Sen. Scott Beason, R-17th, recently blocked a home-rule bill that prohibits the Jefferson County Commission from raising certain taxes without the legislature’s consent. The commission says it needs to raise taxes because it is bringing in half the revenue it needs to operate the county.

Beason argues that the county is not in a state of emergency because it has $90 million in reserve. However, the county laid off 500 employees on Friday due to lack of funds to pay workers.  

Time will tell whether Beason did the right thing in blocking the home-rule bill, but one seemingly positive aspect of the move is that he at least broke the status quo of casually putting more on the backs of the taxpayer.

When he blocked the bill, Beason sent a message that Jefferson County residents are already taxed too much. With reserve resources available in the short-term, he prevented the county from receiving a long-term tax.

Jefferson County holds a dubious place in Alabama, and perhaps national, history for the most appalling mismanagement on record. Beason provided a roadblock to possible future mismanagement by preventing yet another tax on citizens.

As for the people who will be affected as a result of layoffs, most of us can sympathize in this economy.

But to look at the situation from another angle, one must do a double-take when a single person has the power to decide the fate of an entire county of people. Perhaps home rule should apply to those who live at home: Allow people within municipalities to vote on items that affect them without having to garner statewide approval.

One thing we know for a fact is that history is written by the winner. Let’s put our money on the man or woman who stands up and makes the hard decisions to value the employee, who honors the person (or taxpayer) who is paying their salary, and who is a good steward of the balance sheet.