A town hall on public safety will be held Monday at 6 p.m. at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church on Huffman Road. Jefferson County Commissioner Lashunda Scales is sponsoring the meeting for her District 1 residents in response to the rise in shootings and murders. She said in a statement that many residents are
With no fanfare, the Jefferson County Commission passed the county’s 2023 fiscal budget at its meeting Thursday. The budget was one of 73 resolutions that passed without discussion as part of the commission’s consent agenda. The proposed budgetary appropriation for all funds is $962,149,935 with $672,306,998 in the operating budget and $289,842,937 in the capital
Sheila Tyson was determined to take her stand, even if she stood alone. The Jefferson County Commission today approved allotting an additional $4 million to help offset the deficit incurred by organizers of The World Games. The matter passed on a 4-1 vote with Tyson casting the dissenting vote. The District 2 commissioner said there was too much information that had not been made available to the commission or citizens. “We don’t know who they hired, how much they paid. Nothing was brought up about how the money was spent,” Tyson said. “I just feel like the taxpayers were due this information, that the commission was due this information.” Read more.
The Jefferson County Commission is set to consider the county’s 2023 fiscal year budget during its meeting Thursday. The proposed budgetary appropriation for all funds is $962,149,935, with $672,306,998 in the operating budget and $289,842,937 in the capital budget. The capital budget represents 30% of the total budget and the operating budget accounts for 70%. Read more.
Continuing in the spirit of participation and cooperation, the Jefferson County Commission today put things in motion for helping The World Games overcome the deficit it had from the 11-day athletic competition held in metro Birmingham in July. Organizers of The World Games found themselves in a $14 million hole when the international event was done. Commissioners moved to the agenda of Thursday’s meeting a resolution to allot $4 million to The World Games from the American Rescue Plan Act funds. Read more.
The Jefferson County Commission on Tuesday delayed discussion and possible action regarding a reported $14 million deficit in the operations of The World Games 2022. Commissioner Joe Knight, the commission’s finance committee chairman and liaison to The World Games, said the commission has been asked for an additional $4 million to address the shortfall. While moving the matter to the committee agenda of Sept. 6, Knight said he still counts the 11-day sports event as a triumph for the metro area. Read more.
The Jefferson County Commission continued celebrating a summertime yuletide Thursday as it adopted resolutions that usher in development to the county. After commissioners sent four development items to the agenda, Commissioner Joe Knight said the experience was “Christmas in August.” But Commission President Jimmie Stephens made it clear the agreements that were consummated today were not gifts to the respective operations. Jefferson County was making an investment. Read more.
The Jefferson County Commission was told during its committee meeting Tuesday that it needs to declare a public health and safety emergency when it comes to emergency medical service in the county. Todd Sheridan is a senior associate with Fitch and Associates, the firm hired to research issues in ambulance response times in Jefferson County. His report today laid out a picture in which some parts of the metro area could have multiple ambulance services responding to a call while others could have none. And some of those who do get responses may have to wait as long as 4½ hours. At least 15 first responders circled the room where commissioners met to hear Sheridan discuss four options for the commission. Read more.
Jimmie Stephens had hoped to leave Thursday’s meeting of the Jefferson County Commission with the county fully armed in its efforts to squelch illegal bingo in unincorporated Jefferson County. Instead, the commission president left the meeting disappointed after the resolution failed on a 2-2 vote. As in Tuesday’s committee meeting of the commission, Stephens would not discuss specifics of how the resolution would help the county crack down on bingo operations. The resolution states only: “Therefore, be it resolved by the Jefferson County Commission that the resolution directing the County Attorney to pursue and initiate all legal actions.” Stephens said the resolution called for no new ordinances to have been passed today. “It was the enforcement of the existing ordinances to be uniform and the enforcement of all of our zoning ordinances,” Stephens said after the meeting. Read more.
If it’s been said once, it’s been said a thousand times: Bingo is not legal in unincorporated Jefferson County. Thursday’s Jefferson County Commission meeting could bring a new weapon in the county’s war against the activity. But Commission President Jimmie Stephens and County Attorney Theo Lawson are keeping their cards close to their vest following today’s commission committee meeting. While the committee agenda included a proposed resolution regarding illegal bingo in unincorporated Jefferson County, Stephens said the resolution wasn’t precisely about bingo but about zoning enforcement. However, the two would not tell other commissioners what exactly they’ll be asked to vote on Thursday, much to the chagrin of Commissioner Lashunda Scales, who wanted to know things like how much it would cost and who would be authorized to enforce it. Read more.
