Ala. County Prepares for Government Shutdown

As a government shutdown loomed, residents of Alabama's most populous county lined up Friday to renew their car registrations and settle their tax bills.

By Monday, at least a quarter of the county's 3,600 employees will be on unpaid leave and many county offices will be closed or cutting back hours.

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The county, with 640,000 residents, has been on the brink of filing the nation's largest municipal bankruptcy for the past year due to a sewer bond fiasco that remains unresolved. Then things got worse: A judge ruled the county's occupational tax is illegal and courts refused to let the county spend the revenue from it while officials appeal.

Long lines formed at the Jefferson County courthouse and satellite offices Friday. Some anticipated the long waits and brought lawn chairs.

"This is disgraceful and it's only going to get worse," said retired attorney Robert Eubank, who got in line at 7:30 a.m. and waited more than two hours to renew a car tag.

At least 900 county workers will be furloughed beginning Monday, a number that could grow if the situation isn;t resolved.

The news isn't all bad: Two of the county's largest agencies — the sheriff's office and Cooper Green Mercy Hospital, each with more than 700 employees — will be spared. A judge blocked cuts to the sheriff's staff, and the nonprofit hospital has a separate source of funding.

But satellite courthouses, where residents can buy tags and licenses and pay taxes without having to go to the downtown site, are closing, and offices at the main courthouse downtown are trimming hours. A note taped on the door of the county tax collector's office said it was reducing hours and not opening until 10 a.m.

About 60 county workers and supporters staged a protest Thursday on the steps of the downtown courthouse, and one county employee was arrested for allegedly sending e-mails threatened to bomb the building.