The Internal Revenue Service revoked the tax-exempt status of 17 local non-profit agencies Friday.
The agencies were among 3,460 statewide.
Announcement of the revocations comes years after Congress imposed an annual filing requirement for all nonprofits and an automatic revoc-ation penalty for those that do not file for three years in a row.
“Th- ere are many reasons why these nonprofits have lost their tax exempt status,” said Russell Jackson with the Alabama Association of Nonprofits. “We believe many of the organizations have simply closed their doors over the years and just failed to report it to the IRS. The vast majority of the other groups listed are small nonprofits that were just unaware of the new reporting requirements.”
In Andalusia, agencies included:
• Alabama Community and Safety, 209 Moore Road B5;
• Deliverance Community Development, 619 Auburn Avenue;
• Wesley Day Care Services, 1218 East Three Notch Street;
• Can-I-Volunteer, P.O. Box 326;
• Abbie Varner Foundation, P.O. Box 697;
• Gunter Dixon Foundation, P.O. Box 990;
• Hopewell Area Volunteer Fire Department, 6629 Brooklyn Road;
• Christian Service Center, 403 S. Three Notch Street;
• 1433 Ministries, 6629 Brooklyn Road;
• Order of the Eastern Star, P.O. Box 2015.
In Florala:
• American Legion Post #34, P.O. Box 484;
• American Legion Post #77, P.O. Box 31;
• Carver National Alumni Association, P.O. Box 276;
• Friends of the Florala Public Library, 715 North Third Street.
In Opp,
• Opp Arts Council, P.O. Box 70;
• Disabled American Veterans, Covington County Chapter, 107 N. Main Street.
In Wing:
• Wing Volunteer Fire Department, P.O. Box 66.
Representatives for the agencies listed may get detailed instructions on how to reapply for tax-exempt status by visiting www.councilofnonprofits.org/revocation or by contacting the Alabama Association of Nonprofits for assistance in applying for reinstatement at 205-879-4712.
Andalusia Mayor Earl Johnson said water pressure in the city’s system is much improved, one day into a call for customers to voluntarily reduce their use of water through Saturday.
Consumers are being asked to not water their lawns, gardens and flowers until Sunday to give the system time to rebuild pressure which was lowered by significant use.
Johnson said if local residents don’t voluntarily comply, the restrictions will become mandatory.
For additional information, contact the Utilities Department at 222-1332.
Swimmers finally got a chance to cool off in the local waters of Cooper Pool as Tuesday marked the first official day of swim season for the City of Andalusia.
Mechanical issues closed Coleman Pool on Monday, which was orginally set to be the first day of public swimming.
Swim times are 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. daily. Coleman is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday and Cooper is open Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
City of Andalusia utilities officials are asking all of their customers to voluntarily reduce their use of water for the next three days in an effort to restore water pressure to the system.
Mayor Earl Johnson said there are a few places in town where there has been a noticeable drop in water pressure.
“It’s a situation where we knew we had to take action,” Johnson said. “If we don’t, we’ll be in a situation where we don’t have enough pressure to run the system.”
Consumers are being asked to not water their lawns, gardens and flowers for at least three days.
“We understand that people don’t want to lose their plants and lawns,” Johnson said. “But we think that’d be a whole lot better than not having water to drink or take a bath.”
Johnson said the city, likely the largest consumer of water for outdoor use, has already cuts its irrigation.
“We’ve got some places with new landscaping where water is critical, but we’ve cut, too,” he said.
Water operations manager Kenny Blackburn Reminded residents and business owners to turn off their sprinkler systems and to reduce water usage to only moinimum household needs.
“Your voluntary help will be greatly appreciated,” Blackburn said. “
“We are hopeful that this brief reduction of water usage will give the water system adequate time to improve the water pressure level,” he said.
Johnson said if local residents don’t voluntarily comply, the restrictions will become mandatory.
For additional information, contact the Utilities Department at 222-1332.
When the U.S. Census Bureau completed its assessment of Andalusia last year, it estimated there were 400 to 600 unoccupied dwellings.
Abandoned houses overgrown with shrubs and vines were counted. And unfortunately, that formal accounting has inhibited the city’s quest to secure funding for additional apartment units, identified as a key ingredient needed for future growth.
City officials are working with the Southeast Alabama Regional Planning Commission to challenge the Census report. But meanwhile, a concerted effort is being made to remove houses that are uninhabitable, abatement officer Jim Locklier reported to the council last night.
Abatement is the legal process a government must use in notifying property owners of problems ranging from weeds to unsafe structures. The property owner has a specified amount of time in which to respond.
If no response is made, local governments can take steps to correct problems. For instance, if a property owner fails to address a weed problem, an entity like the city can have the property cleaned up, and the costs can be added to the property owner’s taxes.
Locklier said most of the abatement cases in the city are related to weeds.
“Many of them are habitual offenders,” he said.
If a property owner can’t repair unsafe structures, permission can be granted to the city to burn the house or demolish it. A number of structures have been burned by the local fire department, Locklier said, adding that there are others on the list to be burned.
Among those structures currently in the abatement process are Cedar Apartments, currently unoccupied and located near Church’s Chicken, he said.
Mayor Earl Johnson said, “Hardly a day goes by when people don’t comment about how Andalusia looks. It looks like this for a reason. If we didn’t stay after it, we’d look like some other places.”
• Approved a retail beer and table wine license for Food Giant Supermarkets, Inc., 550 W. Bypass.