(CSX issued the following news release on September 8.)
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — CSX Corporation announced today that it is prepaying approximately $600,000 in property taxes to Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties in Mississippi to assist with urgent cash needs related to Hurricane Katrina. The company is also pledging to do the same in affected Louisiana and Alabama counties where it has operations.
“We are grateful to CSX for this very helpful assistance at a time of great need,” said Wayne Brown, Southern District Commissioner of the Mississippi State Department of Transportation. “The CSX tax prepayment represents a model of cooperation that other able companies can follow. With the public and private sectors working together, we will rebuild from this crisis. ”
For its approximately 300 Gulf Coast employees most affected by the hurricane, CSX is providing guaranteed pay and benefits through September, as well as temporary job assignments at other locations. In addition, the company to date has committed $600,000 to $700,000 in employee and community assistance through efforts including, but not limited to:
* an additional $1,000 payment for each affected employee to assist with urgent needs.
* a $1,250-per-month living allowance for employees on temporary job assignment.
* a minimum of $300,000 in additional employee and community assistance. This includes a $125,000 contribution to the company’s Employee Disaster Relief Fund (EDRF), a $125,000 contribution to the American Red Cross relief efforts, and an additional dollar-for-dollar match to employee contributions made to both funds. Employee contributions to those funds currently exceed $80,000. The EDRF, a 501(c)3 organization, was established to help employees affected by the 1992 Hurricane Andrew in South Florida.
* transportation of canned food, clothing and emergency supplies by truck to Alabama and Mississippi.
“We are actively supporting CSX people and their neighbors in the areas hard hit by Hurricane Katrina,” said Michael Ward, CSX chairman, president and chief executive officer. “We look forward to hearing from every one of our employees as soon as possible and will continue to join hands with other members of the business community, government and charitable organizations to provide assistance at this difficult time.”
CSX has established a resource center (1-800-633-4067) to put employees in the most severely damaged areas in touch with the help they need. The company also has established a Hurricane Katrina-related web page on http://www.csx.com .
Hurricane Katrina caused significant damage to a confined area of the CSX rail network in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. Repair work already has begun, and the company has rerouted rail traffic to ensure customer service.
CSX Corporation, based in Jacksonville, Fla., owns companies providing rail, intermodal and rail-to-truck transload services that are among the nation’s leading transportation companies, connecting more than 70 river, ocean and lake ports, as well as more than 230 short line railroads. Its principal operating company, CSX Transportation Inc., operates the largest railroad in the eastern United States with a 22,000-mile rail network linking commercial markets in 23 states, the District of Columbia, and two Canadian provinces. CSX Intermodal is a stand-alone integrated intermodal company, serving customers with its own truck and terminal operations plus a dedicated domestic container fleet. More information about CSX Corporation and its subsidiaries is available at the company’s web site, http://www.csx.com .