MyFox
 

cellis44's Blog

by cellis44 from Center Point, Alabama

Last Post 43 days, 1 hour Ago


County Sewer Woes
May 4, 2008 | 8:53 AM
Category: Political
Report This Post

Well, the sewer problems facing Jefferson County have once again made front page headlines.  The bond insurers want EVERYONE to have to pay for the  sewer system  debt. 

Let me get this right now.  I didn't ASK for the new sewer system  and I don't USE the sewer system (I have a septic tank) yet I'm expected to bail out Jefferson County.  Just what is wrong with this scenario???  The same thing that is wrong with the Federal government bailing out failed S & L businesses a few years back and now wanting to bail out homeowners that took on more debt than they could afford.  Personal responsibility  seems to be lacking in both of these examples. and also in the case of the sewer system.  "Biting off more than you can chew" seems to be a way of lfe in this area.  "Keeping up with the Jonses" is the top priority of our elected commision officials.  Our officials want the best of everything for the people in this area and just go forward with it, having given no thought to how we will be able to afford it or what to do if it doesn't go as planned.

You MUST run a city, county, state or country government just like you run a successful business.  KNOW HOW MUCH MONEY YOU HAVE TO SPEND AND DON'T SPEND MORE THAN YOU HAVE!!!  Don't count on "projected" revenues to finance things.  What is projected in some cases never comes to pass. 

17 Comments |  Add a Comment

Member Comments Total Comments: 17
Page 1 of 1
bamagirl216
May 4, 2008 | 1:47 PM

I don't use sewer either, I am on a septic tank. I resent the idea of having to pay for Larry Langford's HEINOUS scheme that got Jefferson County into this debacle. Also, I am sure that Sheila Smoot would not be for this if the citizens in her district were the ones paying the non-user fee. Clean Water Act- what a scam- they water has always been clean. Sheila and Larry have no business working in county or city government. They are both disasters. Perhaps we should get people who are educated in financial matters to run for office. Not someone who has to borrow money from friends to pay his clothing bills at a high end retailer. This isn't Visionland it's a real city and time for a real mayor!
justamomof3
May 5, 2008 | 5:00 PM

I am with you, sister!

I guess with this line of thinking since I can't make my student loan payments, I should just start charging all those around me some little "acquaintance fee" so I can get that debt paid down. How assanine is that?

But what do you expect from the leaches on the Jefferson County Commission?

I will NOT pay! I will move out of the county first and then lets see what they do when everyone starts fleeing Jefferson County.
anti-lib read my blog view my photos
May 5, 2008 | 5:31 PM

If one was to total up what each and every contract that was let on the sewer project and then total up what similar contracts cost in other cities and counties, you would see about a 75 percent overcharge to Jefferson County.

No bid contracts and kick backs led to drastic over charging in almost every contract large or small.

There is no way the cost should have even approached a billion if they had only done what the federal judge ordered.

The criminals in the court house saw their opportunity to fleece the tax payers and boy did the fur fly.

The contractors should be investigated and, if possible, the extreme overcharges should be returned to the county. I've heard reports that small jobs costing $5000 in other cities cost Jefferson county close to $50,000. Their excuse was that you can't compare cities; why not? Is it because the other cities had honest leaders and employees?

No way should we pay for a service that we don't want and don't need. I own my land and want no part of a bond holding company scam to protect their mistake of getting involved with anything Langford had a hand in. What would I get for my $380 a year?

Let the county go bankrupt.
lmc122707
May 5, 2008 | 9:17 PM

I'm with cellis44 blog . we already pay a water bill thats to much now .kthelma05
pilkybell
May 5, 2008 | 9:27 PM

We shouldn't have to pay dues for something we do not have just because od crooked politicians
SpiderMan2
May 5, 2008 | 10:07 PM

Hello,
This is Spiderman2 weaving the web that will surround the corrupt politicians.
Cellis 44, I have to agree with you, those on septic tank should not have to pay for the sewer mismanagement.
Ms Smoot must have stepped off the curb tday and bumped her head, the statement that even though you are on a septic tank, everytime you flush, you are using the sewer..Well Ms Smoot the last time I flused it all went to my septic tank in my backyard...About 1 1/2 years ago I had it cleaned and it was just like your statement, "FULL OF IT".
Now you really want to add to the county woes, can you imagine, N.Y. investors breathing down your necks for payment and 105,000 lawsuits from the septic tank users....
Now I see why the county is in trouble, you have the blind leading the blind and they all are about to fall into the PIT..
Oooobaby4
May 5, 2008 | 10:29 PM

THIS IS TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION!!! Our Country was founded to ABOLISH this!!! IT'S TIME FOR A TEA PARTY!!!! Chilton County is looking better all the time!!!
catherinemarie
May 6, 2008 | 8:32 AM

