Coffee County Commission hears yearly revenue report

At a busy Coffee County Commission meeting on June 8, the county’s annual yearly revenue report was presented and approved.

The report, presented by Revenue Commissioner Ronnie Burns, stated that Coffee County brought in revenue of $6,080,075.92 last year, which is $336,788.53 – or 2 percent – more than the previous year.

The commission also conditionally approved a Mapping and Appraisal Budget of $793,752.80 that would need to be finalized after the fiscal year budget is approved.

Also, the commission approved an application to receive a reimbursement for expenses that have occurred related to COVID-19 for election purposes, and the purchase of a new deputy sheriff’s vehicle was approved. Recently a deputy sheriff was involved in an accident that totaled the vehicle being driven and the new car will be purchased with insurance proceeds from that accident.

County Engineer Marty Lentz announced that the county had been approved for a project grant from the Alabama Scrap Tire Fund that would see a new rubber modified mix of pavement – that includes scrap rubber from used tires – resurface a 1.85 miles of County Road 110.

The grant gives the county $288,000 for the resurfacing of the road and the assistance of The National Center of Asphalt Technology (NCAT). NCAT will not only assist in the design of the rubber-modified mix but also will evaluate its performance over the next five years. The commission unanimously approved the acceptance of the funding.

In other business, the commission approved the purchase of a new truck tractor in the amount of $125,896 after the county’s previous truck tractor suffered engine failure that would cost more than $45,000 to repair. According to Lentz, the old truck tractor had more than 800,000 miles on it and believed the county would be better suited in purchasing a new one. The commission will also sell the old truck tractor as is.

Also, the commission approved the purchase of a new truck chassis with insurance money received following a single vehicle accident on March 18 that totaled the county’s fuel truck. The county received $70,548.14 in insurance money from the wreck and will use $63,403.28 to purchase a new truck chassis and reuse the existing flatbed truck body and reequip it all in-house, according to Lentz.

A bid of $7,856.80 for corrugated metal pipes to Gulf Atlantic Culvert was also approved.

In closing, Commissioner Tom Grimsley urged Coffee County residents to fill out and complete the 2020 Census.

“We’re not even running at 60 percent (completed) and in 2010 it was 72 percent,” Grimsley said. “Even at 72 percent that would be unacceptable, as far as our representation.”

Federal funding for both state and local governments is directly tied to the U.S. Census, as is the amount of congressional representation each district receives and how many electoral votes a state gets.

Grimsley requested that if it was possible County Administrator Rod Morgan would send a letter to county department heads to encourage people that come into the courthouse and other county buildings to fill out the census.

“It’s very simple, if you like good healthcare, good roads and good education we have to maintain these funds or Alabama is going to fall way behind,” he said. “We certainly don’t need to lose (representation) in Washington, either. I know it probably won’t happen but I’d like to see us get to 100 percent. We need to encourage this.”