Tuscaloosa County Commission Roundup: June 2, 2021

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Here's a quick rundown of everything you need to know from Wednesday's regular meeting of the Tuscaloosa County Commission.

Big 3 Takeaways

1. Debate and apprehension persisted as county officials ease into its participation of a rental assistance program made possible by federal coronavirus economic relief dollars through the American Rescue Plan. Commissioners voted down the initial proposal to contract with three separate firms to oversee the administration of the program, due to many questions remaining. However, the commission ultimately decided to grant Assistant County Administrator David Howell the authority to meet with the firms to better understand how the Emergency Rental Assistance Program would be handled among the three firms.

2. The Commission once again supported Tuscaloosa's County's participation in the Back-to-School Sales Tax Holiday July 16-18, which will be similar to the severe weather sales tax holiday, where sales taxes will be waived on items strictly relating to education.

3. Commissioners unanimously approved the City of Tuscaloosa's request to appoint Mayor Walt Maddox to the 911 Board.

Something good!

Abernant Ball Park will soon be on receiving end of two brand new aluminum bleachers thanks to discretionary funds freed up by District 2 Commissioner Jerry Tingle in the amount of $2,200. Tingle made sure to point out the significance of maintaining the historic ballpark, which is one of the oldest in the county.

Tip of the Hat

The Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office may often be on the end asking for money, which isn't uncommon with such a big department, but Sheriff Ron Abernathy and Chief Byron Waid continue to show an accommodating approach with much smaller entities in the area in helping them meet their needs. For instance, after Waid spoke with officials at Samantha Volunteer Fire Department and Tannehill State Park, they were able to again offload surplus vehicles to those who could make good use of them, as opposed to just letting the vehicles rust. This is no different than their contribution of numerous Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) to other smaller agencies across the metro ... Our community, as big as it is, is still better when we work together and share resources.

Patch Commentary:

In print journalism, you're taught to call it like you see it, and District 4 Commissioner Reginald Murray's presentation on the need for more diversity in county jobs made several strong points during Wednesday's meeting. You can read my full coverage here, but the numbers — if they are accurate — highlight an obvious disparity.

Pay is historically a factor at all levels when it comes to public service jobs, but what stood out to me was the obvious lack of African-Americans in leadership positions in the county. This lack of diversity isn't a problem that I think it directly isolated to Tuscaloosa County, which is why I believe Murray included statistics from both the cities of Northport and Tuscaloosa to underscore his point. I also don't have a magic wand fix for this problem, but in many cases I've witnessed firsthand, getting the dialogue started is often the best first step.

Have a news tip or suggestion on how I can improve Tuscaloosa Patch? Maybe you're interested in having your business become one of the latest sponsors for Tuscaloosa Patch? Email all inquiries to me at ryan.phillips@patch.com