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Tuesday morning, Jefferson County Commissioners voted 3-2 to ask Governor Bob Riley to call a special session to help the county move forward with a plan to solve the sewer debt crisis. The plan would require legislative approval. Then a constitutional amendment would be placed on the ballot in November for the people to vote for or against the plan. It includes three main components. It would use excess money from the one cent education tax, an expanded occupational tax, and sewer revenues. If that money isn't enough to cover debt payments, property taxes would automatically be increased.
That plan is the topic of a public hearing set for Friday, August 8th. It will take place at 10 a.m. at the Wright Auditorium at Samford University. Commission President Bettye Fine Collins has said the plan will be presented by a panel of advisors. Then there will be a question and answer session. The questions will be written on paper beforehand and Collins has said she does not envision a forum where the public would speak from a microphone. A second meeting is now scheduled for Friday evening. It will take place from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Jefferson County Courthouse in room 370.
Two commissioners take issue with the format of the public hearing on Friday morning. Commissioners Jim Carns and Bobby Humphryes will host their own public meetings in the coming days. Carns' is scheduled for Thursday, August 7th at 6 p.m. at the Homewood Public Library. Humphryes' is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, August 13th at 7 p.m. at the Bessemer Civic Center. Carns describes his public hearing as "the real deal before the artificial deal." Humphryes takes issue with the time of the Friday meeting. "10 o' clock on Friday morning. Most people have to work that day. They can't take a couple hours off on Friday morning to be spoken to instead of having some type of input into what's going on."
Commissioner Shelia Smoot says she's not against public hearings, but she says, "We are not here to play personal politics. We are here to take care of the people's problems. To have your own forum is great, but to create an angry mob of citizens over misinformation is wrong. That is not how you get on one accord."
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