Having four different zip codes in one city continues to plague Moody, but officials are working diligently to straighten it out so they can claim tax revenues that belong to the city and return the Moody identity to several of its residents.“Having four postal codes makes things difficult in a lot of areas,” Mayor Joe Lee said. “Because of that we lose the identity of those people living inside our city limits but that have Odenville, Trussville, or Leeds zip codes.”
Lee said the city of Moody is served by four different postal offices – Leeds, Moody, Odenville, and Trussville — and it’s causing a lot of confusion for residents and sales tax collections.
Lee said the zip code issues are making it hard to track and collect sales tax in the city.
For example, Lee said, somebody goes to Lowe’s in Trussville and buys a washing machine to be delivered, Lowe’s asks for their zip code. If that zip code shows they have a Trussville, Odenville, or Leeds address, then that city gets the sales tax revenue, even if the person lives in Moody and the washing machine is coming to an address in the Moody limits.
“The city is losing a lot of revenue because of this,” Lee said. “I hesitate to even put a number on it.”
Another example Lee gave concerns new construction in the city. He said the Edgewater subdivision inside the Moody limits is a perfect example.
“The subdivision is in Moody but it has Odenville addresses,” he said. “All taxable materials that are being delivered there have the tax going to Odenville and it should be going here.”
Lee said Councilwoman Linda Crowe has been working on the project for more than a year. She recently met with a representative from Congressman Spencer Bachus’ office to discuss the problem.
Crowe said Bachus sent a letter to the postal service asking that they address the situation and work toward a solution.
“I’ve talked to the postal service and they said it was going to take a lot of work to accomplish the change,” Crowe said. “I told them we’re willing to do what it takes to collect our sales tax and give people back their identity as Moody residents.”
Crowe agreed with Lee and said identity is one of the main reasons for concern with the postal codes.
“People ask me all the time how I can sit on the Moody City Council and live in Trussville,” she said. “I don’t live in Trussville. I live in the Moody city limits and have a Trussville zip code. We have to work to bring the Moody identity back to these areas.”
Crowe said she is waiting on a letter from the postal service she expects will outline what must be done to start the process of cleaning up the zip code issue.
Along side the zip code conundrum, Lee added that the city is also working with St. Clair County School Assistant Superintendent John Moore to address school districts.
“We have kids living in Moody with Odenville addresses that are going to schools in Odenville,” Lee said. “Our goal with the school districting is for kids living in Moody to be able to go to Moody schools, and for kids in Odenville to go to schools in Odenville and the same with Springville. This is a problem all over the county.”
