Voter Guide: Birmingham Voters to Decide School Taxes, Three Council Seats Tuesday
By BirminghamWatch & Sam Prickett
Voters in Birmingham will head to the polls Tuesday to decide the fate of three property taxes for schools and three seats on the City Council.
Those taxes cost taxpayers who own houses valued at $100,000 about $98 per year and raise roughly $27 million a year for city schools.
Voters in City Council Districts 1, 6 and 7 also will have a choice of city councilors to represent them on their ballots. That’s almost half of the council seats up for grabs. Councilors representing those districts were appointed after the elected councilors resigned their positions. Under the Mayor-Council Act, appointed councilors may serve only until the next election.
BirminghamWatch’s city voter guide provides profiles of the candidates, an explanation of the school taxes, information about casting a ballot, and links to official ballots and a map of council districts.
Citywide Vote on Renewing Taxes for Birmingham Schools
All voters in Birmingham will get their vote on whether to renew three property taxes they already are paying that benefit Birmingham City Schools.
Those taxes generate roughly $27 million in yearly revenue for the school system, accounting for roughly 12% of its total budget, based on its $234 million FY 2019 budget. That revenue goes into the BCS general fund, 76% of which is spent on personnel salaries and benefits; the remaining 24% goes toward operational costs, capital outlay and transfers to other funds.
The taxes were last renewed by voters in August 1991 and are slated to expire Sept. 30, 2021. This month’s vote would renew the taxes through 2046.
One of the taxes is for 4.2 mills and the other two are for 2.8 mills each. The total 9.8 mills costs homeowners $98 a year for each $100,000 in appraised value of their houses.
Candidates for Birmingham City Council on the Oct. 8 Ballot
City Council District 1:
City Council District 6:
City Council District 7:
Birmingham District Maps #1-9
Poll Hours, Polling Sites and Absentee Ballots
The polls will be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Oct. 8. You can verify your polling place on the AlabamaVotes.gov site.
For those who want to cast absentee ballots, Thursday is the deadline to apply for the ballots. Monday is the last day for voters to apply for emergency absentee ballots, if their employers require them to be out of the country on election day.
Absentees must be hand-delivered to the City Clerk’s office by the end of the day Monday or postmarked by Oct. 8 and received by the clerk by noon on election day.
Sample Ballots
HUD proposes time limits and work requirements for rental aid
The rule would allow housing agencies and landlords to impose such requirements "to encourage self-sufficiency." Critics say most who can work already do, but their wages are low.
Paramount and Warner Bros’ deal is about merging studios, and a whole lot more
The nearly $111 billion marriage would unite Paramount and Warner film studios, streamers and television properties — including CNN — under the control of the wealthy Ellison family.
A new film follows Paul McCartney’s 2nd act after The Beatles’ breakup
While previous documentaries captured the frenzy of Beatlemania, Man on the Run focuses on McCartney in the years between the band's breakup and John Lennon's death.
An aspiring dancer. A wealthy benefactor. And ‘Dreams’ turned to nightmare
A new psychological drama from Mexican filmmaker Michel Franco centers on the torrid affair between a wealthy San Francisco philanthropist and an undocumented immigrant who aspires to be a dancer.
Bill making the Public Service Commission an appointed board is dead for the session
Usually when discussing legislative action, the focus is on what's moving forward. But plenty of bills in a legislature stall or even die. Leaders in the Alabama legislature say a bill involving the Public Service Commission is dead for the session. We get details on that from Todd Stacy, host of Capitol Journal on Alabama Public Television.
My doctor keeps focusing on my weight. What other health metrics matter more?
Our Real Talk with a Doc columnist explains how to push back if your doctor's obsessed with weight loss. And what other health metrics matter more instead.
