Growing the City of Mobile

Q: How do I know if I joined the City of Mobile?

You can use the City of Mobile’s “My Place” tool to search your address and see whether your property is within the newly expanded city limits. If your address does fall within the city limits, you will also see additional information about city services and your representation in city government. You can find the My Place tool at the following link: https://www.cityofmobile.org/services/mapping/my-place/

Q: Do I get to participate in City of Mobile elections now?

Yes. All registered voters who live within the City of Mobile can participate in the elections for the Mayor of Mobile and the member of the Mobile City Council that represents your respective district. There are seven city council districts in all. You can find information about municipal elections in Mobile at: https://www.cityofmobile.org/government/voting-and-elections/

Q: What City Council District do I live in?

That depends on where you live. Temporarily, all citizens in the newly annexed areas of Mobile will become part of District 6 and District 7. District 6 is represented by Councilman Josh Woods, and Mobilians who live in District 7 are represented by Council Vice President Gina Gregory. The “My Place” tool can tell you which district a specific address is located in, but in general, the Cottage Hill Corridor is now a part of District 6 and the Orchard Estates and Kings Branch areas have become part of District 7.

Q: Will the City of Mobile have to change district lines because of annexation?

Yes. According to the Zoghby Act, which established Mobile’s current form of government, redistricting is required every 10 years following the U.S. Census. However, there are other requirements in state and federal laws that will require Mobile to redistrict to ensure the population of each council district is roughly equal. This will have to happen before the next citywide election, which is scheduled to take place in 2025.

Mayor Sandy Stimpson’s administration is currently working on a draft redistricting plan that will soon be released to the Mobile City Council and members of the public. It will take a supermajority of council members to pass a redistricting plan. Once a redistricting plan has been submitted to the city council, we will share on this webpage.

Q: Will redistricting impact Mobile's black majority?

No. The Stimpson administration has committed to maintaining a black voting age majority across the city and in four of the seven city council districts. This is consistent with the redistricting plan proposed by Mayor Stimpson in 2022 and the plan ultimately adopted by the Mobile City Council.

Q: What kind of police and fire Protection do I receive as a city resident?

The best. The Mobile Police Department is a regional law enforcement leader and benefits from unparalleled corporation with state and federal partners. The Mobile Fire-Rescue Department has an ISO-1 rating that saves residents money on their homeowners insurance. Residents in the newly annexed have already been receiving police and fire protection from the City of Mobile because they lived in Mobile’s extended police jurisdiction. However, by joining the City of Mobile, these areas have ensured that those public safety services cannot be taken away by legislative action in the future. 

Q: Will the City of Mobile provide Emergency Medical Services (EMS)?

Yes. The Mobile Fire-Rescue Department's EMS service began taking calls in the newly annexed areas on the day the election results were certified. MFRD has the fastest response times, the best-trained staff and the most state-of-art equipment in the region and is one of only four nationally accredited EMS services in Alabama and the only fire department with that designation.

Q: Will I receive free Curbside trash and garbage collection?

Yes. As residents of Mobile, those who live in the newly annexed areas will receive free weekly household garbage service and free trash/debris collection (tree limbs, tree/yard debris, discarded furniture, etc.) twice every month. Mobile is the only municipality in the region that does not charge specific trash and garbage fees. You can learn more about those services by clicking here.

Q: When will City of Mobile trash and garbage services begin in my area?

The target date for beginning trash and garbage services in the newly annexed areas is currently Monday, October 2, 2023. The collection of any new sales taxes in the newly annexed areas will not begin until those services are being provided. We will deliver City of Mobile garbage carts to homes in those neighborhoods in September. Residents in those areas will also be receiving additional information from the City of Mobile soon about trash and garbage routes and rules.

View the new garbage and trash pickup routes by clicking here.

Q: How much do City of Mobile garbage carts cost?

Your first City of Mobile garbage cart is provided at no cost. If you wish to add a second garbage cart, you can call Mobile 311 at (251) 208-5311 to purchase a second cart from the City of Mobile at any time. Our staff will deliver your newly purchased garbage can in 3-5 business days. The cost for 96-gallon carts is $85.00- and 64-gallon carts cost $76.00. You can find more information by clicking here.

The City of Mobile can also provide assistance to elderly and disabled residents who cannot get their garbage carts to the roadside. Residents can request special assistance with garbage collection by calling Mobile 311. 

Q: What do I do with my privately owned garbage cart that I will not need anymore?

Many garbage collection services provide garbage carts; if you have questions about what to do with those, please contact your service provider. If you have a privately owned garbage cart and won't need it any longer, we also offer a way to recycle it at no cost. If you're interested in recycling your garbage cart, please click here and fill out this form. Please note that the City will not be picking up garbage until October 2.

Q: What is the difference between trash and garbage in the City of Mobile?

Residential Trash Pickup is defined as tree limbs, tree/yard debris, discarded furniture, and bedding. The City of Mobile's Residential Trash Collection runs every other week service and will collect approved items that you place by the roadside at your home. This is only available to residential properties.

