Apryl Marie Fogel

Sep 16, 2024 | altoday.com | Apryl Marie Fogel |Paul DeMarco

Hoover’s new CFO, Jennifer Cornett, has had a wild ride since beginning earlier this year. She came out of the gate strong, insisting she would clean things up and make city finances more transparent. Unfortunately, she had to get through a mess she inherited before she got to that. It is a mess that city leadership, Mayor Frank Brocato and Council Council President John Lyda created or allowed to continue and have since tried to pin on staff hand-picked, hired, and often promoted by Brocato.

Sep 16, 2024 | altoday.com | Paul DeMarco |Apryl Marie Fogel

Since the pandemic, the Alabama economy has had its ups and downs. However, the good news is that the business climate  in Alabama has outperformed other states. One sector of the Alabama business community that has really increased is the construction industry. A recent study by the Associated Builders and Contractors of Alabama showed that between 2015 to 2021 there was a 97 percent increase in commercial construction output to the tune of $9.4 billion.

Aug 27, 2024 | altoday.com | Apryl Marie Fogel |Daniel Sutter

In a dizzying three months, Alabama Today has reported on the curious case of delayed annual audits and the secret forensic audit being done in the most roundabout way using the least transparent process possible. The firm brought in was Kroll Analytics, which the City Attorney’s law firm seemingly hired to evade public record laws so that the city could claim privileged communication even when there wasn’t. We still need answers on the funding or cost of the report.

Aug 19, 2024 | altoday.com | Apryl Marie Fogel |Daniel Sutter |Steve Flowers

For months, the City of Hoover has attempted to hide the details of its ongoing forensic audit while evading questions about its annual audit. At the August 05, 2024 city council meeting, Mayor Frank Brocato read a statement about the status of the two audits. The forensic audit was first reported only after it came up during an unrelated hearing.

Aug 18, 2024 | altoday.com | Daniel Sutter |Steve Flowers |Apryl Marie Fogel

Inflation is a top concern of voters. Yet economists generally argue that the costs of inflation are exaggerated.  Can we reconcile these views? To begin, inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has fallen significantly since hitting 9.1 percent in June 2022. Inflation was 7 percent for all of 2022 but only 2.9 percent in July. Remember also that inflation is the rate of change in prices.  A decline in inflation means that prices are increasing slower.