cities of Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and even Foley have the numbers and documentation to justify legitimate claims with the London-based oil giant deemed responsible for the spill.

Of course, rental taxes — those most closely tied to disrupted summer travel — totaled only about…

Editor's Note: This is part of The Bulletin's special "Mayors look toward" 2011 feature that will appear in the Dec. 29 edition of The Bulletin.

Read the rest of the story (including Daphne Mayor Fred Small's take on the Jubilee City in 2011 — in that edition of the newspaper.