Jefferson County can’t let the issues that followed The World Games keep the county from being involved with other economy-impacting events, Jefferson County Commission President Jimmie Stephens said Thursday.

During the County Commission’s meeting, commissioners supported a piece of legislation that exempted the World Police and Fire Games, which are slated for Birmingham in 2025, from taxes. The commission president said that action gives event organizers more operating funds.

“It’s very similar to the way we did with The World Games,” Stephens said. “It’s an economic development tool that we have. We’re proud and happy to be able to support that. It’s going to be a great economic development event for the city of Birmingham and for Jefferson County, and it’s our way of participating in moving forward and offering that support.”

The World Police and Fire Games invoke thoughts of The World Games that were hosted in Birmingham. The County Commission allotted an additional $4 million to help offset the deficit incurred by organizers of The World Games.

Stephens said the two athletic events are not the same. The World Games was an Olympic-styled competition that drew national teams from various countries. Athletes and officials resided and received their meals at Olympic-styled villages at UAB and Birmingham-Southern College.

An anticipated flood of international visitors was reduced because of lingering concerns from the pandemic.

“This is on a totally different basis (with) totally different participants,” he said. “This is going to be people coming from the entire country, and they’re going to be spending their dollars here. They will spend money at the restaurants. It will be more participant driven than viewer driven.

“They will be staying in hotels and motels and eating in our restaurants,” the commission president said. “It will be a positive for the community.”

Stephens said the bad taste left in the mouths of some after The World Games had to be bailed out after experiencing a deficit of millions of dollars should not deter local governments from participating in future events.

“You don’t let one event drive your economic development,” he said. “I would say that this is an entirely different type of event with different types of participation and the economic development benefits will remain to be seen.

“But if you don’t play,” Stephens said, “you never know.”

Fleet Management Department

Among other actions taken by the commission during its meeting Thursday, the panel authorized the execution of an employment agreement with Charles Tyler to serve as director of the Department of Fleet Management.

That operation had been under the umbrella of Roads and Transportation but now has been broken into a separate department.