A federal judge in Birmingham is being asked to block recent actions taken by the newly-created Central Alabama Water authority .A lawsuit filed by former board members William Muhammad and Brenda Lewis, seeks a temporary restraining order against CAW and CEO Jeffrey Thompson, after 135 employees were laid off last week. In addition the suit asks for a reversal of a recent decision to transfer additional powers from the board to Thompson.U.S. District Judge Anna Manasco has given Central Alabama Water until March 27th to respond to the complaints.
A new audit of the newly-created water board also points to long term problems. The study says more than half of the treated water system is not being billed to customers. It attributed the losses between the year two thousand and twenty twenty four on aging infrastructure and faulty billing practices. Governor Kay Ivey signed a bill moving control of the board from Birmingham to its suburbs. The global bond rating agency Standard and Poor's lowered the borrowing rate for the newly-created Central Alabama Water system.
In addition, the newly revamped water works is taking a hit from Wall Street. The global bond rating agency Standard and Poor's is lowering the borrowing rate for the newly-created Central Alabama Water system. Governor Kay Ivey took control of the board from the city of Birmingham last year and moved it to the suburbs. Mayor Randall Woodfin sued, but a federal judge ruled against an injunction. Critics say the move was cloaked in racism. The city of Birmingham is primarily black and the suburbs mostly white.
