In fact, Chapter 9 was amended in 1988 for the specific purpose of specifying that certain types of municipal bonds would continue to pay even in the event of bankruptcy, said James E. Spiotto, bankruptcy specialist at the firm Chapman Cutler. . The bonds issued to finance the giant sewer project in Jefferson County are of this type.
“The goal is to assure the market that in times of distress the bonds will be paid,” Mr. Spiotto said in an interview.
Many county citizens speak bitterly of a perception that other parts of Alabama view the county as unworthy of help. Even one of the county’s state senators blocked a plan to allow Jefferson to raise revenue to replace some of what was removed by the April court ruling, forcing layoffs.
“In Alabama, Jefferson County is Chinatown,” said David Mowery, a Montgomery political consultant, using the hopeless inscrutability metaphor from Roman Polanski’s film of the same name. “Forget it,” he said, summing up the general attitude toward the county. “There’s nothing you can do about it.”
But as the governor of Alabama learned over the spring and summer, you can’t just forget about Jefferson County, where Birmingham is the county seat. If it collapses, it takes the state – and the credit of the state – with it. This realization prompted the governor to intervene as the county was on the verge of declaring bankruptcy in late June.
Yet little reassures the people who hang around here, who realize that life will get harder before it gets better. The only consolation is the gallows humor and signs that they may not be alone.
“I used to think about the horrible leadership we have in Jefferson County,” said Phillip Winette, 58, who runs a printing company. “But now I watch the debate at the national level. It’s an epidemic. »
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