A Valentine for 2019

TVA sends the State of Alabama a sort of Valentine greeting on a regular basis. The money TVA pays the state is in lieu of property taxes, and the state then forwards 78% (in some cases more) of the payment to the counties and cities served by the Tennessee Valley Authority. Think a lot of money.

That payment is partially made to the county commission, which in turn doles out the funds either per law or on a basis of need. In the past, Lauderdale County has determined that one great need is education. Not exactly rocket science, is it?

In April 2017, Lynn Greer of Rogersville introduced a bill in the state legislature that would require Lauderdale County to pay the Agriculture Authority (Ag Center) 1.2 million dollars a year from the 5.6 million dollar annual payment. At that time, Greer stated the money would be taken "off the top" of the TVA payment to Lauderdale County. First things first and all that.

In case you think this was just a "county" thing, Greer's bill eliminated a $305,000. yearly payment to the City of Florence. At the time, the city accountant stated that it would have been nice if Greer had consulted anyone about his bill. Yes, wouldn't it have? As for Florence City Schools, the loss of this revenue amounted to $127,000. 

At the time the bill was passed, it was supported by Lynn Greer, Tim Melson, and Phillip Pettus. Larry Stutts opposed it. In answer to Stutts, Sen. Tim Melson stated concerning the benefits of the Ag Center: “People who worry about their own little world with their own budgets don’t see the windfall.” Ah, yes, we believe that's called Maslow's hierarchy of needs - something Sen. Melson should have learned about years ago, but perhaps only those with more education than a medical doctorate can understand that. (Hats off to those with a Masters of Law.)

Approximately 30 days after Greer introduced the bill to divert the TVA payments, the new legislation passed. In one vote in Montgomery, Lauderdale County schools and many other entities lost tens of thousands of dollars in funding. The City of Florence School System has redone its budget and is presumably still educating its students in a responsible manner. The Lauderdale County School System is headed toward financial ruin. Happy Valentine's Day...

A post script of sorts: 

1. We used the 78% state payment to county figure that we believe is correct. We will note that Robert Palmer of the TimesDaily has indicated that the remittance is only 50% of TVA payments. Perhaps the Lauderdale Luminary could weigh in on this?

2. We believe Sen. Tim Melson is an honorable man. We also believe he needs to think before he speaks. Before any readers ask if our writers are good examples of this, remember that we're not here to win any elections or popularity contests. We're here to inform the public. We can't wait until Lauderdale County begins to consolidate schools to hear the public ask why no one informed them.

Lauderdale County Schools Lost HOW MUCH Money?

As mentioned in a previous post, the Lauderdale County Board of Education reported a $619,000 decline in its fund balance in 2018. The Board’s 2019 Budget projects another decline of more than $835,000. Unfortunately this projection of increasing losses may itself be overly optimistic. 

Using the Board’s reported expenditures for the first four months of the 2019 Fiscal Year as a basis for projection, the Board’s total expenditures for the year will outstrip projected revenues by $3,500,000 if the current monthly rate of spending continues. If this projection is realized, the decline in fund balance for the year will be over four times greater than expected. 

At that rate the Board’s fund balance will be zero in less than three years. Bottom line? If the Board continues on its current trajectory, the school system will not only have to borrow to build a new vocational school, but it may also have to borrow simply to meet payroll.

Humbly submitted for your consideration by,

Local Murder for Valentine's Day!

Want to send your cross-country sweetie a little something for Valentine's Day? Something straight from the Shoals? It's not too late with Kindle!

First we suggest Love is Murder, a compilation of 30 short stories edited by Sandra Brown. The local part? One of the entries is by the late Beverly Barton from Tuscumbia, and it's set in Florence. Is the local detective out to save the heroine or to make sure she doesn't testify in an important murder case? Send it instantly with Kindle:

Love is Murder

Next on the fiction front is Murder on Lido Drive. Athens author Cassandra Clairage blends two real life Colbert County murders into one in this series opening novella. See if you can detect which ones:

Murder on Lido Drive

Finally in the true crime section, if your dear one wants to learn more about murder in the Shoals, our collection of 13 local murders is just the thing:

Murder in Muscle Shoals

Remember: Nothing says true love like murder!

Lauderdale BOE Seeks Advice from (Survey) Monkey

It hasn't been that long ago that some in the Waterloo area laughed when we mentioned the strong rumors of their school closing. Now fewer and fewer individuals are laughing as the Lauderdale County Board of Education moves closer and closer to a giant consolidation plan that some say can't be stopped. 

