Bay Minette:
Baldwin EMC District 1 Trustee Chad Grace (right) presents Baldwin EMC’s tax payment to Bay Minette Mayor Robert Wills

Spanish Fort:
Baldwin EMC District 1 Trustee Chad Grace (right) presents Baldwin EMCs tax payment to Spanish Fort Mayor Michael McMillian

Baldwin EMC officials recently announced the cooperative has completed the payment of approximately $2.9 million in taxes to the cities, towns and police jurisdictions within its service area. The city license tax payments were delivered in person by Baldwin EMC board members and employees in January.

Baldwin EMC carries a not-for-profit status, but according to Chief Executive Officer Karen Moore, that doesn’t mean the cooperative is tax-free. “Our not-for-profit status means we only take in enough money to cover our operating costs,” Moore explained. “It doesn’t exempt us from paying our share of taxes.”

Moore says Baldwin EMC actually pays a tax of 3 percent on gross revenue from members who live in a municipality’s city limits. A tax of 1.5 percent is paid on gross revenue from members in a municipality’s police jurisdiction.

This year’s tax payments totaled $2,889,927.