DAPHNE — A proposal to hold a referendum to add a three-mill property tax in Daphne for the next 30 years is scheduled to come before the city council on Monday, March 7.

The Daphne Education Advisory Committee voted unanimously Friday, Feb. 25, to ask the council to consider the tax. The tax would be an addition of three-mills for the next 30 years. If approved, the money would be used for education purposes in the Daphne High School feeder pattern.

"I think they're looking at whether or not we want to move forward with the same thing that Fairhope and Spanish Fort and Robertsdale have done at this point to improve the Daphne schools," Andrea Lomax, committee chairwoman, said before the vote.

Members did not have any additional comments after the meeting.

City Councilman Steve Olen said the issue would be discussed with the council during the regular public meeting.

"I think this will be in the best interests of education in Daphne," he said.

If the council approves the proposal, a referendum would be held in the area served by Daphne High School. If voters approve the plan, the area would become a special tax district and the 3-mill tax would go into effect starting with the next tax year. John Wilson, chief financial officer for the Baldwin County Board of Education, said the last valuations for the proposed tax district were done in 2016. He said a current estimate is that a three-mill tax in the Daphne district would bring in about $1.1 million a year.

Under Alabama law, tax districts can be established to support education in one part of a school system.

Voters in Fairhope and Spanish Fort approved a three-mill property tax in their districts in 2019. Robertsdale area voters approved a similar tax in 2021.

With each mill of ad valorem tax, a property owner pays $1 for each $10,000 in appraised value of his or her property. If the tax passes, the owner of a $300,000 home would pay another $90 a year, or $7.50 a month.