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Coosa County Commission unanimously approves resolution to intervene in SSUT litigation
Summary
On Nov. 18, 2025, the Coosa County Commission voted unanimously to adopt a resolution authorizing the county to intervene as a defendant in litigation over Alabama's Simplified Seller Use Tax (SSUT), citing a court deadline and concern the lawsuit could jeopardize county revenue.
The Coosa County Commission voted unanimously on Nov. 18, 2025, to adopt a resolution directing the county to intervene as a defendant in litigation over Alabama's Simplified Seller Use Tax (SSUT). Commissioner Bertha K. McElrath moved to "approve and adopt the resolution to protect the county's interests by intervening as a defendant in the Simplified Seller Use Tax (SSUT) litigation," and Commissioner John Forbus seconded. The motion passed without recorded opposition.
The resolution cites the Alabama Simplified Seller Use Tax (SSUT) Remittance Act, codified at Section 40-23-191 et seq., Code of Alabama 1975, and recounts that on Aug. 12, 2025 the City of Tuscaloosa, the School District of the City of Tuscaloosa, and the City of Mountain Brook sued Vernon Barnett in his official capacity as Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Revenue. The resolution states the plaintiffs asked the court to disqualify particular business entities from the SSUT program and notes the court set a Nov. 10, 2025 deadline for other parties to file motions to intervene.
The resolution says the SSUT program "has been an essential source of revenue for Coosa County," and asserts that a successful challenge by the plaintiffs could "jeopardize the County's ability to maintain the current level of governmental services it provides to the public." The commission resolved to "take all necessary actions, whether by itself or as part of a joint undertaking, to intervene as a defendant in the SSUT litigation and to protect the County's interests in this critical revenue." The resolution was executed by the commission chair on Nov. 18, 2025.
The minutes record the vote as "unanimously approved." Present and recorded on the roll call were Chair Lamar Daugherty, Vice-Chair Brandon Davis, Commissioner John Forbus and Commissioner Bertha K. McElrath; Commissioner Ronnie Joiner was recorded as not present. The minutes do not name outside counsel, specify a funding source for legal costs, or give a timetable for the county's next procedural steps in the litigation; those details were not specified in the minutes.
The commission's authorization allows county officials to file a motion to intervene in the Circuit Court of Montgomery County case named in the resolution and to participate as a defendant in defense of the SSUT program. No further hearings, filings, or legal outcomes are recorded in these minutes.
