Bachus: JeffCo Will Do Right

House Financial Services Committee chairman Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., last week told mayors in Jefferson County that he believes the right decisions will be made by county commissioners dealing with the sewer debt crisis, according to the Birmingham News.

The County Commission on Aug. 12 rejected a settlement offer with Wall Street creditors and insurers, and appointed two members to negotiate directly with those holding the troubled sewer debt.

Bachus told the newspaper that he thinks creditors can agree to a low interest rate since Treasury bonds are at historic lows, and that he has talked to both sides about focusing on the interest rate and terms that would accomplish a settlement.

"The creditors need to step up and make an agreement with the county," he told the paper.

Commission President David Carrington and Commissioner Jimmie Stephens, who heads up the board's finance committee, reportedly went to New York this week to begin new talks.

Prior to the Aug. 12 rejection of the creditors' proposed settlement, the court-appointed receiver for the sewer system and several state officials were heading up negotiations over a plan to restructure the outstanding $3.14 billion of sewer debt on which the county has defaulted.

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