The Alabama State Senate will vote on Thursday whether or not to uphold a contest by Gardendale native Scott Beason, R-17th, on a bill that would give the Jefferson County Commission Authority to increase taxes.

The bill broke through a contest in the state House of Representatives and now awaits a yea or nay from the state Senate on Thursday, the final meeting day of the current legislation. Senators such as Beason can contest and even kill bills if they involve only their home county; upturning a contest is a rare feat that requires at least 80 percent of the governing body, house or senate, to vote in favor of the upturn.

Last Thursday, Beason blocked the Senate from voting on the bill, House Bill 650.

“I’ve always believed raising taxes should be an arduous process. We need to put it to a vote,” said Beason. “Is every problem fixed by raising taxes? We’re on the fast track to doing that, and we need to go home and raise a vote.” He said he plans to listen to what county residents are saying before he makes his decision on Thursday about whether or not to lift the contest.

House Bill 650 is a “limited home rule” bill, meaning that certain powers are delegated, often temporarily, from Montgomery legislatures to local governments, such as the county commission. The bill would allow the commission to raise certain taxes, such as sales tax, privilege license tax, rental and lease taxes and others.

“I’ve always been against home rule,” said Beason. “The county has sufficient funds, and they’re about to raise taxes.”

Beason also contests restrictions on how the commission should spend its tax money, saying that earmarked money should be removed and that priorities should be reevaluated.

“I have said from the very beginning that we need to take stock of what we have and re-prioritize,” he said. “We are dealing with issues created over a 20-year period. It’s time to stop the madness.”

Joe Knight, County Commissioner of District 4 (which consists mostly of the north Jefferson area), said the earmarks are necessary for some services in the county to continue to exist.

“Cooper Green Mercy Hospital averages 45-50 patients a night. That’s not enough to keep it running on its own,” said Knight. “We need money to get over the gap.”

The gap

“We are embarking on a new era for our county, and without much revenue,” said Commissioner James “Jimmie” Stephens at the beginning of his discussion of how to make up a $15.5 million hole in the county’s general fund at the commission’s meeting on Tuesday.

The commission will have a special meeting Friday, the nature of which will largely be determined by the Senate’s decision on Thursday. Several members of the commission were not expecting the bill to pass.

“I doubt we’ll get help from Montgomery. We usually don’t,” said Knight. “We did get some help with the business license tax… but that was about it.”

Stephens said it costs roughly $15 million a month to keep the county running as is. The county currently makes about $7 million in revenue per month.

“It doesn’t take an accountant to see that there’s a problem with that… We’re going to have to alter the footprint of our economy with the way we do business.”

Twelve million dollars of the monthly $15 million budget comes from personnel. If House Bill 650 does not pass on Thursday, Stephens said 964 employees will be laid off county-wide, including 238 employees who work for elected officials that were previously not in danger of being laid off.