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$100,000.00 a day. That's the interest on 3.2 billion dollars of sewer bond debt which Jefferson County cannot afford to pay, according to Jefferson County Commissioner Jim Carns.
The sewer system generates more debt than revenue and was bound to collapse financially he said, but it happened sooner than anyone could have predicted when the county issued the bonds in response to an EPA lawsuit from 1996. Muddy business transactions spurred by the Clean Water Act now threaten to make Jefferson County the nation's largest municipal bankruptcy since the U.S. Constitution was signed. But it could be worse Carns told a crowd of sewer ratepayers and non-customers Wednesday.
Jefferson County Commissioner Bobby Humphryes organized the fourth public forum on the bond debt crisis which was Wednesday evening at the Bessemer Civic Center. He said the only alternative plans he has seen so far would all require a referendum vote. That would require permission from Governor Riley for a special session. Then from lawmakers who may not support the additional taxes attached. Even if both of those miracles had happened Humphryes said the taxpayers might have voted down proposed increases in occupational, sales, and property taxes.
But none of those miracles happened, and both he and Carns said they're not surprised. Humphryes added that he will be surprised if the county can find an alternative to municipal bankruptcy. "I'm still open minded. I would love to see something where we didn't have to go bankrupt, but you know I'm not for taxing the people of Jefferson County to death because we need to make those people whole who've caused this problem," said Bobby Humphryes.
One 75 year old Jefferson County resident who said he could not afford to retire showed up to voice his opinion at the forum, before he headed to Monroe, Louisiana for a 6:00 a.m. shift. Jack Massey is not and has never been connected to the sewer system, but said he paid around $1400.00 in fees that went to the system for the drains in his house. He wants to know if that money went down the drain.
"I don't think that those of us who'll never use it should have to pay and especially pay for the mistakes that have been made with this upgraded system," said Jack Massey.
Carns said there was a special meeting called by other commissioners set for Thursday August 14th at 10:00 a.m.
He would not go into detail, but said it regarded a non-binding resolution to put various payment options on the November ballot. The meeting will be on the 2nd floor of the Jefferson County Courthouse, Carns told the crowd.
Commissioners Collins, Smoot, and Bowman have been on the opposite side of every vote on this issue since a July 3rd meeting where they voted in favor of hiring a new team of financial advisors. Carns and Humphryes voted against the change which Collins said was necessary because progress had stalled under the original firm.
Collins has also stated that bankruptcy is not a get out of jail free card and that the county would still owe money even if it declared bankruptcy. Both Carns and Humphryes disupted that at that the Wednesday forum.
Meanwhile, Humphreys has said he will ask Alabama Attorney General Troy King to investigate certain Wall Street bankers and insurers involved in bond transactions which preceded ballooning interest rates and junk bond status.
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