I am really SICK, SICK of Jefferson County and their sewer problems. I heard on the news on yesterday Sheila Smoot and Bolman where saying they are for septic tank customers being included in this debt, sure they would be they apparently do not have a septic tank and want us to help pay this enormous debt. I have a septic tank and was very glad not to have sewer service thru the county. Sheila Smoot even went on to say everytime we turn our water on we benefit, well we pay a water bill every month HELLO! We do not use their SEWER, I'm very angry about this and the county need to get their ACT together.
Encore
May 6, 2008 | 9:09 AM

Maybe Ms. Smoot needs to "Google" how a septic tank disposes of waste before she makes any more statements to the Media! (Not to mention the bond insureres who submitted the "plan"). COMPLAINTS SHOULD BE REGISTERED WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE (UTILITIES) BY CALLING: 334/242-7379.
top36
May 6, 2008 | 11:12 AM

i'm not paying the sewer rate..that's taxation without representation..(just like our so-called occupational tax)..i'll be sending a nice lawsuit to them if i get a bill..
also...commissioner bowman? or whatever his name is. clean water comes from the water works, not the sewers. we already pay for clean water every month and so do you. check your bill stupid
LBCAN read my blog
May 6, 2008 | 8:08 PM

It's like the county saying we are not going to tax the oxygen that you breathe, you can have all of it that you want... we're only going to tax you when you exhale!! And by the way, this is retroacive and everyone will have a chance to pay for those who have already stopped breathing in the last decade. Everyone can certainly see the basic moral fairness in that, I'm sure.
septicuser
May 7, 2008 | 11:52 AM

I believe that the bunch of commissioners both past and current that got the county in this mess should be the ones to pay, not the people of the county that are not on the sewer system. If the county commissioners are not careful they are going to do to the county what the so called leaders of Birmingham are doing, driving people away. As for Smoot, I guess she could be an expert on a sewer system, it seems that nearly everything that comes out of her mouth belongs in the sewer.
wegle1957
May 8, 2008 | 2:50 AM

Ron White is right... you can't fix stupid... ...and corrupt to boot.
cindy614
May 8, 2008 | 7:10 AM

I live in a small town in Blount County, a few years ago our city council voted to put in a sewer system. Supposedly, to make our town more appealing to big businesses. Never mind the fact that we are 25-30 minutes from the nearest interstate (can you say never gonong to happen). They required and forced everyone living in the city limits to go onto the sewer, regardless of how old the house and septic tank was. I went from having a $30 water bill to a $100 bill if I am lucky, most often $120. I literally get sick to my stomach every time I see my water bill.

I feel for all the citizen s of Jefferson County that are not on the sewer with all this talk about making you all pay. It is not right or fair. As long as your septic tank is in good working condition, I do not feel that you should be forced to pay. Your water is not being funneled through the sewer as Ms. Smoot has quoted on the news. I sincerely hope that the citizens of Jefferson County that are on septic wins this fight. I am pulling for you!
cellis44 read my blog
May 8, 2008 | 8:50 AM

The saga continues! Now what I'm seeing is that Jefferson County has paid a Birmingham Law Firm (Haskell, Slaughter, Young & Rediker) 3.2 million dollars to HELP refinance Jefferson County's sewer debt. 3.2 million dollars!!!!! And they have once again hired the same firm for an additional $600,000
to help the county recover from the refinancing that they helped create in the first place! Here we go again! What's wrong with this picture??? You have a county govern-
ment in trouble because of bad decision making which, by the way, Larry Langford had a hand in, paying a law firm huge amounts of money to
help solve a crisis when they should be using those funds to pay down the sewer debt! I guess that was too hard to figure out. The county would rather charge the non-users of the sewer for their blunder instead of taking care of business themselves. It seems to me that what the county needs is not lawyers but good, responsible, dedicated, EDUCATED officials with a good head on their shoulders for business to solve this problem.
As you can see, Birmingham lawyers keep getting richer off of the taxpayers while the county is no better off than before.
tj3891 read my blog view my photos
May 8, 2008 | 12:38 PM

smoots@jccal.org let her know what you think
greyeagle read my blog
May 24, 2008 | 7:48 AM

on the bailing out of the sa loans and the home mortage bailouts 95%of those home loans were to illegals that had no ss numbers as the banks wanted their business!i see croked politians or some wasteful spending ones everywhere loan reported on cnn about the illegal immagrants;so you know i didn't just make it up..
Page 1 of 1


Write your comment below:




cellis44

I'm a retired female banker and a staunch Republican. I am very much interested in politics and dislike the dirty path many local politicians have taken in recent days. I am a Christian and I firmly believe that God is the only one who can help America out of the hole it has dug for itself.

Member Since: 4/30/2008


 

RSS: XMLWhat is RSS?