host posted on July 22, 2009 02:29
By Melanie Patterson
The North Jefferson News
Local leaders are trying to figure out what to do about maintaining county roads as the Jefferson County Commission continues to slash its budget in the current financial crisis.
On June 16, the Jefferson County Commission adopted a resolution to terminate all road maintenance on county roads in municipalities.
Mayors in north Jefferson County began receiving their notices from the county commission this week.
“I don’t know what we can do. I know no one has the money to pave roads,” said Fultondale Mayor Jim Lowery.
Morris Mayor Craig Drummonds agreed.
“Our hands are tied. Jefferson County makes the decisions,” Drummonds said. “We’ll deal with the situations as they arise until Jefferson County gets everything straightened out. At this time, all we can basically do is be prepared to make minor repairs as necessary.”
Meanwhile, Brookside Mayor Roger McCondichie is wondering what will happen with bridges on county roads. There are six county bridges in Brookside alone, he said.
When asked if taking over maintenance of county roads would cause a hardship on the Town of Brookside, McCondichie said, “I’m hoping and praying they get this thing resolved before that happens. I think they will.”
The county resolution cites several reasons for not maintaining roads, including the January 2009 Jefferson County Circuit Court decision to repeal the county occupational tax and the county business license tax.
Together, the two taxes brought in $74,614,773 to Jefferson County as of the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2008.
The resolution further stated that the loss of those funds means that the county commission cannot maintain a balanced budget, as required by the Alabama Code (1975).
“After due consideration the Jefferson County Commission has determined that it is in the best interests of the citizens of Jefferson County that immediate cost savings be achieved by terminating all road maintenance service provided” to each municipality, the resolution states.
Kenny Clemons, executive director of the Jefferson County Mayors Association, said the association’s attorney is looking at the law to determine what, if anything, municipalities can do.
“What we’re concerned with is the money the county is getting for the roads,” said Clemons.
Alabama consumers pay taxes on gasoline. The taxes are divided between the state, counties and cities, Clemons said.
“This money is set aside and it can’t be used for anything except upgrading and maintaining roads,” he said. “That’s what it’s for.”
Clemons, a former Gardendale mayor, said if the county does not use those allotted funds to maintain roads, it should send the money to cities if they are to be responsible for maintaining roads.
Fultondale Mayor Lowery said it would take the city’s entire portion of its gas tax funds to pave just one county road.
Clemons is also concerned that the county commission’s resolution is not a mutual agreement.
“What normally happens anytime a city agrees to take over maintenance of a road, there’s a mutual agreement between the State of Alabama and the city, or between the county and the city,” Clemons said.
For example, he said, the State of Alabama and the City of Gardendale have a mutual agreement regarding U.S. Hwy. 31. Both governments passed resolutions that the state will pave the road, while the city will cut the grass and pick up litter.
Clemons also said the county “can not give away that liability.”
In other words, he said, if a stop sign falls down or a traffic light goes out on a county road, the county should still be responsible for any accidents that might occur.
“Just because you don’t want something, you can’t just give it up,” Clemons said.
Jefferson County Commissioner Bobby Humphryes, the commissioner in charge of roads and transportation in Jefferson County, is unavailable for comment for the rest of the week, according to a spokesman in his office.
County engineer E. Wayne Sullivan did not return phone calls by press time Tuesday.