Guard troops may be needed in troubled Ala. county

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090804/...ounty_crisis_1

Here's Johnny

The sheriff in Alabama's most populous county may call for the National Guard to help maintain order, a spokesman said Tuesday, after a judge cleared the way for cuts in the sheriff's budget and hopes dimmed for a quick end to a budget crisis.

Circuit Judge Joseph L. Boohaker ruled that leaders in Jefferson County — now trying to head off a municipal bankruptcy filing of historic proportions — could go ahead with plans to slash $4.1 million from the budget of Sheriff Mike Hale, who had filed a lawsuit that temporarily blocked spending cuts for his office.

About 1,000 county workers already are on unpaid leave because courts threw out a key county tax, and Hale has warned that reductions to his budget would mean fewer patrols by deputies and decreased courthouse security.

A spokesman for Hale, Randy Christian, said the sheriff told Gov. Bob Riley after the ruling that state assistance may be needed to perform basic law enforcement tasks once the department's current funding is exhausted in early September.

"We will certainly be looking at calling in the National Guard," said Christian.

Hale may have to cut as many as 188 deputies and almost 300 civilian workers out of more than 700 employees total because of Boohaker's ruling, Christian said. That would leave just enough workers to staff the county's two jails, which hold about 1,000 prisoners on average.

Christian said the department couldn't close either jail or release inmates, but it would send as many prisoners as possible to the state prison system, which already is badly overcrowded.

Riley previously refused to declare a state of emergency in Jefferson County, which has about 640,000 residents and includes the state's largest city, Birmingham. But he hasn't ruled out sending in Guard members or state troopers if needed.

Ala. county prepares for government shutdown

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090801/D99PT4UO1.html


As a government shutdown loomed, residents of Alabama's most populous county lined up Friday to renew their car registrations and settle their tax bills.

By Monday, at least a quarter of the county's 3,600 employees will be on unpaid leave and many county offices will be closed or cutting back hours.

The county, with 640,000 residents, has been on the brink of filing the nation's largest municipal bankruptcy for the past year due to a sewer bond fiasco that remains unresolved. Then things got worse: A judge ruled the county's occupational tax is illegal and courts refused to let the county spend the revenue from it while officials appeal.

Long lines formed at the Jefferson County courthouse and satellite offices Friday. Some anticipated the long waits and brought lawn chairs.

"This is disgraceful and it's only going to get worse," said retired attorney Robert Eubank, who got in line at 7:30 a.m. and waited more than two hours to renew a car tag.

At least 900 county workers will be furloughed beginning Monday, a number that could grow if the situation isn;t resolved.

The news isn't all bad: Two of the county's largest agencies - the sheriff's office and Cooper Green Mercy Hospital, each with more than 700 employees - will be spared. A judge blocked cuts to the sheriff's staff, and the nonprofit hospital has a separate source of funding.

But satellite courthouses, where residents can buy tags and licenses and pay taxes without having to go to the downtown site, are closing, and offices at the main