TECHNOLOGY
Mobile Firm Gets Half a Million in Tax Incentives
According to AL.com reporter John Sharp, these incentives were authorized by the Industrial Development Board of the City of Mobile (IDB). They include a 10-year non-educational property tax abatement and a construction-phase sales and use tax abatement, intended to assist Prism's move to 857 Dauphin St., the site of the former Crown Hall banquet facility.
Based on TPC's research, the IDB exists as a locally incorporated public corporation authorized under the Cater Act of 1949, codified at Sections 11-54-80 through 11-54-101 of the Alabama Code.
Legally separate from both the municipal government and the normal apparatus of city governance, the IDB has the authority to issue bonds, hold property and approve tax abatements, while attaching almost no proactive transparency requirements to those powers. As a separately incorporated public corporation rather than a city board, it does not appear on the City of Mobile's public listing of boards and committees.
The People's Cooperative has filed a public records request with the City of Mobile seeking the underlying IDB resolution and executed abatement agreement with Prism.
Alabama's Open Records Act guarantees the right to request public records under Section 36-12-40, but imposes no mandate to publish them proactively. This means an entity can satisfy every legal requirement while disclosing nothing unless compelled.
It's not the first time public resources have supported Prism's growth. In 2015, the IDB granted the company nearly $55,000 in non-educational tax abatements for a proposed expansion. That abatement application described the relocation of Prism's assembly shop in Washington County–one of Alabama's poorest–as part of the company's long-range plans. A decade later, Prism's manufacturing facilities in McIntosh and Chatom remain in operation.
When TPC sought records related to the current relocation, the Alabama Department of Commerce confirmed Prism's inclusion in its 2025 New and Expanding Industry Report but stated that inclusion "does not necessarily indicate that state or local incentives were awarded."
Founded in 1989 and privately held by CEO Keith Jones, Prism operates offices in Los Angeles, Orlando, Beijing and Shanghai, in addition to its two Washington County facilities. Labor conditions and wages at Prism's domestic and international facilities have not been publicly disclosed by the company.
How the public has contributed to Prism's current relocation–on what terms, with what accountability and through a board that publishes nothing unless asked–are questions that multiple pending records requests by The People's Cooperative are designed to answer.
About M. I. Reynolds
M. I. Reynolds is an independent journalist, storyteller, and tech enthusiast committed to uncovering the Truth. Reynolds highlights working-class stories at the intersection of labor, politics, history, community, technology, and the arts. He entered the world of investigative community journalism after discovering that his great-grandfather, Virdie Reynolds, helped build, lead, and inspire the southern community of Fairhope, Alabama during the 1920s. His goal is to carry on the family legacy and inspire new generations of working class people through concise, intelligent storytelling.