[Blazer85]

This may get the ball rolling. This is from the Commentary section of the Birmingham Post-Herald

Mismanaged

To those that think the naysayers of the dome stadium just don't care, permit me to point out a few reasons why we don't have any confidence in the leadership in the city of Birmingham.

City of Birmingham leaders think they have all the answers and don't want anyone making decisions that they have not appointed to the decision-making Waterworks Board and Transit Authority. These two boards serve far more than just the city of Birmingham, but Birmingham insists on appointing all board members. These two boards have a history of mismanagement. The majority of rate payers have no say. Add to this the dog track and John Rogers Drive, the four-lane highway to nowhere. Remember John Rogers statements that people would flock from Atlanta to gamble at the race track. Now he is promising conventions and big time sports for the domed stadium.

The mentality of the city of Birmingham, "we control everything," stopped the attempt to form a countywide government in the 1970s. This has continued today.

This demand for control and a blank check from the taxpayers of Jefferson County ensures that any time the voters have the opportunity to vote on a tax increase, they will vote against it. The domed stadium will be but another item to the list of mismanagement and waste of taxpayers dollars.

I want to see Birmingham return to the prosperous city it once was, but it will never happen under the present leadership.

Donald Dunlap

Irondale 35210