Coronavirus In North Alabama: Mayor Kerry Underwood

Dan Shaffer talks with Mayor Kerry Underwood about coronavirus concerns in Tuscumbia.

Up to governor kay ivey.

>> dan shaffer: thanks, sydney.

Every night at 6:00 p.m.

We're taking you deeper through conversations with local leaders and experts.

Tonight we're joined by tuscumbia mayor kerry underwood.

Thanks for joining us tonight.

>> michael timberlake: thank you for having me.

>> dan shaffer: you just heard the mayor.

What impact is it having on tuscumbia's budget?

>> mayor underwood: we are expecting the same.

We're typically a 60-day delay.

So april sales will be collected by the 20th of may and we'll get them by the end of the month.

Tthe last day of the month.

60 days delayed in seeing the actual effects it's going to have on our budget.

But we're expecting, you know, the lodging tax is going to be significant reduction.

We're expecting, you know, 80% under what it was before.

We're also expecting in our retail sales, i concur with what everyone is saying with the restaurant sales.

We're expecting at least a $200,000 reduction.

We're work on how can we plan for that for the next six months.

We have to make sure we stay within budget.

>> dan shaffer: is there anything you can do to help businesses during this difficult time?

>> mayor underwood: well, we're an encouraging voice for them.

There's just a place -- if you would give me just a moment to brag on the local businesses as well.

The entrepreneurial spirit is a special one.

And these folks took it on the chin early and closed up and changed the way they did business.

And so at this point we want to help encourage them.

We want to help promote when their time comes.

As you have probably reported, 50% of the occupancy is what they can have in the retail stores.

The restaurants are still precluded from operating.

And so we just want to encourage people to continue to connect with citizens of, to continue to connect in the unique ways they've been doing lately but also to remember to-to-start shopping with them when the stores open.

We're trying to encourage the store owners and citizens to reconnect again.

>> dan shaffer: sydney martin mentioned this in herpes.

Thank goodness for the regulars in the restaurants keeping them going for the short term at least.

And until they reopen.

>> mayor underwood: yeah, thank goodness for that.

Restaurant margins are not large.

They're very tight margins so they rely on volumes.

They're very good at what they do and know how to make sure all the expenses come in line to keep their margins and profit it.

When you change that, it changes everything about the way they do business.

Curbside is all they could do so that's all they've done.

We're looking forward to the day where there's a waiting line again.

>> dan shaffer: that will be nice.

The stay at home order is scheduled to expire at 5:00 p.m.

Tomorrow.

How will you monitor businesses when some of them reopen?

>> mayor underwood rrs underwood: that's the beauty of how it is in the shoals like everywhere.

We do keep an eye on it but these folks are aware of the dangers and want to make sure they protect the community.

So we're getting the word out, promoting, making sure they know what the governor's orders are, connecting with them in every way we can.

Those business owner, entrepreneurs are already on top what they need to do and how they need to do it not only for their business but for the community as well.

>> dan shaffer: do you think the governor made the right decision to allow the ordinance numberer to expire?

>> mayor underwood:?

Retail?

>> dan shaffer: the stricter stay-at-home order to expire?

>> mayor underwood: i do.

It's time for us to start moving to the middle.

We've got two different ideas that are polar opposites.

One is i've got my family business that i've had for two generations and i provide with me my family for that.

The other is i have my family has medical conditions and we are worried for our lives.

How do you move forward while everybody feels protected.

That's hard to define.

But you have to do in phases.

So this is phase one.

We're going to open up some, though not all.

We're going to make it 50%.

In two weeks, we'll remeasure again.

And i concur with that.

I think that was the right thing to do at the right time.

>> dan shaffer: all right.

Good.

Let's switch gears and talk about finances a little bit.

We know there have been issues with the applications for the paycheck protection program.

Tonight the small business administration is only opening loan applications to small lenders.

In round one we saw big banks crowding out the little guys.

So tonight at least until 11:00 small lenders can get their shot.

What do you have to say to the dozens of businesses out there struggling right now to stay open?

>> mayor underwood rrs underwood: the federal protection program is a good thing.

I would like to brag on the banks.

They were asked to take on something they weren't prepared for and haven't done before.

They really engaged in that.

And they have really worked hard to provide for their customers.

I would like to say congrats and shout out to the banks, to the loan officers and all the people that worked extrahours.

We can reconnect again socially, i think we need a hug a banker day and really express our appreciation for what they've done.

These local businesses that have payroll and are ready to get back to business and get back to work needed that boost to get them going again, to sustain the losses they've had since we had the stay-at-home order.

So the pay protection program is a great lifeline.

It has been difficult with the volume to get all those in and so that's been a little difficult time we've had to go through but that program is going to be what has sustained a lot of these businesses so when we reopen.

Then we measure who has and has not survived this epidemic based on the business side of it.

>> dan shaffer: you mentioned your cpa office.

A lot of eyes are on wall street right now.

Put your back into that role for a moment.

The stock market right now, what is your advice for people in the markets as it fluctuates?

A lot of people are worried?

>> mayor underwood: they are, and for good cause.

Anyone that has a broker that helps them, a financial person that helps them with their investment desises, they need to be in touch with that person and they're primed and ready to have those discussions.

But i do want to make sure that anything that we do in fear never winds up being the right thing to do.

In the market, that's easily defined as how things are done through fear.

So don't over -- don't over react and say, hey t numbers are low so i've got to get out now.

It's not a loss until you liquidate.

Follow the advice of the financial adviser that you have in place and do what they say because they're on top of this.

They've been studying this for a long time as well.

They have regular meetings with their levels on advise to give out and so we make sure we defer to those guys as much as possible because they really are on top of that market.

It will come back.

>> dan shaffer: of course, yeah.

We hope anyway.

But some of the rules regarding early withdrawals from individual retirement accounts have been laxed temporarily.

When should consumers look at rate that retirement account?

>> mayor underwood: when it comes down to bill paying, you've got to do what you've got to do.

Those were put in there for that purpose so they can make their bill payments and make sure they don't lose something along the way while they have funds in for retirement.

We like to departmentalized things in life.

If underare for retirement i like to use it for retirement and stay out of it until it's time to draw for retirement days.

But today's day we are in a different time frame.

If those funds are available and you need them, get them.

But with b.