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Cities Pinched by Rising Garbage Pickup Costs

Unincorporated Jefferson County is not the only area that will likely feel the effects of rising waste management expenses. Likely to also feel the pinch are cities in the Cahaba Solid Waste Disposal Authority, a consortium that handles garbage collection for its seven member cities and one other that contracts with it. Hoover is a member of the authority. Hoover City Administrator Allan Rice said a meeting of the waste authority board is in the works to hear from AmWaste, which manages waste disposal for the authority. “What they're telling me is they're going to request basically like a fuel surcharge,” Rice said. “Not a permanent change to the contract but an addendum that would allow them to charge an additional fee, which will be tied to fuel prices so that as prices escalate, it goes up. And as prices fall – if they ever fall – it goes back down." Read more.

Ouch! Pain at the Garbage Bin Comes to Residents of Unincorporated Jefferson County

Pain at the pump will be felt at the garbage bin for residents of unincorporated Jefferson County. The Jefferson County Commission on Tuesday approved an emergency contract amendment with AmWaste, the franchise holder for residential garbage pickup in unincorporated parts of the county. The amendment allows the company to establish its rates based on fuel costs, which are based on the Alabama Department of Transportation Fuel Index, and the consumer price index. For instance, residential customers with regular trash pickup will see an increase of about $30 on their quarterly bills – $39 if they also have yard waste pickup. Read more.

JeffCo Puts Beavers at Top of Most Wanted List on Accusations of Abetting Flood Waters

Beavers do what beavers do, so Jefferson County has to do what it has to do. During its committee meeting today, the Jefferson County Commission moved to its agenda a resolution to award a contract to Nuisance Wildlife Control for the removal of beavers from designated zones in the county as needed and directed by the county sheriff. “It's been an ongoing issue,” said Heather Carter, director of the county’s roads and transportation department. “Obviously, we have lots of areas of habitat and the little critters are industrious. Especially in the areas where we have more floodplain, they tend to get in there and dam things up.” Read more.

Should Taxi Fares Be Increased Because of Rising Gas Prices? Birmingham Sets Public Hearing to Decide

The Birmingham City Council will hold a public hearing on June 21 to discuss raising maximum taxicab fares in response to rising fuel costs. District 5 Councilor Darrell O’Quinn, chair of the council’s transportation committee, said the council had been approached several times by local taxicab companies — mostly zTrip — expressing concerns over rising gas prices. “Those are costs that are borne by the drivers, so they have requested that we revisit the ordinance that sets the taxicab fare and have specifically requested consideration of a temporary surcharge to address the increased fuel costs,” he said. Read more.

New Face Moves Into Jefferson County Deputy County Manager’s Office

County Manager Cal Markert has moved into the office of his former boss. Now he has someone to move in next door, in the office where he worked as deputy county manager. Jefferson County has hired Dave Strahl to fill Markert’s former post. Strahl comes from Illinois, where he served as interim village manager of Schiller Park. He has more than 30 years of experience working with municipal governments of all sizes. Markert said being short-handed has made things pretty difficult because there are vacancies in some director positions, including human resources. Read more.

Complete Election Results from Tuesday’s Primaries

Gov. Kay Ivey has won the Republican nomination for governor without a runoff, despite having eight opponents. In the other most-followed race in the state, the Republican nomination to the U.S. Senate is going to a runoff between Katie Britt and Mo Brooks. But there were far more nominations than those decided Tuesday, including several high-profile Jefferson County races in addition to races for the statewide constitutional offices. See complete election results.

REPUBLICAN PRIMARY RESULTS

 Unofficial results with about 98% of precincts reporting Governor Lindy Blanchard — 19.35% Lew Burdette — 6.09% Stacy Lee George — 0.41% Kay Ivey — 55.04% Tim James — 15.83% Donald Trent Jones — 0.61% Dean Odle — 1.82% Dave Thomas — 0.46% Dean Young — 0.38%   U.S. Senate Lillie Boddie — 0.77% Katie

DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY RESULTS

Unofficial results with about 98% of precincts reporting Governor Yolanda Rochelle Flowers — 31.1% Malika Sanders Fortier — 32.88% Patricia Salter Jamieson — 11.47% Arthur Kennedy — 9.46% Chad “Chig” Martin — 5.76% Doug “New Blue” Smith — 7.33%   U.S. Senate Will Boyd — 63.96% Brandaun Dean — 19.09% Lanny Jackson — 16.95%