URGENT NEED for WATER: Remedy Jefferson County Sewer Scandal
Due to local corruption, Alabama's poorest residents (now exceeding 900) have no running water.
Unable to pay exorbitant sewage/water bills, Jefferson County's citizens are forced to bathe in bottled water and use portable toilets.
Alabama Citizens Advisory Board President Shelia Tyson says the poor are paying for Wall Street's exploitation of local commissioners' greed and inexperience.
When the county's water system needed repair, bribed commissioners accepted a sweet deal for banks that went sour for the county when the economy collapsed. BBC News says six commissioners were found "...guilty of corruption for accepting the bribes, along with 15 other officials."
After the dust settled, Tyson says, "we are still left with the old sewer system on top of a $4 billion debt." The county is now pulling funds from health services, leaving the poor not only without running water, but deprived of health care as well."
Tell the Governor to Stop Making the Poor Pay for White Collar Crime.
We the undersigned respectfully request that you resolve the issues surrounding Jefferson County's exorbitant water costs and give immediate relief to residents who are currently deprived of running water, through no fault of their own.
As we're sure you are aware, all over the country American citizens are suffering, largely due to the fallout from big bank scandals. However, likely no where else in America have the effects been more devastating than in Jefferson County, Alabama.
We appreciate your serious consideration of this very urgent request for relief to Jefferson County's poorest residents.
