Fairfield seeks help from JeffCo Commission
The city is being held back, commissioners say, by dysfunction between the city’s mayor and council.
The embattled city of Fairfield has approached the Jefferson County Commission for help through their financial crisis, BirminghamWatch reports — but commissioners say that the city must solve its own dysfunction first.
Fairfield has struggled for years with revenue issues; the city’s Walmart closed in early 2016, cutting off its primary source of revenue. This was less than a year after U.S. Steel shut down its blast furnace in the series, resulting in the loss of 1,100 jobs.
The city’s leadership has largely changed since then — the city replaced its mayor and all but one councilor in late 2016 — but the leadership problems have remained, particularly in regards to the power struggle between the mayor’s office and the city council. Now, the city is reportedly worried about being able to afford law enforcement in its area through their next pay period.
That problem was what Jefferson County Commissioners pointed to on Tuesday. “They’ve got to get their act together so we can help them solve this problem,” said Commissioner Sandra Little Brown. “The mayor and the council have some problems making decisions together. That’s the real problem; they’ve got to come together.”
Commission President Jimmie Stephens said that the commission would be willing to help the beleaguered city — “but we have to have a willing partner to move forward and work together to improve the quality of life.”
Read the full report at BirminghamWatch.