Household Garbage Pickup is defined as bagged household garbage placed in your brown City of Mobile garbage cart. Carts should be placed at the curb by 6 a.m. the morning of your scheduled garbage collection day. In the City of Mobile, Household Garbage is collected once every week.

You can learn more about Residential Trash Pickup and Household Garbage Pickup and view the schedule on our website by clicking here.

Q: What kind of infrastructure improvements can I expect?

In addition to hundreds of millions of dollars in citywide funding, the City of Mobile's CIP program allocates millions of dollars every year to improve roads, parks, and infrastructure in all seven city council districts. These dollars fund park upgrades, new sidewalks, road resurfacing projects, and numerous other projects prioritized by each city council member.

Residents in the newly annexed areas now have a representative on the Mobile City Council who will work with the administration to allocate millions of dollars in CIP funding in their district annually. As constituents, you will have a voice in how those dollars could best benefit your neighborhoods.

Q: How does joining the City of Mobile impact my property taxes?

The City of Mobile directly receives a 7-mil property tax from residents that live within the City Limits, The City of Mobile also has an additional 8-mil educational Ad Valorem (property) tax that goes directly to local public schools and doesn't provide any revenue to the City of Mobile. That means the total millage rate for the City of Mobile is 15. For residents in the newly annexed areas, these new property taxes will not take effect for five years. After five years, the additional millage rate would mean a $150 tax increase for every $100,000 of your property's assessed value. Residents in those areas will see the taxes on their assessments from the Mobile County Revenue Commission for the first time in the Fall of 2029. Revenue Commissioner Kim Hastie has also committed to sending reminders to residents about those tax changes in the years leading up to 2029.

You can find a complete breakdown of the millage rates for county and city residents below:

Q: How does the increase in property taxes impact me financially?

That depends on the value of your home. Based on the average property value, many homeowners will save money because they will no longer be paying for private services they will soon receive from the City of Mobile.

For example, an average private household garbage collection service costs around $360 a year. The City provides that service to Mobile residents once a week for free. The City also provides free roadside trash and debris pickup every other week. If you were to pay a private company to drop off a comparable amount of trash and debris, it would cost you at least $720 a year. Together, that is an average cost of more than $1,000 a year. The savings from those two services alone would offset the property tax increase for most properties worth less than $700,000.

Q: How does joining the City of Mobile impact sales taxes?

That depends on where you shop. Businesses inside the City of Mobile's extended police jurisdiction collect an 8-cent sales tax for every dollar spent there. Inside the City of Mobile, brick-and-mortar stores collect an additional 2 cents. The City of Mobile has total sales tax rate of 10 cents.

The target date for these new sales taxes to take effect is October 2, 2023. We will be sharing more information about these changes with businesses and residents soon.

Q: How does annexation impact my water and sewer services or septic system?

It doesn’t. Joining the City of Mobile will not impact who your water and sewer provider is or whether you are able to use a septic tank on your private property.

Q: Will septic tank users have to pay a sewer fee to MAWSS if they join the City of Mobile?

No. The City of Mobile does not directly oversee the Mobile Area Water and Sewer System. They are a separate entity governed by their own board. MAWSS currently provides water and sewer service outside the city limits, and they will not automatically begin providing service in an area just because it was annexed into the City of Mobile.

If you would like more information about MAWSS usage rates and fees, you can find it by clicking here.

Q: My neighborhood wasn't included in the recent annexation. How can I join the City of Mobile?

Contiguous properties can petition to join the City of Mobile at any time. Annexation by petition requires “all of the owners” of property that is contiguous to the city limits to file a written petition with the city clerk’s office. The term “owners” is defined by the statute to mean “the person in whose name the property is assessed for ad valorem [property] tax purposes in the absence of proof to the contrary.” You can find a blank annexation petition by clicking here. 

Q: Will The Wave Transit Authority operate in the newly annexed areas?

Yes.

WAVE Information for Orchard Estates and Kings Branch corridors:

Current routes:

WAVE Route 1 terminates at the Winn Dixie at the intersection of Zeigler Blvd and Schillinger Road.

Future changes:

To accommodate riders in the newly annexed areas, the WAVE will be modifying its weekday and Saturday outbound routes to provide bus service to the East, including areas along Zeigler Boulevard, Cody Road, and Howells Ferry Road. Mobility Assistance Program (MAP) clients residing more than ¾ of a mile from the route can utilize the Town West Village shopping center (Piggly Wiggly, Gamers N Geeks, US Postal Service, etc.) as a pick-up location.

Timeline:

New bus stop signs have already been installed on the route extension.
Route changes will be effective as of Monday, September 11, 2023.

WAVE information for Cottage Hill corridor:

No changes. The On-Demand Route 19 Schillinger Circulator previously serviced some of this area and was discontinued due to consistently low ridership. Mobility Assistance Program (MAP) clients in this area have previously grandfathered in as needed. For additional information about MAP, contact the WAVE Transit System at (251) 344-6600 ext. 235. 

For additional information:
Call: (25) 344-6600
Email: comments@thewavetransit.com
Visit: www.thewavetransit.com