The Mobile County Commission could soon grow from three members to five if a bill that passed through the Alabama House April 7 passes through the Senate before the end of the current legislative session.

Rep. Spencer Collier (R-Irvington) says he has chosen to co-sponsor the bill initially sponsored by Rep. Yvonne Kennedy D-Mobile because constituents in his district have historically not received enough representation from county officials.

“Of the three districts, only one is made up of majority rural residents, the other two are majority urban,” Collier said. “So, we feel that’s unfairly tilted toward the City of Mobile.”

He also points to what he perceives to be a lack of real knowledge among the current commissioners regarding the rural way of life and what needs might be associated with that different lifestyle. “Of the three right now, two live in the City of Mobile and one lives inside the police jurisdiction. There’s not a single county commissioner that lives in rural Mobile County, and we make up slightly more than 50-percent of the population,” Collier said.

In his reasoning, Collier provided comparison to other counties across Alabama. He found that each current Mobile County Commissioner represents roughly 133,000 citizens. “That’s about 10 times the average that a county commissioner represents in Alabama,” according to Collier. “The bill is going to give the rural parts of the county and specifically South Mobile County more representation.”

Current Mobile County Commissioner and fellow republican Steve Nodine thinks Collier is going against the ethos of his own party.

“First, we have enough government now – we have enough politicians. Adding two more (County Commissioners) would just add an unnecessary layer of government,” Nodine said. “Second, Spencer’s argument is that he wants to give people in the rural county more of a voice. Well, as you know through annexation with the city, the police and fire jurisdiction now is almost encompassing every bit of the unincorporated county. If you broke down the numbers of what we represent in the unincorporated county – outside of city jurisdictions – we represent just a little more than a city council person does.”

Nodine refutes Collier’s idea for other reasons as well. He thinks the addition of two more county commissioners would actually create more power within the city, thus, subsequently and adversely affecting the pay-as-you-go program.

“The third thing is, it would certainly create almost another school board if you will, and another city council – meaning that we’d have three districts that would predominately be represented by the City of Mobile and that would be a huge problem for county residents when it comes to the pay-as-you-go program,” Nodine said. “If you think the people in Midtown that have been waiting to get their roads paved for 30 years would approve having a dirt road pave out in the middle of – let’s just say Tillman’s Corner or Wilmer – probably not going to happen, you can rest assured.”

In addition to the three major bugs Nodine can list at the drop of a hat, he also thinks the issue of pay is detrimental to this bill.

Collier agrees.

“That’s probably the stick and thorn of the legislation. That has not been worked out. Under the legislation that has passed the house, the commission would go from three members to five members. They would be full-time commissioners and the pay would not change,” Collier said.

Nodine simply discounted the bill as “unnecessary” in relation to the principles of efficient governing and says it may come down to something as simple as two groups not sharing similar views.

“As far as the cost to the county, we would have to reshuffle almost everything,” Nodine said. “I think a lot of this stems from the dirt road legislation. And, of course Spencer will deny that and everybody will deny that, but I hear first-hand that some do not see eye to eye with Mike Dean down there. If it was myself that was in that position, I would certainly not try – as a Republican – I would certainly not try to increase the size of government. I’d go out there and try to find another commissioner – whether it was me, whether it was Mike, or Merceria. Not getting a response from your commissioner is not a reason to increase the size of government,” Nodine said.

Even so, Collier says he’s got the support of Dean and Ludgood who, according to Collier, both feel the bill might help their respective districts.

Neither Dean, a Republican, nor Ludgood, a Democrat, returned calls made by Lagniappe regarding this issue.

With bipartisan support, the bill as it is written is likely to pass through the Senate if time can be found in the current legislative session, but Nodine isn’t the only person who has expressed disapproval in regards to certain aspects of the bill.

Alabama Sen. Ben Brooks (R-Mobile) would like to see alterations made to the current bill and is likely to try to amend it himself. Brooks thinks the bill could be changed to include seven part-time county commissioners and one full-time county manager, and likely solve the budgetary concerns.

“On the one hand, I hear the concerns that some have that more representation is needed for some areas in the county. I agree with that. And then I hear concerns of some about growing government – increasing the cost of government. I too, am concerned about that,” Brooks said. “I think having seven part-time county commissioners would provide that representation that those areas need without bring up the cost of government or increasing government.”

Brooks is also adamant in letting county residents vote on any such changes, a provision not included in Colliers current bill.

If Brooks tries to amend Collier’s legislation, he will in effect, kill the bill on the floor due to time constraints.

Collier said he could see Brooks’ amendments working well, but wishes to pass the current bill now and then work toward a seven member part-time commission in the future.

“I support the concept of what he’s (Brooks) talking about. However, I think we’re so late in the process – I don’t know if that’s something that can be worked out,” Collier said.

Nodine says Brooks’ idea certainly addresses any budgetary concerns, but in his opinion, “isn’t likely to get much support from voters.”

The current legislative session may end no later than May 18.