First, the Board has asked for input. Here's the link in case you think your opinion will actually sway the powers that be in Lauderdale education:

Lauderdale Education Questionnaire

Second, the Board has announced a series of meetings where the public will hear the basics of whatever it deems to tell them and where they can presumably offer input. Here are the dates:

2/21 - Lauderdale County High School

2/25 - BOE Annex

2/26 - Central High School

3/7 - Brooks High School

Our opinion? No one who blogs here has children in the Lauderdale County system, so any opinions we have are based on wanting the best for the youth of the area in general. What we have now is not working, at least the way that it should. Our children deserve more. Is consolidation the way to achieve that? 

Again, the jury is still out on that question. We solicit comments from all concerned citizens whether they have children in the system or not. No matter anyone's age or social standing, it's human nature to cling to tradition. It's sad not to have a high school that one can follow, yet no one can expect any institution or program to last forever. We advocate keeping an open mind on consolidation...as long as the public isn't blindsided by the school board in its quest to... Hmmm, to save money? Or to something else? 

Who's the Colbert County Leaker?

There's been some intrigue recently in Colbert County. In case you missed it, a story was leaked to Russ Corey at the TimesDaily concerning removing Colbert County from SEDA, the local industrial recruitment board. The tale presented to the media was that Tommy Barnes, a county commission member, had written a formal proposal to be voted on. This wasn't true.

To some, this seemed like a minor distinction, while to others it seemed like a major smear campaign against Mr. Barnes. Would anyone want to lie about the good commissioner? Supposedly, David Black has accused Jimmy Gardiner, and Gardiner has accused Black.

Isn't it nice to know that these guys work so well together?

Have some ideas on the SEDA situation? If you think it should be disbanded or if you think it's the greatest thing since pimple cream, tell us how you feel.

Scraping the Barrel Bottom for Investors?

First, how does one attract investors to a major project? If the economy is right, can't someone like John Elkington merely crook his little finger, as in sending out a prospectus? That didn't seem to work at the Forge or Saddle Creek. 

Now we understand Elkington is bringing investors here...or plans to. That's good, but doesn't this mean these investors are the more choosy kind, the kind who won't simply take Elkington's word that the project will succeed?

Years ago, we heard of a young bride whose husband picked her up at the Muscle Shoals airport, then promptly became lost. As they drove down Second Street, she began to cry. Was this the beautiful Shoals she had been told about?

Then more recently there was the review of that aluminum giant adjacent to Park Place. The writer laughingly told of his family screaming for him to turn around, telling him he had to be lost. There was nothing worthwhile to be found in the immediate area. 

If you were an investor, one known for shrewd but cautious decisions, how would you react? And how will several Sheffield property owners react to being told after all these years that their eyesores are now a major liability? Will they hasten to Sherwin-Williams to buy their redecorating materials or will they drag their feet in court until Elkington says "Enough!"?

From J. Redmon:

Sheffield's prosecutor and municipal judge are wanting more frequent courts. Currently, Sheffield's municipal court clerk is working FULL-TIME for Muscle Shoals as Court Clerk and Magistrate WHILE continuing to work FULL-TIME for Sheffield. Does anyone see a problem IF Sheffield increases the number of times it holds court each month? 

Mexican Flag? Send Us Proof

Returning briefly to the Salvationist Church, a local attorney has contacted us that it's legal for a government to contract with a church to administer a taxpayer funded program. The program itself must be kept entirely separate from any church teaching.

That last statement would seem almost impossible in the case of day/night uses of Salvationist buildings and equipment. We also question if collaborating and co-mingling of funds for a project is quite the same as administering it. It will be interesting to see if the SA/Florence collaboration does bring legal challenges.

We have received two unrelated complaints about the Salvationists, one of which we condone and one of which we initially laughed at, but then reconsidered. The first complaint accused the SA coven of stealing children with DHR's help. 

Consider this: By the time a child is actually taken away from its biological family, the situation has to be extremely bad. We have to believe parental rights should be terminated. If these Salvationists will offer the abused children a permanent home, we feel this is much better than a life of abuse that will turn them into a new generation of criminals.

The second complaint against the Salvation Army? The local church flies the Mexican flag? We at first assumed that it was for some special program or the other, but after asking for details, we were told the female half of the current captain duo is a Mexican national. We believe the woman probably has dual citizenship, but the salient question concerns flying the Mexican flag or displaying it above its U.S. counterpart.

If anyone can back this accusation up, please send us the photos, and we'll publish them. If it should be true, perhaps it's best to remember that these people are always transients who will move to another posting in a relatively short time and that problem will be solved.