I am able to track how many people who directly receive Common Cents actually go to the trouble to open it. Last week, I apparently touched on a subject of particular interest, because the number of ‘click throughs’ was significantly higher than it has been in, quite literally, months. If you didn’t read it, it was about the discussion surrounding a consolidated form of local government for the Birmingham metropolitan area (MSA).
More specifically, the debate seems to be about a consolidation within Jefferson County (the County), which includes the City of Birmingham (the City) and a whole host of separately incorporated municipalities. In fact, greater “Birmingham” is more appropriately defined as the Birmingham-Hoover metropolitan statistical area, which is the Census Bureau’s actual classification. However, most folks outside of the state probably aren’t familiar with Hoover, which is Alabama’s sixth largest city with roughly 85,000 residents.
Like many cities/towns in the County, Hoover has its own school system which helps shape its identity as a community. Ultimately, these separate school systems are and will be at the heart of the debate about a consolidated form of government in our area. Many of these areas pay significantly higher property taxes than the remainder of the state, with a large percent of the revenue going to fund (and control) their own boards of education. Perhaps as a result, some of these systems score very highly on state and national exams, far better than the outside world would think capable of public education in Alabama. …Read More…
The opinions expressed within this report are those of John Norris as of the initial publication of this blog. They are subject to change without notice, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Oakworth Capital Bank, its directors, shareholders, and employees.