Mayor Woody Baird boasts of an “impeccable record to run on.” But in Alexander City, where a family using 5,000 gallons of water pays nearly $100 a month while their neighbors in Auburn pay just $36, the word impeccable begins to sound like a cruel joke.
The record is written in ordinances and on monthly bills. In September 2021, Ordinance 2021-18 doubled the base sewer charge from $10 to $20 and nearly doubled usage fees from $6.34 to $12.68 per 1,000 gallons. It also locked in automatic 7 percent increases every year through 2026, guaranteeing bills would rise no matter what. In January 2025, Ordinance 2025-04 amended Section 90-66 of the city code to adjust industrial rates, while still binding rate structures to operational and debt costs.
By August, Ordinance 2025-19 made the intent unmistakable: “Basis, adjustment and allocation of sewer rates shall be based upon user classifications (residential, commercial, industrial) and usage volume.” It continues: “The City shall adjust rates periodically to reflect changes in maintenance costs, capital improvement demands, debt service obligations and regulatory compliance costs.” And it codified automatic increases “to ensure that revenue keeps pace with inflation, rising operational cost, and debt obligations.” In plain English, rising costs are baked in by law.
Here is how those laws hit a household budget every month:
Alexander City families are paying two-and-a-half to nearly three times more than their neighbors for the same water usage.
And they are not getting better service for their money. Earlier this year, ABC 33/40 interviewed Karen Lee, who said, “I’m not paying $100 a month for water I can’t drink.” Another resident told reporters her tap water “smells like a swamp.” Citizens have carried jars of cloudy water into council meetings as evidence. Families say they are forced to spend hundreds of dollars a month on bottled water just to cook and keep their children safe.
The frustration grew so intense that more than a thousand residents signed a petition to Governor Kay Ivey demanding help. The petition alleged mismanagement, unsafe water and unresponsive leadership. Instead of listening, the mayor’s office dismissed it as “not a single fact.” That dismissiveness says more than any campaign slogan ever could.
Meanwhile, the sewer department continues to run a $2 million annual deficit. Even with bills two to three times higher than in surrounding cities, the system bleeds red ink. In June 2025, the council held what the Alexander City Outlook called a “heated discussion” over rates and voted to rescind the automatic 7 percent hikes scheduled for 2025 and 2026. That move brought temporary relief but left a gaping hole in the department’s finances and no plan to fill it.
Baird’s biggest promise to fix these problems collapsed in spectacular fashion. He championed a $14 million sewer pipeline project, sold as the key to bringing industry and jobs to Alexander City. The city borrowed $9 million to make it happen. Within months, the private partner went broke. The pipeline never delivered. The jobs never came. All that remains is debt, and families are still paying for it in their monthly bills.
This is the timeline of Baird’s “impeccable record:” 2021, rates doubled and automatic increases locked in. 2022 through 2024, residents complained of foul-smelling, undrinkable water. 2025, new ordinances reinforced automatic adjustments, the pipeline project collapsed, the council rescinded hikes, and the sewer department still reported a $2 million deficit. What families saw in those years were higher bills, brown water and a mayor unwilling to face the consequences of his own decisions.
Leadership is measured not in slogans but in results. Results are clean water at a fair price, honest accounting for debt, and accountability when promises collapse. By those standards, Alexander City families are paying more and getting less. Mayor Baird can keep saying “impeccable record.” But every time his constituents open their bills, they know the truth: higher costs, worse water and debt without dividends. That is the record, and no amount of spin can wash it clean.
