Greetings from Subprime County

[dixiehack]

You know those billions of dollars we borrowed a while back. Yeah, we kinda have no clue if you'll ever see your money again.

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2008/02/county_issues_warning_on_debt.html

Jefferson County told creditors in a filing Thursday night that it could offer no assurances it can meet its sewer debt obligations.

In two securities disclosure documents, the county said:

Soaring interest rates mean it may not be able to make payments on $3.2 billion in sewer bonds.

It may not be able to post $184 million in collateral required when credit-rating agencies lowered the grade for its interest-rate swap agreements.

Its sewer debt service reserve fund was now underfunded because of the credit downgrade, and the county could not guarantee it could properly fund or insure it.

The credit rating for $1 billion in school construction bonds, backed by a 1 percent countywide sales tax, had been downgraded from AAA to AA by Fitch Ratings Ltd., one of three major credit-rating agencies. The other two credit agencies, Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investor Services, put the school bonds on credit watches.

On the sewer debt, the county must come up with the $184 million as collateral on its swap agreements by March 7 or find a firm willing to insure that the cash-strapped county will pay its obligations, the documents said.

 

[goalmouth]

Can a sewer be repossessed?

 

[Pastor]

Can a sewer be repossessed?

Would you want to?

 

[93Devil]

This kills their Bond rating.

This county's government will not be able to build anything for a long time.

I hope they do not need to build a school anytime soon.

 

[dixiehack]

And to the surprise of no one, one of the leading dip****s behind this mess, former county commissioner and now chief street hustler Birmingham mayor Larry Langford, gets hit with an SEC civil lawsuit. Over/under on the criminal charges is probably Father's Day.

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2008/04/sec_files_civil_complaint_agai.html

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission today filed a federal civil complaint against Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford, Montgomery banker Bill Blount and lobbyist Al LaPierre, claiming Langford received benefits in exchange for county bond business.

The SEC, in the action filed in Birmingham federal court, accuses Langford of accepting more than $156,000 in cash and benefits from Blount in exchange for helping Blount's firm, Blount Parrish and Co., obtain $6.7 million worth of county bond and financial business between July 2002 and August 2004. Read the filing here


The SEC also accuses Langford of obtaining help from Blount and LaPierre to secure and later pay off personal bank loans. LaPierre is accused in the civil action of receiving $219,500 from Blount to help obtain the county's financial business from Langford.

LaPierre has denied receiving payments from Blount related to Jefferson County bond business. But the SEC complaint cites three county financial deals in which Blount paid LaPierre for his help with Langford in 2003 and 2004.

The SEC lawsuit against the three describes the longstanding friendships Langford, Blount and LaPierre shared, and describes how they worked together to deliver county financial business to Blount and cash and benefits to Langford. Langford served as County Commission president starting in 2002 until last year, when he was elected Birmingham mayor.

As commission president, Langford shepherded most of the county financial deals that the SEC began investigating in 2004.

From today's Birmingham News: Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford blasts U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, accuses it of smear campaign

Reached by telephone today Langford said he was amazed the SEC would file a civil action against him. "They are anxious to destroy my reputation," he said. "They're doing this knowing that I passed a polygraph test that showed I did nothing wrong."

 

[User 1019]

They wanted his sorry ass ... they got him.

 

[slappy4428]

This kills their Bond rating.

This county's government will not be able to build anything for a long time.

I hope they do not need to build a school anytime soon.

Actually, they are in the process of building several. had a 1 percent sales tax for years earmarked for building fund and they are building schools all over. The extra money, however, is in the midst of being hijacked by the county commission for the sewer bonds.



And Larry Langford can't go to jail fast enough... carpetbagging dumbass

 

[BigRed]

I still can't believe the city of Birmingham elected him as its mayor..... I know, I know, it's Birmingham, but the guy couldn't even run a theme park. He decided to start a amusement/water park - VisionLand, he called it - in one of the worse areas of town (one of my wife's friends dubbed it "Rides, Slides and Homicides). And he ran that bad boy into the ground before another amusement park company rehabbed and rescued it.
I'm just dumbfounded that B'ham trusted him to run their city.

