Government

Sunshine Week: League of Women Voters Recruits Citizens to Help Keep an Eye on Local Governments

The League of Women Voters of Greater Birmingham is launching a new program to train citizens to observe local government bodies and report impartially on their actions. The launch of the new Greater Birmingham Observer Corps coincides with this year’s national Sunshine Week, March 12-18. The purpose of the corps is to push for transparency in local government actions, and Sunshine Week is designed to highlight open government and freedom of information at the local, state and federal levels.

by Virginia Martin

Jefferson County OKs Morgan Road Improvements, Resumes Road Maintenance in Bessemer

March 9, 2017 – Jefferson County Commissioners on Thursday rescinded a 2009 commission resolution to discontinue maintenance on through roads in Bessemer. The action allows county workers to add a dedicated turning lane from Morgan Road onto northbound Interstate 459, as the commission discussed in its committee meeting Tuesday. The 2009 resolution was adopted because the county did not have money for such maintenance. “The easier thing to do was to rescind the agreement,” Stephens said. “Now we go back to doing maintenance on the road just like we did prior to 2009.”

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Race and the Alabama Legislature, Volatile Mix in Redrawing Political Map

While Alabama’s House and Senate make headlines with debates over pistol permits, death sentences and sanctuary campuses, staff members and legislators are working largely unnoticed on a project that could affect the racial and political makeup of the Legislature. A federal court in January ruled that some of Alabama’s legislative districts amounted to racial gerrymandering, putting too many predominantly black communities with little in common in the same district and diluting their influence. Since then, the Permanent Legislative Committee on Reapportionment has started to look at maps and redraw the boundaries of House and Senate districts. Perhaps 30 of the Alabama Legislature’s 140 districts might be affected. The chairman of the committee said in a meeting recently that he was hoping for a quick and amicable process. But rarely in Alabama are conversations about race either quick or completely amicable, and this one is beginning against an already politically charged background. Read more.

by Virginia Martin

Voters Overwhelmingly Approve Extension of School Taxes in Jefferson County

Jefferson County voters approved extending more than $100 million in property taxes for schools Tuesday, most of them with a vote of more than 90 percent. Also on the ballot, Rolanda Hollis won the Democratic nomination to the House District 58 seat, vacated last year with the retirement of former Rep. Oliver Robinson, D-Birmingham. Read more.

by Virginia Martin

Guns for Graves: Birmingham City Council Delays Supporting Bill to Use Pistol Permit Fees to Fund Cemetery Maintenance.

March 7, 2017 – Birmingham City Councilor William Parker doesn’t see any hidden meaning in HB 34, the proposed legislation that would create and fund a Jefferson County Cemetery Board through gun permit fees. “The funding is funding that has already been collected,” said Parker, who supports the bill. He said the intent was not to send a message – grave maintenance being paid for by gun fees — in a city that is plagued by gun-related homicides. “This is the way that the legislators are supporting the issue about addressing the needs of the cemetery.” But questions about whether that’s a stable source of funding, how the money would be allotted and whether it was enough stalled a resolution the council was debating to support the bill. Read more.

by Cody Owens, Weld: Birmingham's Newspaper

Jefferson County Commissioners Discuss Widening Morgan Road and Revamping Lights to Ease Traffic.

March 7, 2017 – Commuters from Russet Woods and others in southwest Jefferson County may soon have a smoother commute because of action the Jefferson County Commission discussed during its committee meeting today. Commissioners talked about making improvements to Morgan Road to ease traffic flow, including a turn lane and updated traffic lights. The commission also discussed a mental health contract, community clean-ups and new voter information cards. The commission’s official meeting is Thursday. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Jefferson County School Taxes, House Seat on Tuesday’s Ballot

Jefferson County voters go to the polls Tuesday to decide whether to extend a series of property taxes that fund local schools. Also on the ballot is the Democratic primary race to fill the state House District 58 seat left vacant by the retirement of former Rep. Oliver Robinson. School officials and advocates for weeks have been reminding people that there is an election March 7 and asking that they vote to extend the property taxes for schools. The taxes were enacted about 30 years ago but are set to expire in 2021. Voters will decide Tuesday whether to extend them for another 25 years, to 2046. Jefferson County school Superintendent Craig Pouncy and other superintendents have said the property taxes help schools pay for things not funded through state and federal taxes. They provide a total of $100 million a year for academic programs, facility upgrades, textbooks, buses, computers and other education needs. Read more.

by Virginia Martin

Birmingham Council Clears Way to Become First Alabama City With a Healthy Food Incentive Program

The Birmingham City Council passed an ordinance Tuesday to make Birmingham the first Alabama city with a Healthy Food Incentive Program, but not before a nearly hour-long debate with members of the city’s law department. The program will cost $2 million, which will be allocated from the city’s general fund budget for fiscal 2018, and it is slated to begin Aug. 1. Essentially, the ordinance would allow qualified recipients to receive a food incentive card to be used toward the purchase of eligible foods at participating stores. The cards would have a value of up to $150 annually and take the form of either a debit card or voucher. Before the vote, Councilor Lashunda Scales objected to the city’s law department having “gone week to week discussing the same thing,” referring to changes in the language and the proposed launch date of the program. “We make plenty of time for economic development. When do we make the time to help the poor people?” Scales asked. Read more

by Cody Owens, Weld: Birmingham's Newspaper

JeffCo Commission Honors Pioneering Black Judges

Lifelong friends and former neighbors in Birmingham’s “Dynamite Hill” community were honored by the Jefferson County Commission on Thursday after their retirement as judges of the 10th Circuit Court of Jefferson County. Judge Helen Shores Lee, the first black woman to serve in the civil division of the Circuit Court of Jefferson County, and Judge Houston Brown, the first black presiding judge in the circuit, were honored for their service to the community with a proclamation presented by District 2 Commissioner Sandra Little Brown. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

JeffCo Commissioners Discuss Cooper Green Contracts, Water Line Project, Other Issues to Come up in Thursday’s Meeting.

February 21, 2017 -- Jefferson County Commissioners discussed $105,400 in contracts for Cooper Green Mercy Hospital during a committee meeting Tuesday. “That goes back to reallocating to make sure we have the funds necessary to have a positive impact on our indigent citizens,” Commission President Jimmie Stephens said after the meeting. “This commission is committed to doing that and we’re going to continue to do it.” Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.