County and city move to fast-track $2.88 million incentive to keep Alpha Mutual in Montgomery

Montgomery County commissioners on Tuesday voted to waive rules so a resolution to retain Alpha Mutual Insurance Corporation can be considered formally after a scheduled public discussion.

Shelby Stringfellow, senior vice president for economic development at the Montgomery Chamber of Commerce, told the commission the company currently “has 660 jobs and annual payroll of above $50,000,000 a year” and is proposing to move into a smaller, 200,000-square-foot facility while maintaining portions of its existing site. Stringfellow described an agreement negotiated with the city and county that would provide a total of $2,880,000 in payments spread over roughly two and a half years to support the company’s relocation within Montgomery.

The chamber representative said Alpha Mutual has committed to maintain the existing Southern Boulevard property “for a period of 4 years,” to keep that building market-ready and to work with the city and county to find a tenant so the site does not decline in assessed value. Stringfellow said the company also plans about $58 million in new investment at the new location.

Commissioners pressed several practical and policy questions during the discussion. One commissioner said he was “very much concerned” about using taxpayer money to “abandon one part of the city to go to a more affluent ZIP code,” and another warned against creating a precedent of paying companies to stay. The commission also asked how county staff would verify that the old property remains occupied and maintained; chamber staff and county staff said the county appraisal and tax-assessor process, combined with annual reports from the company to city and county officials, would be used to monitor assessed value and compliance.

Anna Buckalew, president and CEO of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce, said the deal came out of a professional site-selection process and that Alpha faced competing offers from other jurisdictions. Buckalew noted the project’s scale: “Last year, we were, I think, fourth in the state in terms of net new jobs created… This one project is 660 some odd jobs,” she said, adding the county would get sales-tax and ad valorem impacts over time.

The commission approved a motion to waive rules and move the Project Tractor resolution onto today’s formal agenda so the public discussion and a subsequent vote can occur. Commissioners were told a public meeting on the item will follow this session and that the county and city still face additional steps — property purchase, final agreements and company performance milestones — before any payments would be made.

The waiver does not itself authorize payments; it only placed the retention resolution on the agenda for formal consideration after public comment. Commissioners asked county and chamber staff to provide the economic-impact model and further documentation showing the projected return on the county’s investment before a final approval vote.

If approved in the formal session and by the city, the package would be a retention incentive tied to performance and reporting requirements; commissioners said they expect follow-up materials showing projected tax revenue and other measurable returns.