Author: Virginia Martin
Follow the Vote
The Birmingham City Clerk’s Office is posting results as they come in tonight. You can follow the results live here.
BirminghamWatch will be posting the final tallies tonight.
Finishing Strong: Birmingham City Councilor Lundy Sets up Challenges Over Slow Development in Enon Ridge, Insufficient Minority Participation in Contracts
Aug. 22, 2017 — The only voice of contention at Tuesday’s Birmingham City Council meeting happened to come from the one councilor not on the election ballot.
District 9 Councilor Marcus Lundy, who is not seeking re-election, followed through on his promise last week to “finish strong” by challenging the mayor on various development projects — particularly the housing development at Enon Ridge, a neighborhood in Lundy’s district.
Mayor William Bell remained silent, not looking up from his desk as Lundy questioned him over allegations that Bethel-Ensley Action Task, a contractor with the city, had not finished two houses in Enon Ridge over the course of two years. Read more.
Officials Work to Solve Health Care Puzzle for Poor in Jefferson County
When Cooper Green Mercy Hospital closed its doors in 2013, Jefferson County officials were reeling from health care costs that had spun out of control. At that time, the $50 million indigent care fund – generated by a percentage of sales tax revenue – was not enough to cover costs and officials were dipping into the county’s general fund to cover the shortage.
Cooper Green was reborn as an urgent care and primary care clinic. The move has reduced costs over the past four years, but some commissioners recently expressed concern at the amount the county was paying UAB, which provides in-patient, emergency and specialty care to Cooper Green’s poor patients. The payments to UAB are projected to reach about $24 million this fiscal year – nearly half of the county’s indigent care fund.
Jefferson County Manager Tony Petelos said the county is not in danger of exceeding the money set aside for indigent care this year, but that does not mean it is as cost effective as it could be. Because it is costly operating the aging building designed to be a hospital, Petelos and Cooper Green Mercy CEO Roger McCollough are pushing an effort to replace Cooper Green Mercy.
They’re also looking for ways to channel patients to less-expensive preventative care, treating them before they’re so sick they require treatment in an emergency room or hospitalization. Read more.
Voter Tools
BirminghamWatch Listening Sessions: A Community Conversation
Most of the Birmingham Board of Education members will be new after the election. What do they have to say?
BirminghamWatch has put together a package on the Board of Education that includes a Q&A of candidates on some of the top issues the board will be facing, along with stories on challenges before the board and a rundown of what the board could look like after the new group is elected and takes office. Read more.
What Could the Board of Education Look Like After the Elections?
With five of nine Birmingham City Schools board members not seeking reelection, the city school’s governing body will have a majority of new members in the next administration. Read more.
BW Listening: What were residents thinking about before Tuesday’s election?
VIDEOS: BirminghamWatch brought residents together for a series of meetings leading up to the 2017 elections.
Challenges Loom for New Board of Education Members
When seats are filled in the upcoming election, what challenges will the new board face? Charter schools, for one thing, but put communication systems on that list, too. Read more.
Contenders for the Birmingham Board of Education Discuss Challenges: A Q&A With the Candidates
Whoever wins the nine seats in the heavily contested race for the Birmingham Board of Education on Aug. 22, one thing is certain: the winners will find a big school system facing substantial challenges.
Some of the challenges are well publicized. For instance, 13 of the Birmingham City Schools 43 schools were listed by the Alabama State Department of Education as failing in 2017. In a city where a third of the residents live below the poverty line, nearly 50 percent of the students do, according to recent Census data.
But as the new school year begins, the elephant in the room may be that the BCS will be working with its ninth superintendent in 21 years.
With all that has gone before, all nine seats on the board are up for grabs, with 31 candidates in the running. Read more.
