Troubled Neighbors

[Tourian]

Oh, wait..Lipscomb does have police, 10 officers... and there's trouble on the force.

[Tourian]

So pathetic.

Brighton police still without squad cars | Local News - WVTM

[Tourian]

They made it couple of more months than Mayor Coachman initially projected...but it looks like time is just about up and all the money is gone.


Water Works threatens to shut off water to city of Fairfield | AL.com

Troubled Fairfield, struggling to make payroll and already facing shutdown of bus service, may see water turned off at city offices.
An email from Birmingham Water Works officials, obtained by AL.com, says Fairfield has accumulated more than $128,000 in overdue water bills at 17 city addresses.
Coachman said the city will likely have to file for bankruptcy, but has hired lawyer Alton Parker to help sort through the money problems. But that is an additional expense, too.
""It is hard," he said. "It gets harder every day."
Asked if it was time to simply give up and dissolve the city, Coachman said "I'm the captain of this ship and I'm not going to jump overboard. Not until we've exhausted everything."

[preguntas]

"Exhausting everything" is a poor choice of words. I hope on the brighter side he is also meeting with people that can help determine a future course. And I hope that has included the will to see if Birmingham can see a course going forward. In this county of 35 plus cities, even combining just two could be a starting point for those other cities whose pride may not be worth the cost of standing alone when they have so much in common with the core city.

[Tourian]

Originally Posted by preguntas

"Exhausting everything" is a poor choice of words. I hope on the brighter side he is also meeting with people that can help determine a future course. And I hope that has included the will to see if Birmingham can see a course going forward. In this county of 35 plus cities, even combining just two could be a starting point for those other cities whose pride may not be worth the cost of standing alone when they have so much in common with the core city.

Indeed. I thought I heard this morning they only have about 900 dollars in the city's bank account and none of the workers have been paid yet. I'd say everything has been exhausted as far as remaining a city is concerned.

[Dorsai56]

It's a terrible situation. With $128k owed you can see why the water works has to cut the water off... but it still does nothing but make the situation worse.

[Tourian]

I had heard that Birmingham was going to help them pay the water bill as well as the buses but I'm not quite sure how that translates into paying "franchise fees"


Fairfield councilors question mayor over city's problems, mayor said water will not be shut off | AL.com

Councilor Gloria Matthews questioned the mayor: "Do you have a plan in place to save our city?"


He responded, "I don't understand your question."

Ummm, what?

Tonight, Coachman said that the city has reached an agreement with the Water Works and the water will not be cut off. He said that the city has reached an agreement with the Water Works board, and the city will pay "franchise fees" to keep its water.
"We have a good working relationship with the Water Works... we will have water," Coachman added.


"Reality is reality," Coachman said about the fact Fairfield might have to file bankruptcy or face a merger. He said he isn't sure which option is the best choice for the city right now.

[Tourian]

So Brighton is back in the news for not being able to pay the bills.
City councilors walk out on Brighton mayor as city faces financial crisis