Tag: Jefferson County

‘We’re in the Jobs Business,’ JCEIDA Leader Says in Announcing New North JeffCo Industrial Park

Jefferson County Economic & Industrial Development Authority has added about 1,100 acres to its inventory of developable land to create its latest industrial park in north Jefferson County.

JeffMet North Industrial Park, off Interstate 65 at Exit 275 near the Gardendale/Morris area, sets the stage for the creation of an estimated 4,700 new jobs and is expected to be a lure for auto suppliers. Read more.

For the First Time in 37 Years, Jefferson County Makes Major Change to Tax Maps

For the first time in 37 years, the Jefferson County Tax Assessor’s Office has completed a comprehensive countywide resurvey that has modernized parcel data that will impact more than 600,000 residents and departments such as the Board of Equalization.

The tax map is the foundation for some of the county’s most important functions, from emergency services to the U.S. Postal Service and every municipality in the county. Read more.

How Jefferson County Pulled Off a Billion-Dollar Refinancing to Help Stabilize Sewer Rates and Regain Trust

Jimmie Stephens remembers he wasn’t proud of Jefferson County when he took office as a county commissioner in 2010.

“I was embarrassed and ashamed of what Jefferson County had become and what its reputation was, in the state and in the nation,” recalled Stephens, now the president of the commission.

Jefferson County had become by most accounts one of the worst financially managed governments in the nation laying off more than 1,000 of its employees and filing the then-largest municipal bankruptcy in November 2011.

But Stephens, his fellow commissioners, county manager and department heads no longer feel that sense of shame and embarrassment, they say.

Last month, Jefferson County got positive reviews from investors and financial publications that would have been unimaginable more than 10 years ago. Read more.

Ethics Commission Ruling Keeps Parker, Allen Off Ballot for Treasurer

The Alabama Ethics Commission ruled this week that persons who were removed from the ballot of the March 5 primary cannot be their party’s nominee in the general election. That ruling means the Jefferson County Democratic Party cannot nominate incumbent Eyrika Parker or challenger Mara Ruffin Allen to be the party’s candidate for Jefferson County treasurer. The party will be meeting next Saturday to select a new candidate. Read more.

JeffCo Asks Court to Release It From Its Last Consent Decree

The Jefferson County Commission Tuesday filed a motion to be released from the 1996 consent decree over the Jefferson County Sewer System.  

It is the next step in the county being released from all the consent decrees imposed on it.  

“We were successful in getting out of the employment consent decree,” County Attorney Theo Lawson said. “The next consent decree was the environmental consent decree. We have made tremendous strides in ensuring that we are in compliance and beyond with federal law and continue to be committed to that because our sewer system is one of our biggest assets.   Read more.