County settles with Solutia

By By Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
Terms of the settlement of a long-standing lawsuit brought against Morgan County by Solutia Inc. were hammered out behind closed doors at a regular meeting of the Morgan County Commission on Tuesday.
Following a 10-minute executive session, the commission gave unanimous consent to a resolution that offered a payment of $609,000 to Solutia for settlement of a sales, use and gross receipts tax overpayment claim filed against the county more than two years ago. The move was made on a motion by District 1 Commissioner Jeff Clark and a second by District 2 Commissioner Ken Livingston.
The amount of the settlement, including 6 percent interest per year, is to be paid in 12 equal and consecutive monthly payments of $52,414 each, beginning July 20.
County Attorney Bill Shinn recommended the executive session after indicating the case was scheduled for trial June 29. Afterwards, he said a copy of the resolution and other documents needed to conclude the settlement will be submitted to company officials and their attorney for their consideration and approval.
Revenues generated from the county’s sales and gross receipts will be used to make the 12 payments. In the event they are not sufficient, other revenue sources would be used. The settlement will impact the amount of revenues that are distributed monthly to the Commission, County Board Of Education, Decatur City Board of Education, Hartselle City Board of Education and the Association of Volunteer Fire Departments of Morgan County.
The commission acted on other matters as follows: