A visit to the South Panola School District budget hearing last week would have revealed to anyone interested (no one showed up) a donation of $900,000 from South Mississippi Electric Power Association. Panola County received $300,000.
It’s nothing new. The electric power cooperative has made generous donations annually to the district. When it was learned that a tax exempt entity would purchase the local gas powered electric generation facility, we (this newspaper) somewhat vilified that organization, realizing it would mean no school or county ad valorem taxes would be forthcoming from a facility then valued at $200 million. (Power cooperatives are responsible for municipal ad valorem taxes.)
Meanwhile with a little nudge from former State Senator Steve Hale, SMEPA stepped forward and donated a couple of million dollars to be used by Panola County and the school district for transition after the sale. And payments have come every year since to the tune of millions of dollars since the sale in 2012.
Although the amount is less than what would have been received had the facility been acquired by a tax-paying entity, the company’s board of directors and management are far removed from Panola and have chosen to fill a need without obligation. The act shows the company is trying to do the right thing while many entities take advantage of every tax break offered showing little community appreciation in comparison to SMEPA.
We taxpayers should be thankful and not take this act for granted