Jefferson County Commission

Tyson Will Be Nominated to the UAB Healthcare Authority

A year after she was passed over for a slot on the board of the UAB Healthcare Authority, Commissioner Sheila Tyson has been put on the path to being the commission’s nominee to the board. It is, she said, about time. “They know that they should (have) appointed me from the very beginning,” Tyson said after today’s commission committee meeting. “I think that they were scared that I was going to shake the trees, what they call ‘shake the bush.’ That's what they were afraid of but I'm only one vote. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Jefferson County Commission Adopts Budget With Longevity Payment

With Commissioner Joe Knight declaring, “The sausage is made! We have a budget!” the Jefferson County Commission today passed a $199 million budget for fiscal 2021. All five commissioners voted for the budget, which included $1.485 million for a one-time longevity payment to each county employee. Commissioner Lashunda Scales objected to longevity pay during Tuesday’s committee meeting, favoring instead 1% across-the-board raises, but she voted for the budget, anyway, because it did give an extra payment to employees. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

JeffCo Commissioners Discuss $199 Million Budget With One-Time Longevity Bonuses for County Employees

Jefferson County commissioners are set Thursday to consider a budget that would include $1.485 million for a one-time longevity payment to each county employee. On Tuesday, commissioners put the fiscal 2021 budget on the agenda for its official meeting later in the week. Commissioners Lashunda Scales and Sheila Tyson had fought vehemently for a cost-of-living adjustment to the salaries of county employees. Repeatedly, county attorney Theo Lawson and others responded by saying, “There is no COLA.” The county’s budget office brought two proposals to the table – a budget with a $1.1 million cost-of-living adjustment for county employees and another without that adjustment. Revenue Department Director Travis Hulsey brought another consideration, a one-time longevity payment based on years of service. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Jefferson County Bids for Release From HR Consent Decree

A motion filed just before the close of business Tuesday could end 45 years of scrutiny for Jefferson County. County attorney Theo Lawson filed a joint motion that Jefferson County be removed from its consent decree, stating that the county not only complies with but in many cases exceeds the requirements of federal law regarding recruitment, hiring and promotion of qualified individuals. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

No Improprieties in Possible Switch of Jeffco Auditor, Former CFO Says

None of the improprieties suggested in Wednesday’s Jefferson County Commission took place, former Jefferson County Chief Financial Officer John Henry told Birmingham Watch today. Henry said County Manager Tony Petelos and Commission Finance Chairman Joe Knight knew of his advice concerning a possible switch from Warren Averett to Banks Finley as the county’s primary auditor. Commissioners had a sometimes-heated discussion Wednesday about a resolution to extend for three years the county’s contract with Warrant Averett, a white-owned accounting firm. The discussion included the suggestion that a deal had been brokered to change to the Black-owned firm Banks Finley. Commissioner Lashunda Scales said during the meeting that extending the contract to the white-owned firm was a throwback to the days when the county did not consider racial and gender diversity in its hiring practices. Commissioners ultimately passed a substitute motion by Scales to reduce the extension to one year, at which point a change could be considered. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Accounting Contract Leads to Squabble on the Jefferson County Commission

A contentious meeting of the Jefferson County Commission led to verbal sparring in the commission chamber after the meeting ended. Commission President Jimmie Stephens and President Pro Tem Lashunda Scales lingered on the dais Wednesday as most who had been in the session exited. Stephens said he felt he was being disrespected as Scales discussed a proposed extension of the county’s contract with an accounting firm to perform annual audits. At one point, Stephens said Scales implied that he was being racist in performing his duties as a commissioner. “I’m going to administer government in this county like it’s colorblind,” Stephens said as he left the chamber. Replied Scales: “I know dead presidents are colorblind,” referring to money. A resolution seeking a three-year extension of the county’s contract with Warren, Averett, Kimbrough, and Marino, LLC was pulled from the consent agenda for separate consideration. Commissioner Sheila Tyson repeated the concern she expressed during Tuesday’s committee meeting that Warren Averett lacked the diversity that the county should display as it seeks to escape the cloud of a decades-old consent decree for past hiring practices. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Political Suicide: Jefferson County Commission President Opposes Extending Trash Contract

Commission President Jimmie Stephens said he would be committing political suicide if he agreed to extend the contract of Advanced Disposal, the company that provides single-family residential garbage and trash services in unincorporated Jefferson County. David Denard, the director of Environmental Services, presented the Jefferson County Commission with a resolution to renew the county’s contract with Advanced Disposal until April 2021 to give the county enough time to lock in another vendor. Stephens said he gets complaints three times a week about Advanced. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Jeffco Commission Delays Decision on Rocky Ridge Development

A request to rezone parcels in the Rocky Ridge area for a 25-unit condominium and a 10-lot single-family residential subdivision was delayed Thursday for two weeks for the developer and residents to settle on a possible revision. The Jefferson County Commission met for 2½ hours, with two hours spent on the requested rezoning. Overton Investments LLC asked to rezone property at 2468 and 2466 Rocky Ridge Road. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Birmingham Gives Tax Breaks for UAB-Area Student Apartment Project, Commission Expected to Follow Suit

The Birmingham City Council voted Tuesday to approve economic incentives for a new student housing development near the UAB campus, and Jefferson County commissioners indicated they would do the same Thursday. The seven-story development, which is expected to house up to 400 residents, will be built atop a brownfield site bordered by 13th and 14th Streets South and Fourth and Fifth Avenues South. Read more.

by Sam Prickett and Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Scales Alleges She’s Left Out of Development Planning Despite Being Vice Chair of the Committee

Jefferson County Commissioner Lashunda Scales said she’s been left in the dark concerning development projects despite being vice chairwoman of the development committee. She knew nothing about a plan that came up before commissioners Tuesday to build more apartments near UAB. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.