Government

JeffCo Plots a Course for Road Repairs

Jefferson County is moving in the right direction in the area of road repairs but it’ll be a while before the county reaches its desired destination. “The commission has worked real hard to get us funding,” said Cal Markert, director of the county's Roads and Transportation Department. “I think with the county manager we’ve got a great team and I’m really excited about where we’re going. It’s not going to happen in a day or a year. It’ll take several years, but I think we’ve got a good plan and a good target to move to.” Markert presented the fiscal year 2018 highway management plan for Jefferson County to commissioners during their meeting Thursday morning. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

PARCA Will Explore Top Issues Leading up to the Election

The Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama has launched Alabama Priorities, an initiative to identify and address the most important issues to Alabama voters. PARCA surveyed voters, asking them to rank issues affecting the state this year. The council intends to publish a series of policy briefs on each of the top 10 issues, according to a PARCA statement. See the top 10 issues selected here.

by Virginia Martin

Hub and Spoke Model Could Expand Cooper Green Health Care Coverage, Commissioners Say

Feb. 6, 2018 – Jefferson County commissioners heard a presentation about a proposed primary care expansion agreement for Cooper Green Mercy Health Services during their committee meeting Tuesday. After lengthy discussion, commissioners moved three related items to the agenda for Thursday’s commission meeting. The discussion included concern among commissioners that more of the most needy in the county could be pushed out. “If I can cut at the top, it’ll allow me to expand at the bottom,” Commissioner David Carrington said. “I’m concerned that we are servicing families with higher income and that prevents us from serving families with lower incomes.” The primary care expansion agreement is based on a hub and spoke model with Cooper Green serving as the hub and its partners serving as the spokes. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Birmingham City Council Approves New Stadium, in Theory

Feb. 6, 2018 — The Birmingham City Council voted today to support the construction of a new multi-purpose facility at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex. The vote followed a lengthy back-and-forth among the council, Mayor Randall Woodfin and members of the public, with proponents arguing that the development will bring much-needed revenue into the city and opponents expressing skepticism about the necessity of the proposed 30-year, $90 million investment. The BJCC expansion and renovation, which would include the construction of a new open-air stadium, would be funded by a mix of public and private sources. The city is slated to contribute $3 million a year for 30 years to the stadium; the BJCC Authority will pay $10.7 in annual debt service; UAB and private entities will contribute $4 million a year for 10 years; the Jefferson County government will pay $1 million a year for 30 years; and a proposed increase to the city’s rental car tax, still pending in the state Legislature, would account for $3.5 million in annual funding for 30 years. Woodfin and Council President Valerie Abbott both emphasized that Tuesday’s vote was not for a specific contract or to allocate any funds, but rather a general statement of willingness to negotiate a specific plan. A Q-and-A between District 8 Councilor Steven Hoyt and Woodfin, published online Monday, highlighted that many of the details have yet to be set in concrete. Woodfin compared the resolution to a marriage proposal. “A person asking you to marry (them) is very different from the process of a prenuptial agreement,” he said. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Attorney General Looking Into Legislators’ Campaign Spending Reports

Grand jury subpoenas arriving last week for Alabama legislators put the spotlight on how the officeholders spend contributions and whether their reports and expenditures comply with the state’s campaign finance law. State Rep. Patricia Todd, D-Birmingham, one of the few legislators to acknowledge getting a subpoena, said it was from the Alabama Attorney General’s Office. Todd said she’s not the only legislator to receive a subpoena. House Speaker Mac McCutcheon also verified that subpoenas had been delivered. “They seem to believe we are putting things on the Visa that are for personal use, but I don’t have anything to hide,” Todd said. Other legislators were being close-lipped about the investigation, most of them either not returning calls or saying they had no comment. Alabama election laws specify that candidates and officials must disclose the identification of each person or entity that has been paid more than $100 in a calendar year from their campaign accounts, along with the amount, date and purpose of each expenditure. BirminghamWatch looked up financial records on Jefferson County’s 26 legislators and found several who had listed expenditures on their campaign finance reports without providing details about where the money went. Read more.

by Virginia Martin, Cheryl Slocomb, Sean Holohan and Sam Prickett

Birmingham Mayor Woodfin Throws Support Behind New Stadium and BJCC Renovations

Jan. 31, 2018 — Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin announced his support for an expansion and upgrade to the BJCC arena Wednesday, saying revenue generated by the renovated stadium would go toward his administration’s priority of neighborhood revitalization. The upgrades would include renovations to the Legacy Arena and outside piazza, as well as the construction of a $174 million new open-air stadium, though design specifics remain undetermined. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Almost $50 Million Spent in Alabama’s U.S. Special Senate Election

Candidates and independent committees raised more than $49 million last year for Alabama’s U.S. Senate special election, won by Democrat Doug Jones. Financial reports posted this week by the Federal Election Commission show Jones with $22.05 million in contributions to his campaign during 2017, compared to $6.15 million for Republican Roy Moore. Those reports include money raised by Jones for the Democratic primary in August and the general election on Dec. 5, and by Moore for the Republican primary, GOP runoff and general election. In addition, independent committees, known as Super PACs, reported spending $2.37 million in support of Jones and $1.24 million in opposition to him. Super PACs spent $158,464 in support of Moore and $5.19 million in efforts to defeat him. Read more.

by Glenn Stephens

Rep. Patricia Todd Won’t Run for Re-Election

Alabama State Rep. Patricia Todd, D-Birmingham, has announced that she will not seek re-election. In a press release posted to her Facebook page, Todd cited the “financial burden” of holding public office as the reason for her decision. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Jefferson County Proposes to Establish a Health Care Authority Over Indigent Care

Jan. 25, 2018 – The Jefferson County Commission today authorized the county manager to begin discussions with the University of Alabama at Birmingham about establishing a health care authority to operate Cooper Green Mercy Health Services. The move came in response to a consultant’s report that recommended building a new building for multispecialty outpatient service clinics, selling the current Cooper Green building and entering a partnership with a healthcare authority to make more decisions about how indigent care is handled in the county. “The challenges are we have an old building and we have an operating model that is still essentially a remnant of an in-patient facility,” said Tony Fiori, managing director of Manatt, Phelps and Phillips. Read more and watch video of Fiori's briefing.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Jefferson County Attacking Opioid Crisis With a Multi-Prong Strategy

Jan. 23, 2018 – Jefferson County Commission President Jimmie Stephens called opioids the biggest crisis facing Jefferson County and said it is “a pandemic that affects everyone’s lives.” Stephens’ comments came after officials from Cooper Green Mercy Health Services and several other health agencies presented Jefferson County’s response to the national opioid epidemic during the commission’s committee meeting Tuesday. The response laid out the county’s use of a three-year, $3.9 million grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.