Entrepreneurial Center, Rescue Squad to expand with new funding

Yahoo

30-05-2025

May 30—The Morgan County Legislative Delegation, the Morgan County Rescue Squad, and the Decatur-Morgan County Entrepreneurial Center will receive more funding after a local bill was passed May 14, the final day of the legislative session.
House Bill 581, sponsored by Rep. Terri Collins, R-Decatur, provides for the redistribution of in-lieu-of-tax payments in Morgan County from the Tennessee Valley Authority. It will roughly double the amount the Rescue Squad previously received, and the E-Center will receive in-lieu-of-tax funding for the first time. The local law takes effect Oct. 1.
"We wanted to fund something that would grow revenue, and so we're moving that last percentage of the part that we delegate to the Entrepreneurial Center so that they can expand what they're doing around the county in different locations, not just in Decatur," Collins said.
With the funding, the E-Center wants to open a location in Hartselle, the Rescue Squad plans to begin construction of a new station, and the legislative delegation plans to acquire a larger office space.
"Our goal is to build a new station on the property that was donated and paid for by the county," Rescue Squad Chief Danny Kelso said.
TVA makes in-lieu-of-tax payments each month because it is exempt from paying taxes as a government entity. The TVA pays out 5% of its gross profits from power sales each year to the states within its jurisdiction.
Law dictates that the amount paid out to the counties exist in separate "pots." The state must split 75% of the payments it receives among the TVA-covered counties. An additional 3% is allocated to these counties per legislation from 2006.
The section of the Alabama code dealing with these payments has changed several times to clarify wording and redistribute the money. Collins said HB581 allows for greater transparency about how TVA funding is being distributed within the county.
"The main reason for working on that bill right now is it's very confusing how the language is. ... It's convoluted," Collins said. "Confusing is the best word, and we couldn't even understand it."
In fiscal 2024, Morgan County received a total of $13.9 million in TVA in-lieu-of-tax funds. The "pot" referenced in the bill — the 3% increase from 2006 — amounted to $503,137.82.
Julie Reeves, chief administrative officer of the Morgan County Commission, said that the amount the county receives varies greatly year to year, making it difficult to predict exact amounts for allocation.
However, Reeves said fiscal 2025 has trended roughly 6% less than the previous year. If the trend continues, the amount the bill will redistribute starting with fiscal 2026 could total roughly $470,000.
The Legislative Delegation will receive the largest portion of this money. HB581 increased its funding from 40% to 45%.
Collins said this increase will help provide a larger office space for the delegation.
The Rescue Squad will now receive 9% of the funds. In previous years, the squad received between $20,000 and $25,000. Rescue Squad Senior Board Member Tony Weikert said estimates for future funding have been closer to $45,000.
The new station will be built on a 3-acre property on Mill Road that the Morgan County Commission helped the squad acquire.
"Our station is out of date and not up to code," Kelso said. "It was built in the 1960s, and we've outgrown it."
The Rescue Squad wants to break ground by the end of this year or early next year, Weikert said. He hopes a newer station will help the Rescue Squad appear more professional and attract more volunteers.
After paying for the building, Kelso said funding would go to updating equipment.
As a volunteer organization, Weikert said, the Rescue Squad didn't have any permanent funding to rely on.
"We exist off of donations and annual requests from the city and the county and other places, but none of that is guaranteed money because you have to ask for it every year," Weikert said, emphasizing the difference the TVA funding will make.
Weikert said he has been talking with state Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, about increasing the squad's funding for about a year.
"Arthur Orr has always been a champion for us," he said. "... If it hadn't been for Arthur Orr, we wouldn't have any dedicated funding."
A major change that HB581 makes from previous law is that the Decatur-Morgan County Entrepreneurial Center will now receive funding from the TVA payments. The E-Center could receive about $47,000 based on the fiscal 2025 payment estimates.
"The thought of the delegation was: This is promoting small business job creation for Morgan County, and that's certainly a good thing that we wanted to support," Orr said.
John Joseph, the executive director for the E-Center, said conversations have begun with Hartselle residents about adding a satellite office there.
"Hartselle is a very creative, innovative community," Joseph said. "We would absolutely like to partner with them to deliver something that benefits their entrepreneurs and their innovators."
Joseph said the E-Center will meet with Hartselle residents and review the services offered to determine the community's greatest need.
"A lot depends on if there's additional funding that can come from other places or whether we need to work with what we have," Joseph said.
The E-Center has developed connections with Hartselle through its CEO (Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities) Program, which provides local high school students with real-life business experience.
Collins is thankful that HB581 passed. The Alabama Legislature's 2025 session concluded with a Senate filibuster from Senators Bobby Singleton, D-Greensboro, and Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham.
Collins said "the last day was very contentious in the Senate, and (Orr) was able to get both of our local bills on the calendar and through the Senate so that we could pass those bills this year," Collins said.
HB581 passed in the House on April 29 and in Senate on May 14.
— [e-mail] or 256-340-2437