It is hardly unusual these days for a government building to forgo a fresh paint job or regular lawn care to cut costs. But last week, the director of the Jefferson County public nursing home was told that the county could no longer afford to bury indigent patients.
Across town at the juvenile detention center, the man in charge was trying to figure out how to feed the 28 children in his custody when the entire cafeteria staff is let go. The tax collector warned local school districts to expect a six-month delay to get their share of property taxes. In family court, administrators plan to delay child support, custody and child abuse cases, leaving some children in the hands of the state indefinitely.
In every part of Jefferson County ”” Alabama’s most populous county and its main economic engine ”” government managers have been scrambling to prepare for Saturday, when two-thirds of county employees eligible for layoffs ”” up to 1,400 ”” will be lost in an effort to stave off financial ruin.
“Outside of the city of Detroit,” said Robert A. Kurrter, a managing director with Moody’s Investors Service, “it’s fair to say we haven’t seen any place in America with the severity of problems that they’re experiencing in Jefferson County.” Moody’s rates Jefferson County’s credit lower than any other municipality in the country.
Jefferson County suffers from severe mismanagement and corruption–its commissioners are dropping like flies to prison system, and Birmingham’s mayor is currently under indictment. Its main source of revenue was an illegal tax that the courts threw out. This would have come with or without the current economic situation