Editorial
12/30/01
It's hard to make much progress without
a map, whether you're a traveler who's lost or a state that has taken
too many wrong turns.
For the past several years, we've offered a roadmap
for progress, an agenda of things our state and area
ought to be striving to accomplish in the coming year. Sadly, many
of the items remain unchanged from the 2001 agenda.
Here's our list for 2002:
Constitution reform. The mess that was state government
this year owed much of its failure to an outdated,
deeply flawed constitution. From problems with the tax code to earmarking
so many dollars for specific uses, the constitution made it even harder
for state officials to respond to the education funding crises in
the spring and fall.
While the Legislature once again failed to move forward
this year on a new constitution, there are some encouraging signs.
The constitution reform bandwagon is getting crowded; Gov. Don Siegelman,
facing a tough re-election campaign, finally has hopped on board,
as have most of those who are running against him. And a grass-roots
movement for reform continues to grow throughout the state.
Tax reform. This issue goes hand in hand with constitution
reform, mainly because so many of Alabama's lousy tax laws are embedded
in the document. Alabama has the worst tax system in the nation, and
it's not a new problem. Study after study have documented how Alabama's
tax system bleeds its poorest citizens. The threshold for paying state
income tax kicks in at just $4,600 a year and our sales tax is higher
than the national average, yet our property taxes are by far the lowest
in the nation. Double them and they're only as much as No. 49 Mississippi.
Special interests such as the Alabama Farmers Federation
have had their way in Montgomery for too long. As long as they hold
sway on tax policy and other issues, we'll continue to see government
do their bidding instead of the people's.
Adequate education. Has there been a more dispiriting
year for public education in the past decade? Even
during the Fob James years, there was at least some progress on accountability
and academics, as well as growth in the education budget. This year,
though, the bottom fell out on the economy, and tax collections sagged.
In February, Siegelman ordered $266 million in cuts to K-12 and higher
education for the 2001 school year. This month, the Legislature in
its fourth special session of the year cobbled together bills that
would raise an estimated $162 million to replace an expected shortfall
for 2002.
The outlook is grim. The economy isn't expected to turn
around for awhile, so there will be little, if any, growth to replace
more than a quarter of a billion dollars lost. The losses threaten
some of the gains that have been made in the past several years. And
the Legislature continues to ignore a 1993 court ruling that Alabama
schools are unfairly and inadequately funded. The Supreme Court in
1997 affirmed the ruling and gave lawmakers "reasonable time"
to fashion a remedy. Hasn't four years been more than reasonable?
State education officials have crafted a remedy that would cost $1.7
billion, and recommend increases in property and income taxes to pay
most of the cost. Can't 2002 be the year the Legislature at least
begins to live up to the court order?
Can't 2002 also be the year that Paul Hubbert and
the Alabama Education Association don't always get their way in the
Legislature when it comes to education-related bills? Why, for instance,
can't lawmakers finally allow schools broad latitude to cut costs
by privatizing in some areas, such as custodial, lunchroom and transportation
services, even if it means depleting AEA membership rolls?
Adequate funding of state agencies. This year provided
what could have been a deadly lesson in the dangers of underfunding
agencies critical to Alabamians' safety. In January, six inmates escaped
from a supposedly maximum-security prison in St. Clair County. They
were able to make their getaway because there were so few corrections
officers working.
Fortunately, the inmates were recaptured without any
fatalities. Even with the public outcry and embarrassment, the Legislature
didn't substantially beef up funding for the Department of Corrections.
The prison system needs almost twice as many officers just to meet
the national ratio of inmates to officers, the backlog in state prisons
is overwhelming county jails, and space is at such a premium that
violent offenders often serve just one-third of their sentences before
being released.
The prison system needs more attention (and money) from
the Legislature, as do the perpetually underfunded departments of
Public Safety and Human Resources. Alabama still doesn't have enough
state troopers patrolling the roads, and it still costs more to board
a dog in Birmingham than foster parents receive from the state for
taking in abused and neglected children.
And while they're at it, lawmakers next year ought to
finally quit cold turkey their steady diet of pork that sucks millions
of dollars from the budgets which could be used on critical needs
instead of their re-election efforts.
Protecting the environment. Work needs to continue on
the progress made last year by the Alabama
Commission on Environmental Initiatives. The commission offered a
blueprint for strengthening Alabama's woeful environmental laws and
boosting enforcement. Lawmakers need to turn recommendations such
as developing nutrient standards for lakes and rivers and boosting
funding for environmental protection into concrete action.
Occupational tax fix. The U.S. Supreme Court's refusal
to hear an appeal of a ruling that upholds Jefferson County's occupational
tax means the tax is legal, but it's still not fair. Already, there
are rumblings the legislative delegation is going to come back with
another rewrite of the tax. Instead of trying to steal part of it
for their own pork projects, they should sit down with county commissioners
and reach an agreement that will make the tax fair to all citizens.
Regional cooperation. Closer to home, nothing is more
important in moving this region forward than for local governments
to work with each other. This is one area that holds huge promise
in the coming year, mainly because of recent wholesale changes in
several local governments. Birmingham Mayor Bernard Kincaid has been
saying all the right things, and meets regularly with the Jefferson
County Commission president and the county mayor's association. Now,
with a council willing to work with him, Kincaid has a chance to reach
out and really connect with other local governments on issues such
as economic development, transportation, public safety and air quality.
Also, plans are under way to form a regional organization
that would bring together government, business and citizens on major
issues. Details on the Metropolitan Growth Alliance should be rolled
out early next year.
Reining in sprawl. Uncontrolled development is one of
the biggest threats to the environment. Nowhere is that more evident
than in the fragile Cahaba River watershed, much of it threatened
by runoff from construction and home sites. Fortunately, several local
governments, including Jefferson and Shelby counties, Hoover, Vestavia
Hills, Leeds, Trussville and most recently Birmingham, are funding
a $225,000 study of the watershed. Long overdue, the study will set
environmental and development guidelines to protect the watershed.
Sprawl is also one of the reasons our area hasn't been
able to meet smog standards set by the federal
government. The poor-quality air threatens economic development, federal
highway money and, most important, the public's health.
Mass transit. Compared to similar areas in the Southeast,
our transit system gets less funding, has fewer
passengers and travels fewer miles a day than any other. We need a
transit system that is viewed as more than just a transportation system
for the poor, that can get employees to and from work, and help relieve
congestion and pollution.
To help make this happen, Alabama has to repeal a goofy
constitutional amendment that forbids it to spend
transportation tax dollars on anything but highways and bridges.
Civic center expansion. Call it a domed stadium if you
must, but the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex needs to grow.
We need more exhibition and convention space, as well as more hotel
rooms to attract the larger conventions and sporting events that would
bring tourist dollars into downtown. Let's settle on a suitable plan,
and find a way to fund it.
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