Proposed smoking ban, lodging tax on agenda

The City Council will begin a dialogue during Monday’s 4 p.m. work session regarding the possible adoption of both a smoking ordinance and lodging tax

Because neither measure exists on the Spanish Fort books, Mayor Joe Bonner said City Attorney David Conner has been collecting comparable information from the cities of both Daphne and Fairhope to distribute to council members.

“We want to be fair to businesses, but we also want to be fair to those who don’t smoke, and that’s why we’ve got so much to talk about,” he said. “It’s really not meant to be an issue of smokers vs. not smokers. It’s an issue of courtesy, and we have to decide where to draw that line.”

Proposed smoking ban, lodging tax on agenda

People can decide if they want to go to a business without government help. If a place is smokey and you don’t like it, then don’t go there. If smoking is so bad, then why just ban the use? Shouldn’t they ban the sale of cigarettes, too?