Birmingham, AL – The Jefferson County Commission has voted unanimously to close all satellite courthouses on Aug. 15 and switch to a four-day work week.
Tuesday's vote will reduce the budget by $38 million. The reductions include ending road maintenance contracts in cities, postponing the opening of the Bessemer Courthouse and suspending all nonessential travel.
Commission President Bettye Fine Collins said the cuts are the first of three phases to reduce the county's budget by about $78 million to help make up for the loss of occupational tax revenue.
Circuit Judge David Rains last week denied the county's request to continue spending money collected from the half-percent job tax on most people who work in the county. The decision has been appealed to the Alabama Supreme Court.
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