Birmingham Mayor Proposes Budget With Employee Pay Raises, More Neighborhood Funds
Birmingham City Mayor William Bell wants to give employees a pay raise, spend more money tearing down dilapidated houses and buy body cameras for police.
In his fiscal 2017 budget presented to the council Tuesday, Bell proposed a 1 percent cost of living raise and 5 merit raise for employees.
The mayor also proposes increasing the amount allocated to each of the city’s 99 neighborhood associations from $2,000 to $5,000. A total of about $2.7 million would be spent on weed abatement and the demolition of dilapidated houses. In an effort to combat crime, the mayor said he wants to spend $840,000 expanding the Shot Spotter systems that detects the discharge of weapons and equip police officers with body cameras. This would cost $1 million.
The $420 million budget represents an increase of about 4 percent over the previous year.
Under the city’s Mayor Council Act, the may is responsible for presenting the budget, but it must be approved by the council and there must be public input.
A public hearing on the budget is set for May 25th. The city’s budget year begins July 1.
President Trump says he wants to stage UFC fight on White House grounds
President Trump has announced that an Ultimate Fighting Championship bout will be held on the grounds of the White House next year, one of many events to be held to celebrate America's 250th birthday.
Russia hits Ukraine with largest aerial attack as Trump talks to Zelenskyy and Putin
Russian missiles and drones hammered Kyiv in an overnight attack, the largest aerial assault on the Ukrainian capital since the war began more than three years ago.
‘Antagonized for being Hispanic’: Growing claims of racial profiling in LA raids
Immigration agents are raiding known hubs for Latino workers: day laborer gathering spots, street vendor corners and car washes. Legal advocacy groups say their tactics are unconstitutional.
Why is the dollar off to a weak start this year?
The U.S. dollar had its worst start this year in more than half a century. Harvard University economics professor Kenneth Rogoff says President Trump is accelerating the decline.
17 everyday people share what freedom means to them in today’s America
This Independence Day, NPR wanted to know how the freedoms and ideals of the U.S. have been on readers' minds.
North Korean crosses the heavily fortified border to South Korea
South Korean authorities plan to investigate the border crossing and did not immediately say whether they view the incident as a defection attempt.
