Tuscumbia Utilities: Worst storm season in 23 years
The Tuscumbia City Council unanimously approved a request for the electrical department to take out a $1 million line of credit with First Metro Bank during its April 21 meeting.
Jeff McDonald, the general manager of Tuscumbia Utilities, told the Council this storm season has been the worst since he joined the company in 2002 as an engineer.
He became general manager in 2017.
“We have a fund with over $400,000 for emergencies, and in all the time I’ve been here, we’ve never used it all,” McDonald said. “We have used $100K or $150K at times, but those funds always got put back through (federal aid) or some kind of reimbursement.
“This storm season, we have spent every bit of it. After the Feb. 15 tornado, in a three-day span we spent $427,000 in labor, mutual aid, materials and equipment. We have spent more money since then.”
McDonald said the department has spent over $600,000 this year due to damage done to city electrical infrastructure.
He said there have been four events since the beginning of 2025 that saw at least 500 customers without power.
The Feb. 15 tornado left 3,500 out of 5,000 city customers without power, and the storm system that came through on March 17 matched that number due to lightning damage.
The severe weather on April 5 knocked out power for 2,000 customers, while April 10 saw 500 without service.
“Our intention for this line of credit is for a funding resource in case another storm comes through,” McDonald told the Council. “We do intend to build our reserve back up somewhere between $500,000 and $1 million, but until then we want a funding source in place as a safety net.”
Kiwanis recently recognized members of the city and others in the community for their efforts in helping with operations to restore beautiful Tuscumbia. Certificates of Appreciation were presented to Joel Kendrick, Bo Stanley, Jeff McDonald, and William Foster. Pictures are (R-L) Roger Fuller, Joel Kendrick, Bo Stanley, Jeff McDonald, William Foster, Jennifer Bennetch, and Joel Balentine.
Some of the funds earmarked in the budgets of Senators Tommy Tuberville and Katie Britt awaiting a vote in August would help reimburse the electrical department, and if that came to pass McDonald said the credit line could be used as a rainy-day fund.
“We don’t have to spend any of it,” he said. “If we did, it would be paid back with electrical revenue at no cost to the city. It’s definitely not fun, and it’s very expensive to coordinate this type of effort. We don’t want to have to do this type of work in the middle of a storm recovery and not have access to funds. I think (the fund) will speed up the recovery if something like that happens again.”
Mayor William Foster and Council member Mike Isom told McDonald they believe having the fund in place for emergencies is a smart decision.
“This storm season has shown us things we’ve never seen before,” Foster said. “I am concerned, because we could have more bad weather tomorrow. A direct hit puts a new perspective on everything.”
