By DON FLETCHER
News Staff Writer
Atmore City Council members voted unanimously during the panel’s Monday, May 11, teleconference meeting to clarify the terms of a 10-year tax abatement the council granted last year to Alto Products.
The original abatement, approved in September 2019, waived taxes on the local manufacturer’s purchase of “at least $2 million worth” of equipment that will reportedly create nearly two dozen new jobs.
City Clerk Becca Smith pointed out during Monday’s meeting that the original resolution granting the abatement did not specify the period of time for which the abatement would be in effect.
“We didn’t specify the 10 years last time, and people won’t accept it,” Smith said.
The council had to first vote to give the issue “immediate consideration,” so that it could be addressed.
Before a vote was taken, District 4’s Susan Smith asked if the clarification would start the 10-year period anew, or if the life of the abatement would revert to the original date. Mayor Jim Staff assured Smith and the other council members that the abatement would carry forward from its original date.
Council members then voted 5-0 to give the issue immediate consideration, followed by a 5-0 vote to approve the clarification.
Before adjournment, Smith asked Staff if there was any word on when city parks would reopen, to which the mayor replied, “That’s up to the Lord and Kay Ivey.”