Jackson Electric Cooperative Inc

“The cooperative was formed by the members to provide electric service at cost on a cooperative basis.”

“The members of the cooperative vote on the board of directors. Elections are done on a one member one vote basis.”

“The following acts require approval of the members of the cooperative: 1. Dissolution/liquidation of the cooperative 2. Merger or consolidation of the cooperative with another organization 3. Disposal of a substantial portion of the cooperative's assets 4. Amendment to the articles of incorporation”

“The cooperative has no committees with authority to act on behalf of the governing body. Therefore, and pursuant to form 990 instructions, the question has been answered "no".”

“Management presented a copy of the form 990 to the board for discussion and review prior to filing. The discussion and review took place at the board meeting immediately before filing the return.”

“On a monthly basis, the board of directors and officers review all transactions that might violate the conflict of interest policy. Additionally, the board of directors and officers are required to be familiar with the policies outlined in the cooperative's conflict of interest policy and are required to disclose any action or situation that might violate the policy to the full board of directors as soon as possible. If a conflict of interest arises the involved director will not vote on the issue.”

“The board of directors utilize internal resources and perform an annual review when determining the general manager's compensation. Other than the general manager, the cooperative did not have any employees meeting the definition of officer or key employee. Therefore, and pursuant to form 990 instructions, line 15b has been answered "no".”

“The cooperative will provide a complete copy of the audited financial statements, conflict of interest policy, or governing documents to any member who requests a copy.”

“In order to provide retirement benefits to its employees, the cooperative has established a defined contribution plan under section 401(k) of the internal revenue code. Employer contributions to the plan are made pursuant to the plan document. Additionally, the cooperative participates in a multi-employer defined benefit plan. Contributions to this plan are based on the full funding limitation of such plan. Employer contributions for both plans are available to participating employees, including the employee officer and highly compensated employees, meeting the eligibility requirements of such plans. The cooperative also provides health, dental, vision and life insurance to all eligible employees through a qualified plan. The amounts reported on part vii, column (f) for the employee officer and highly compensated employees is comprised of actuarial increase in the defined benefit plan, the total amount contributed by the cooperative to the defined contribution plan and insurance paid on behalf of and for their benefit.”

“The board of directors consider the general manager to be both the top management official and the top financial official. Therefore, only the general manager is listed as an employee officer.”

“Patronage dividends result from the purchase of wholesale power from a generation & transmission cooperative. Patronage dividends also result from the payment of interest from cooperative banks and the purchase of supplies and services from other cooperative organizations. The expenses associated with purchases from and payments to such cooperative organizations are a direct component of cost of the electric service provided by the cooperative to its members.”

“The cooperative annually provides each director who served on the board during the year a questionnaire and time log. The completed questionnaires and time logs are used to complete the applicable questions on the form 990 pertaining to business relationships among directors, officers, and key employees, as well as to determine if there are any transactions which must be reported in detail on schedule l - "transactions with interested persons". If the cooperative was unable to obtain a completed questionnaire and/or time log, the cooperative relied upon the completed information for the prior year. W h webernick passed away in october 2020; therefore, we relied upon his 2019 questionnaire when preparing this return.”

“The accounting records of the cooperative are maintained in accordance with the uniform system of accounts (usoa) as prescribed by the federal energy regulatory commission for class a and b electric utilities modified for electric borrowers of the national rural utilities cooperative finance corporation (cfc). The usoa does not record expenses in the general expense categories provided on part ix lines 1-23. The cooperative separately reports salaries and wages, employee benefits and payroll taxes that are allocated in accordance with their accounting system, but other expenses that are described in lines 1-23 are reported on line 24 under the expense categories required by the usoa.”

“Salaries and wages are allocated to asset, liability, and expense accounts based on the accounting system described above. The following schedule reconciles amounts reported on lines 5-7 to total wages accrued and/or paid: total per lines 5-7 $ 5,047,894 less: director fees reported on forms 1099-misc (96,450) less: employee officer benefits included in line 5 (95,821) plus: salaries and wages capitalized directly to plant 1,570,305 plus: salaries and wages capitalized/expensed indirectly through clearing and other accounts 434,921 total wages accrued and/or paid $ 6,860,848”

“Other expenses are comprised of the following: administrative and general expenses $ 1,406,356 customer accounts 401,695 investment expenses 24,750 taxes 30,942 propane operations 1,261,376 total other expense per 990, line 24e $ 3,125,119”

“Pursuant to the form 990 instructions, the amount of patronage dividends paid to the members (hereinafter referred to as "patrons") should be reported on part ix, line 4. The phrase "patronage dividends paid" refers to the process, subsequent to year-end, by which the cooperative allocates patronage capital to and, therefore, operates at cost with its patrons. The cooperative's tax exempt purpose is to provide electricity to its patrons and to do so on a cooperative basis. Tax law defines "operating on a cooperative basis" as subordination of capital, democratic control, and operation at cost. The cooperative operates at cost through the allocation of true patronage dividends (also referred to as allocations of patronage capital) to its patrons. Patronage dividends are considered paid if the allocation is made (1) pursuant to a pre-existing obligation, (2) from the margins produced from the transactions done with or for patrons, and (3) in a fair and equitable manner on the basis of patronage (i.e. Purchases). Additionally, the allocation of patronage dividends should be made within a reasonable time period after the close of the cooperative's year-end of december 31. Each one of these requirements for a true patronage dividend is provided for in the non-profit operation article of the cooperative's bylaws. The amount reported on part ix, line 4 represents the amount of patronage capital that is either allocated or to be allocated to the patrons resulting from their purchase of electricity from the cooperative for the 2020 calendar year. Because patronage dividends are the process by which the cooperative operates at cost with its patrons and thereby a key component to accomplishing its exempt purpose, the cooperative has reported such amounts as an expense for form 990 reporting. Patronage dividends are not an expense for financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, however.”

“Administrative & general expense is comprised of the following: administrative & general salaries, benefits, & other $ 567,030 office supplies 479,769 injuries and damages 90,295 regulatory commission 92,716 miscellaneous general 933,613 maintenance of general plant 203,185 total admin & general exp per financial statements $ 2,366,608 less: reclass of donations to part ix, line 1 (9,070) less: reclass of director fees to part ix, line 5 (96,450) less: reclass of labor to part ix, lines 5 & 7 (619,761) less: reclass of benefits to part ix, lines 8-10 (234,971) total admin & general expense per form 990, part ix $ 1,406,356”

“Patronage capital allocated or to be allocated 0. Net change in memberships 6,610. Net change in other equities 0. Donated capital 953.”

“The board as a whole is responsible for overseeing the financial statement audit and selecting the independent financial statement auditor. Procedural changes did not occur during the year.”