Hospital negotiations

The city of Anniston and the Regional Medical Center board have just nine days remaining  to settle their recent legal disputes or a judge may do it for them.

The parties have until Dec. 9 to reach an agreement or else they must return to court to settle a months-long fight that resulted in the board suing the city.

Officials with the city have declined to comment on the ongoing negotiations.

Both parties decided Oct. 9 to use a neutral mediator to help barter a deal after agreeing to try to settle their issues outside of court.

RMC's lawsuit demands a judge reverse the council's October decision to remove Kernion from his seat and appoint city manager Brian Johnson and Anniston resident Paula Watkins to the board. As part of the mediation agreement, however, RMC agreed to dismiss its challenge to Johnson's appointment. Also, a temporary injunction from the court kept Kernion as chairman.

All other disagreements must be settled through mediation or the court.

City and board representatives spent 12 hours with the mediator in Birmingham on Oct. 28 but failed to reach a resolution. The city and board have been negotiating through the mediator by phone and email since then.

The situation is the culmination of a months-long struggle between the city and the board over whether the board is a public entity, how autonomous it is from the city and how much information about the Anniston-based hospital it must provide to the public.