Council approves agreement with River Tree Systems for tax‑examination services at $75/hour

The Talladega City Council approved Resolution 6636 on March 9 to enter an agreement with River Tree Systems Inc. for local tax‑examination and recovery services at $75 per hour.

A River Tree representative (Thomas) told the council the firm has worked with Talladega for about 16 years, described the company’s statewide auditing teams and said the firm specializes in identifying uncollected revenue — sales tax, use tax, business license and other taxable activity. Miss Phillips, the city’s finance director, said River Tree has recovered significant tax dollars in past years (she estimated recoveries historically near $90,000 in one multi‑year period) and supported continuing the relationship.

Council members asked for clarification about whether the work differs from regular city audits; the finance director said the contract work for River Tree is distinct from the city’s routine audits. After discussion and a motion to approve, council adopted the resolution to authorize the agreement.

The resolution authorizes the city manager to execute the host agreement with River Tree Systems; the contract rate cited in the meeting is $75 per hour. The finance director indicated prior annual costs were in the low hundreds of dollars to the city and that the recoveries have in past years exceeded the cost of the engagement.