Joe Knight didn’t want Fultondale tornado victims to miss out on help from whomever that aid might come. The District 4 Jefferson County Commissioner suggested that a resolution on today’s commission agenda be tweaked to broaden the scope of entities that could come to the north Jefferson County city to assist in cleanup. Read more.
Jefferson County commissioners Tuesday put in motion the hiring of temporary workers to address road cleanup. During their committee meeting, Commission President Jimmie Stephens offered a proposal to hire 12 laborers to pick up trash along county roads. That dozen will also aid, as needed, in clean up from the tornado that recently struck Fultondale and Center Point. The proposal, which will be on the agenda of Thursday’s commission meeting, will cover the remainder of the fiscal year. Read more.
Today, Jefferson County picked up where the federal government left off, covering the cost of employees taking off because they’ve been exposed to or contracted the novel coronavirus. Following its committee meeting today, commissioners reconvened their Jan. 7 commission meeting to retroactively extend what had been provided under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. Read more.
Jefferson County commissioners conducted their regular committee meeting Tuesday in the new normal way, returning to a virtual platform. With hospitalizations climbing to unprecedented levels, county leaders invoked Section 3 of the emergency declaration they enacted March 16 to permit virtual meetings. Read more.
After 45 years of scrutiny, five years in receivership and two years in monitorship, Jefferson County has been released from its consent decree governing hiring and employment practices. Senior U.S. District Judge Lynwood Smith signed the order that brought the decree to an end. “It is a validation of what we have done since we've arrived here in Jefferson County,” Commission President Jimmie Stephens said at a hastily called press conference Monday afternoon. “It validates the actions that we have shown you and shown the citizens of Jefferson County, that our hiring practices are progressive, they are color blind, they are gender blind and they represent the population of Jefferson County, whom we serve.” Read more.
Lashunda Scales removed Mission Alabama from the entities getting Cares Act funds on Thursday during in the final meeting of the Jefferson County Commission for 2020. All of the federal money allotted to help entities deal with the challenges of the novel coronavirus pandemic were to have been allotted prior to Dec. 30. The commission is not scheduled to have another meeting before then. During their committee meeting on Tuesday, commissioners talked about the primary contractors –- Jefferson County Committee for Economic Opportunity (JCCEO) and Birmingham Urban League –- involved in assisting residents with utility bills and mortgages. Mission Alabama was also included on today’s meeting agenda to be in line for funds. Read more.
Jefferson County officials Tuesday took care to make sure all of the Cares Act money in their charge gets spent before the Dec. 30 deadline. The County Commission prepared to reallocate money entities couldn’t spend. Read more.
Thursday was show and tell day at the Jefferson County Courthouse as the County Commission displayed life-saving devices it was able to provide to area fire departments with Cares Act funds. Read more.
The Jefferson County Commission is expected Thursday to amend its disbursement of Cares Act funds to include mortgage assistance for residents adversely affected by the novel coronavirus pandemic. At their last meeting, commissioners approved federal funds for use in helping residents with COVID-related expenses related to rent and utilities. “We’d like to amend that moving forward to include mortgage assistance also,” Commission President Jimmie Stephens said Tuesday. “This truly expands the scope of help to include all of our citizens. It is much needed and necessary. I think this is something that will extend the reach of our COVID funds and allow us to help many, many more people.” Read more.
Tuesday’s committee meeting of the Jefferson County Commission was so fast you would have thought commissioners were trying to beat a deadline. In a sense, they were. As they have for months, commissioners continued their efforts to dole out federal funds related to the novel coronavirus pandemic. The light agenda included 18 resolutions from county manager Tony Petelos to distribute Cares Act funds to help cities, towns and entities in the county address needs of citizens that arose from COVID-19. Petelos said the items that were moved to Thursday’s meeting agenda leave just a few who have not gotten requested money. “We’ll have those next meeting,” Petelos said. Read more.
