BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A group of Alabama lawmakers met privately to try and find ways to address Jefferson County's deepening financial crisis.

The Birmingham News reports (http://bit.ly/IO3FH0) that the legislators held private meetings throughout the day Monday.

Jefferson County in November filed the largest government bankruptcy in U.S. history and is rapidly spending its cash reserves.

State Rep. Paul DeMarco, a Republican from Homewood, says the county's financial situation is a complicated problem created by years of fraud and corruption.

The Alabama Supreme Court recently killed an occupational tax that generated about $66 million a year for the county, sending its general fund into collapse.

A new revenue source must be approved by the Legislature, which has a maximum of nine meeting days left in its session, which ends by May 21.