Lipscomb

City of Lipscomb
Incorporated	1910
Population	2,458
Mayor	Melanie Bouyer
School district	Jefferson County Schools
Government	Lipscomb City Council Lipscomb Fire Department Lipscomb Police Department
Web site	None
Locate with Google Maps

Lipscomb (incorporated in 1910) is a city of 2,458 in southwest Jefferson County bordered by Bessemer and Birmingham. It was named for a family that lived near the much-used streetcar stop at the center of the community on the Birmingham to South Bessemer route. Once an active small-town, the city's business sector has nearly vanished and the number of residents and housing units has declined sharply over the last few decades. Lipscomb does not have its own Post Office or ZIP code, instead sharing 35020 with the city of Bessemer. The Lipscomb City Hall is located at 5512 Avenue H.

Lipscomb adjoins Birmingham on two sides. In June 2008 Birmingham mayor Larry Langford proposed that Lipscomb and Brighton should both consider merging with the city as a "business decision" to improve services and open the door to development.

Officials

The Mayor is Melanie Bouyer. She defeated Deborah Miller on August 26, 2008. Miller had been appointed by Governor Bob Riley to fill the unexpired term of Simon Speights, who resigned on July 27, 2007. Since his resignation the office had been carried out by Mayor Pro Tempore Gaston Randle.

Randle assumed duties as acting mayor after the resignation of Simon Speights. Speights ran unopposed in the 2004 election for City Council, and was selected by the council to succeed Jimmie Johnson, who resigned the mayor's office in 2005. In 2007 Speights' 1994 conviction on burglary charges was revealed. Although his voting rights had been restored, it was determined that he was not qualified to run for elected office. Residents of Lipscomb petitioned for him to step down and Bessemer Cutoff District Attorney Arthur Green filed papers calling for his removal. He resigned on July 26, 2007.

Randle and councilor/fire chief David Horn have also been investigated and charged for impersonating police officers. Randle has stepped down as police commissioner, but remains on the council pending the outcome of his trial. Willie Jones and Benny Ragland comprise the rest of the 5-member council, which meets on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month.

Lipscomb's Chief of Police is Conlin Payne. David Hobdy, Jr serves as Lipscomb's municipal judge.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.1 mi², all land. The Jefferson County Board of Equalization evaluated 712 homes in Lipscomb and determined that the average market value for 2007 was $54,950, a 13.9% increase since 2006.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,458 people, 901 households, and 634 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,163.6/mi². There were 1,108 housing units at an average density of 975.3/mi². The racial makeup of the city was 66% African American and 33% White. 2.2% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 901 households out of which 35.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.4% were married couples living together, 23.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.6% were non-families. 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.35.

In the city the population was spread out with 30.1% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 29.9% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 96.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,865, and the median income for a family was $35,556. Males had a median income of $26,908 versus $21,150 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,582. About 15.9% of families and 16.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.7% of those under age 18 and 16.4% of those age 65 or over.

References

• Foscue, Virginia O. (1989) Place Names in Alabama. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press. ISBN 081730410X
• Lipscomb, Alabama. (April 29, 2007). [1] Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Accessed April 30, 2007.
• Gordon, Robert K. and Rahkia Nance (June 29, 2007) "Lipscomb mayor's 1994 burglary conviction eyed." Birmingham News
• Nance, Rahkia (July 29, 2007) "Residents fight for their beloved city." Birmingham News
• Bryant, Joseph D. (June 4, 2008) "Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford proposes city annex Brighton, Lipscomb." Birmingham News