Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, which puts the two governments on the same planet, in the same state, and in the same political and geographical location.

Jefferson County this week asked Gov. Bob Riley to declare a state of emergency and to send in state workers to man the jails and help carry out functions normally associated with the county.

The next day, not far from the courthouse (also in Birmingham) the City Council launched Mayor Larry Langford’s domed stadium that is to cost $630 million. The council agreed to spend $8 million a year to begin the design phase for a 57,000-seat stadium for the north side of downtown.

It seems rather foolish that the city would begin this pipe dream project while its county has defaulted on millions of dollars in bond payments and can’t pay workers.

The county’s money comes from one pot and the city’s from another, but it is the pot containing money belonging to the rest of us that they want to help bail Jefferson out of this crisis and, most likely, to pay for the mayor’s domed stadium.

If Birmingham is so well off financially, perhaps the two should seek metro government status and let the mayor and council run the county.

It is worth nothing that the mayor was running the County Commission when things began going downhill.