City Paying 15% 'Tulip Tariff'

Fairhope, Alabama thefairhopetimes.blogspot.com 

 

Flower clock tulips.

 

ANNUAL FLOWER BUDGET APPROVED

The city council approved a FY 2026 "flower budget" of $165K (not-to-exceed); a 15% tariff applies this year on tulips (and other bulbs) received from Ruigrok Flowerbuds, Inc. of The Netherlands - click.

Cost for the bulbs themselves is just over $37K -- but with an added 15% tariff of $5.5K. (Hyacinth and narcissus bulbs make up about $13K of that.)

After receiving them from overseas, the bulbs are grown in city greenhouses; the flowers are then used in late-winter/early-spring all around town.


2026 tulip invoice.



Comments

Anonymous said…
Hard to believe we actually buy plants from overseas!
Anonymous said…
Is there any consideration for an option? I am sure there are other flowers that will work in that space with a lower coat.

Anonymous said…
The City isn’t paying anything. The taxpayers are paying it.
Anonymous said…
See DavidRicardo;s Theory of Comparative Advantage and then you will understand why.
Anonymous said…
citizens here will not give up there tulips at any cost! or the riduculously expensive tree lights!
Anonymous said…
Lucky for the complainers, we have plenty of cities in America without civic pride, most of which pay much higher taxes for far less. Anyone who can no longer tolerate the horrors that beset Fairhope on all sides is free to swim against the current flow of national migration.
Anonymous said…
The money the City spends on a single baseball dugout ($100,000) and now Tulips is outrageous! I agree totally with lower cost options. Our city roads, utility infrastructure, traffic control, is in terrible shape and getting worse. Any plans to spend money on that?

Anonymous said…
Why can't we find some nice American plants instead?
Anonymous said…
Most people here want more and more sports and flowers too. At any cost!
Anonymous said…
Oh, so terrible! The worst! Impassible! We're all going to die!
Anonymous said…
Yup, that's we we worked hard, saved, and decided to live in this magical place. We are blessed. We should be grateful. We should NOT feel guilty.
Anonymous said…
This is the price you pay for failing to plan for an adequate water system. Focus on expensive flowers. Misuse of taxpayers money. Fiscally irresponsible. All governments do it, from the town, city, county, state levels and especially the federal government.
Anonymous said…
uh .. i don't get the connection .... water system with tulips .....
Anonymous said…
Apparently you have not kept up with current events the last few years. Have you been sleeping under a rock?
Anonymous said…
Let’s show some civic pride and pave our city roads, clean our gutters, trim our trees, cut vegetation, etc. We need a little pride in our homes and neighborhoods and $200k for a dinky dugout and a patch of flowers ain’t gonna cut it.
Anonymous said…
How many other foolish tariff is the city paying . Employ more American tulip farmers first
Anonymous said…
thanks to Donald.
Anonymous said…
Bring in Elon Musk to cut waste! Build a border wall around the city limits! Designate developers as domestic terrorists! Save our utopia!!
Anonymous said…
Oh, so we're back to zero sum game thinking. Either/Or.
Sorry, that's a first-order regressive mindset.
Anonymous said…
TDS