Jefferson County is in rebuilding mode, commission president tells Hoover chamber
Jefferson County has weathered a host of financial, legal and political challenges in recent years and now is in a rebuilding mode, the president of the County Commission told the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce today.
“We’re rebuilding the finances of the county. We’re rebuilding the services to our citizens. We’re rebuilding relationships, and most importantly, we’re rebuilding trust, confidence and pride in this great county,” Commission President Jimmie Stephens told about 180 people at the Hyatt Regency Birmingham — The Wynfrey Hotel.
Stephens recounted how county commissioners came into office in 2010 with a $4.23 billion debt and then 21 days later found out the county’s occupational tax was ruled unconstitutional, meaning a loss of $77 million a year — 25 percent of the county’s general fund revenues.
County officials furloughed 25 percent of the county’s workforce, cut $20 million from the sheriff’s budget and $20 million from the roads and transportation budget, and closed the county jail in Bessemer and four satellite courthouses, he said.
With Cooper Green Mercy Hospital facing losses of $9 million a year and needing $75 million in capital projects to continue operations, the County Commission made the controversial decision to close the inpatient hospital and restructure indigent care services, Stephens said. Then, they filed for bankruptcy and restructured the county’s debt.
Through sound management practices and fiscal responsibility in a new form of government that includes a county manager, they reduced the cost of county government by about $33 million a year, but the services provided to the public have been reduced too much, Stephens said.
A new software system and new hires in the revenue department have made that department more efficient, and the county has been able to open satellite offices in Hoover, Center Point and Gardendale, but great needs remain, Stephens said.
Some of the greatest needs are in roads, transportation and economic development, he said.
“New sources of revenue to improve these basic services continue to be our biggest challenges,” he said.
Stephens said new taxes are not the answer. However, the refinancing of $600 million of debt funded by a 1 percent sales tax and reallocation of that money initially designated only for schools is going to provide much-needed revenue for county services, he said.
“The county is committed to using this new revenue for infrastructure improvements and economic development, and we will do it by partnering with our local municipalities,” Stephens said.
The county will be able to take over maintenance of county roads that go through cities and refocus on much-needed road expansion and construction projects, such as the extension of Galleria Boulevard across John Hawkins Parkway, the widening of Morgan Road and improvements on Shades Crest Road, Stephens said.
New Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato and his staff already have been working with county officials on ideas for road improvements and economic development, he said.
While Shelby County is growing in population, Jefferson County lost about 850 people between 2015 and 2016, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.
“This is troubling to me and the commission,” Stephens said. “We must have the resources to be competitive, to recruit new industry and to grow jobs, or we as a county will wither and die. To have a future, we must invest in the future.”
Stephens said he realizes not everyone agreed with the extension and reallocation of money from the 1 percent sales tax, but he and other members of the County Commission want to continue rebuilding relationships and re-earning the trust and cooperation of the county’s legislation delegation, mayors, school officials, the business community, the poor and the rest of the public.
“We must reach out to everyone in this great county,” Stephens said. “We, all of us, have got to get past this ingrained mentality in Jefferson County of self-interest and start seeking solutions that achieve the greatest good for the most people. Only when we begin to coordinate with others to thoughtfully come up with solutions will we all win. Only when the desired outcome addresses the greatest needs will we begin to realize the hope, promise and potential that was once Jefferson County.”
The county cannot succeed if people are working against each other or acting purely out of self-interest, he said.
“We believe that by working together, we form an unbeatable team that will not be denied,” he said. “We can’t do it alone. We have to be a team.”