 

[slappy4428]

I still can't believe the city of Birmingham elected him as its mayor..... I know, I know, it's Birmingham, but the guy couldn't even run a theme park. He decided to start a amusement/water park - VisionLand, he called it - in one of the worse areas of town (one of my wife's friends dubbed it "Rides, Slides and Homicides). And he ran that bad boy into the ground before another amusement park company rehabbed and rescued it.
I'm just dumbfounded that B'ham trusted him to run their city.

You shouldn't be.. he promised them everything and has never come up with a way to fund it...
He spends more on credit than I do

 

[westcoastvol]

Wow, Dixie, I thought you were posting from Riverside County (Hi, Tiger!).

 

[novelist_wannabe]

Wait, is Langford Alabama or Auburn?

 

[dixiehack]

Wait, is Langford Alabama or Auburn?

Langford is for Langford. He'll take whatever side you want, just as long as the check clears.

 

[ink-stained wretch]

As an aside, after nearly 30 years of covering municipal and school funding, I find the first story near incomprehensible. Put in English fellows. Towit:

Citizens, you've been screwed. First your elected leaders chose not to move into the 20th century and the federal government had to step in and order them to put in a sewer system. Since then your sewer rates have gone up 400 percent.

That would be because your elected leaders played a game of three-card Monty with a sidewalk shill broker. Your elected leaders got peanuts, the shill got millions, and you got screwed.

In an effort to hide their cupidity and incompetence, your elected leaders are blaming it on "high interest rates". That is akin to blaming your unwanted pregnancy on the phases of the moon. In either case, it was you that got screwed.

The fault lies not with high interest rates but with the nonfeasance, misfeasance and malfeasance of elected leaders — and perhaps the media for failing to explain in understandable English what they were planning on doing to you.

Good luck folks. At least you have football to comfort you.

 

[Ben_Hecht]

Great stuff.

 

[dixiehack]

And sure as the sun rises in the east, here comes the explanation that's its just the man keeping LaLa down. And do note the kicker.

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2008/05/birmingham_sclc_president_blas.html

The president of the Birmingham and Alabama chapters of the Southern Christian Leadership Council today accused the federal government of persecuting Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford and other black elected officials.




The Rev. Calvin Woods also accused The Birmingham News of attacking Langford and other Birmingham leaders with its coverage of the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission's investigation of Langford.

Woods said the SEC's investigation of Langford amounts to "overt, intentional persecution." He called on the agency to "cease and desist with this witch hunt ... of a black man who is a statesman as well as a politician."

Woods was among 17 local ministers who attended this morning's Birmingham City Council meeting to protest the investigation of Langford.

The SEC last week filed a civil lawsuit accusing Langford of receiving money through lobbyist Al LaPierre from Montgomery investment banker Bill Blount. Langford secured county business for Blount in a series of financial transactions in 2003 and 2004, the SEC said.

Woods' son, Chris Woods, was awarded a contract by the city of Birmingham in February allowing him to earn as much as $2 million over two years to help manage building projects.

 

[dixiehack]

The clock is ticking, with less than a month to go until the money is due. So naturally the County Commission fires the advisers telling them that painful changes are needed in favor of a whole new cast of characters.

More and more outsiders are starting to notice the train crash that's coming soon.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aF6lgmPZ6XwE

 

[slappy4428]

The clock is ticking, with less than a month to go until the money is due. So naturally the County Commission fires the advisers telling them that painful changes are needed in favor of a whole new cast of characters.

More and more outsiders are starting to notice the train crash that's coming soon.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aF6lgmPZ6XwE

With commissioners like Shelia Smoot and Bettye Fine Collins, it's a wonder this didn't happen years ago -- especially with the current Birmingham mayor on the board...

This place has to improve to be ****ed up. they wanted to try and impose a sewer bill on people with septic systems -- with Smoot trying to push it as a Clean Water Surcharge. While the sewer system had to improve, under federal order, the only thing really cleaned out are the taxpayers.

 

[dixiehack]

Yeah, it's about to get real ugly.

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2008/08/_news_staffjoe_songerfrank_den.html

 

[slappy4428]

Yeah, it's about to get real ugly.

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2008/08/_news_staffjoe_songerfrank_den.html

Amateur stuff compared to a city 650 miles north....

 

[Sam Mills 51]

Can a sewer be repossessed?

Sounds like a waste of time to me.