2 replies to this topic

[kayman]

After the prolong and peculiar situation that is occurring here in the Birmingham area particularly Jefferson County.  What do you guys think should happen with the Jefferson County Sewer System which is essentially putting the County into the massive debt.  Should they sell it to the Retirement Systems of Alabama and file for bankruptcy, or try one more time to find a way to pay back the creditors via higher property, sales taxes along with a strict allocation of the occupation tax funds towards payments?

[rtkenmore]

Leonard23, on Aug 17 2008, 12:07 PM, said:

After the prolong and peculiar situation that is occurring here in the Birmingham area particularly Jefferson County.  What do you guys think should happen with the Jefferson County Sewer System which is essentially putting the County into the massive debt.  Should they sell it to the Retirement Systems of Alabama and file for bankruptcy, or try one more time to find a way to pay back the creditors via higher property, sales taxes along with a strict allocation of the occupation tax funds towards payments?

What I find so interesting is that the majority of the public figures who are claiming bankruptcy is the wrong move are in some position to beneifit finanically from this mess being dragged out even longer.

The counties attorney, Slaughter, is one of the biggest naysayers to bankruptcy.  Well obviously he is, if the county files, he no longer gets paid nor does his law firm get paid for negotiating a way out of this mess.  There was an editorial in the most recent Birmingham Business Journal talking about how filing bankruptcy is the wrong move for the county because of the repercussions it would involve.  Low and behold who wrote that article...  One of the principles from Slaughters own law firm.

It's becoming more and more obvious as the days drag on that the banks, bondholders, lawyers, advisors, etc. don't want a filing because it would stop their money train as David Bronner says.  Well, in my opinion, that is exactly what needs to happen.

All these proposals about raising taxes and automatic property tax increases and forcing people who do not even have sewer to pay for the debt are utterly rediculous.  The county commission is going to keep raising taxes on income, property, sales tax, etc. to the point that people will just start abandoning Jefferson County all together.  The county commission will start an exodus of Jefferson County never seen before....  And I don't ean just the city of Birmingham.

The residents of Jefferson county are already taxed beyond belief when compared to other areas of Alabama.  Jefferson and Shelby county have some of the highest property taxes already and these fools want to raise them AGAIN.  And not just raise them, they want to agree to AUTOMATIC increases to cover the sewer debt should revenues fall short.  That's utterly insane.

These idiots should be removed from office...  they're making George Bush look like a good man.

[kayman]

Well, to give an update on this story.  The Jeffco Commission President Bettye Fine Collins has proposed eliminating the Zoning, Planning, and Inspection divisions of the County altogether if the occupational tax isn't reinstated.  All of these can have catastrophic effects on the developmental patterns of the County because without adequate zoning, there would anything to be built anywhere similar to other counties without zoning.