Jefferson County Commission

Jefferson County Commission Will Begin Negotiations to Set up Healthcare Authority With UAB

Jefferson County commissioners gave the go-ahead Thursday for the county manager to begin negotiations with UAB Health System to establish a joint healthcare authority. The authority would manage indigent healthcare in the county. Commissioners passed the measure without discussion after talking about it in a meeting Tuesday. At that time, county manager Tony Petelos said the only difference patients should see if the authority is established would be a more efficient operation.

by Cheryl Slocum

Opportunity Zones Pull Investors Into Low-Income Areas

Alex Flachsbart’s business cards were hot properties at the Jefferson County Courthouse Tuesday after his presentation to the County Commission about opportunity zones in the area. The founder and CEO of the nonprofit Opportunity Alabama briefed the commission on his group’s work with Opportunity Zones, which encourage investment in low-income areas. “Our goal is to rally the ecosystem here in the state of Alabama around opportunism,” he said. Flachsbart, a former tax attorney, said the zones were created with the passage of the tax bill in December. The idea is to give tax breaks to investors who put their money into a fund that then invests in businesses and real estate projects in low-income areas. The incentives grow the longer the money stays invested, he said. “(It goes) all the way to the point where if you’re an investor who keeps their money in a fund that’s invested in the local community for 10 years or longer, you don’t pay any tax at all on the appreciation of your investment,” he said. “If I make a good bet on a place like Ensley, or a place like East Lake or a place like Fultondale, the good news (is) that, if my investment substantially improves, I get to walk away tax-free after 10 years.” Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Jefferson County Commission Pursues Healthcare Authority Plan

Jefferson County is moving closer to establishing a healthcare authority to manage indigent healthcare in the county. During their committee meeting Tuesday, commissioners moved a resolution to the agenda of Thursday’s commission meeting that would direct county manager Tony Petelos to begin detailed discussions with UAB Health System to establish University Health Authority. Petelos said the only difference patients should see is a more efficient operation. “Is Cooper Green going away? No. Is UAB absorbing Cooper Green? No,” Petelos said. “This is going to be a separate healthcare authority and the Jefferson County Commission will be a part of that process. But the healthcare authority will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of Cooper Green Health Services.” Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

No Surprises, Please: Jeffco Commissioner Urges Others Not to Spring Last-Minute Funding Requests

Commissioner David Carrington invoked the names of past commissioners as he urged current and future commissioners to handle requests for county funds in a timely manner. Commissioner Sandra Little Brown is requesting a community grant of $2,000 for the Housing Authority Birmingham District, but that request did not make it onto the agenda of today’s committee meeting Carrington warned commissioners that others, including former commissioners John Katopodis and Jeff Germany, had gotten in trouble over their management of discretionary funds. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Amazon Breaks Ground Oct. 2, Laying Path for Western-Area Development

The official groundbreaking on the new Amazon development in Bessemer will be Oct. 2, Jefferson County commissioners said Thursday. “Amazon is a game-changer,” Commission President Jimmie Stephens said. “It’s going to open up the western Jefferson County corridor to much more development and opportunity for our citizens.” Amazon and other developments in western Jefferson County already are starting to have an effect. West Jefferson Mayor Charles Nix told the commission his town is ready to grow with a new garden home subdivision on more than 23 acres being annexed at 6700 Quinton Road. “We don’t think there’s a better place than the town of West Jefferson to start that growth,” Nix said while asking for the property to be rezoned for the homes. Commissioners approved his request. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

County Could Decide on Balanced Budget, Revamped Money for Distressed Cities Thursday

The Jefferson County Commission put a balanced budget on its Thursday agenda as it assembled in committee on Tuesday, putting a framework in place that could result in more road and infrastructure work in distressed cities. The budget would continue to provide each commissioner with $250,000 in grants to go to their districts. In the new budget, $150,000 would be set aside for each to use on infrastructure and roads within his or her district. A city receiving aid would pay an as yet undetermined percentage of the project; an 80-20 match is among the ideas under consideration. The remainder of the money, $100,000 per commissioner, would be earmarked for use on 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

JeffCo Commissioners Nearing a Balanced Budget for 2019

Jefferson County commissioners expect to have the makings of a balanced budget for fiscal 2019 by the end of the day Thursday. That’s a welcome change after hearing Monday that some funds had been targeted for uses commissioners didn’t anticipate. “It’s not that we had less than we thought we had,” Commissioner David Carrington said Wednesday. “It’s that what we thought we had had already been allocated, primarily to the renovation of the 2121 Building.” Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

JeffCo Commission Debates Allowing Residents to Apply Online for Some Tax Exemptions

The days of Jefferson County residents having to go to the courthouse to file for disability or tax exemptions will be over if commissioners pass a resolution from the tax assessor for online exemptions. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Jefferson County Commissioners Say They Won’t Help Fairfield Financially Without a Plan for the City’s Future

Jefferson County “kicked the can down the road” by helping Fairfield out of a difficult situation last year, but Commission President Jimmie Stephens said that won’t happen again without a comprehensive, sustainable plan for the distressed city. In 2017, Jefferson County forgave some of Fairfield’s debt and gave that western-area city some working capital. Stephens said that wasn’t a real solution. “What we did is we kicked the can down the road and here we are again,” he said. “I’m not willing as a commissioner to do that again without a comprehensive plan in place for their continued operation.” Fairfield’s mayor and City Council members drafted a packet outlining the ways they hope the county can provide help, delivered to the commission Tuesday during its committee meeting. Mayor Ed May said the packet was a way to begin the dialogue for the future well-being of the city. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Fairfield Mayor and Council Come Together to Ask for Financial Help From Jefferson County

Jefferson County Commission members received packets from the mayor and council of Fairfield on Tuesday spelling out help that city is seeking from the county. This isn’t the first time officials from the financially strapped city have talked with commissioners about helping them provide services to the public, particularly concerning public safety. Commissioners last month said they would consider helping the city, but only if the mayor and council members could resolve their differences and present the commission with a joint resolution outlining their request, which they have done. “I think this is a good opportunity and example of regional cooperation that I think is a real solution not only for Fairfield but the other municipalities in Jefferson County, especially on the western corridor who are experiencing some of the same financial difficulties,” Mayor Ed May said. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.