Woodfin Presents $455 Million Proposed Operating Budget
Mayor Randall Woodfin presented his proposed operating budget to the Birmingham City Council Tuesday.
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin proposed a $455 million budget Tuesday that included employee pay raises and neighborhood revitalization initiatives. It’s the largest proposed budget in the city’s history. Tuesday’s City Council meeting kicked off the annual budget discussions for the next fiscal year.
“We stand at a moment of recovery and restoration,” Woodfin said in a statement. “This budget represents our shared priorities of neighborhood revitalization and fiscal responsibility with an eye toward investing in our future through proven initiatives like Birmingham Promise. This plan supports our departments’ efforts to provide efficient and effective services to the residents of our city.”
Merit pay increases for city employees, longevity pay, and a living adjustment salary increase of 1.5% make up the biggest share of the fiscal 2022 budget. Woodfin also noted continued investment into the city’s neighborhoods, including repaving roads and a $300,000 recycling program.
During the meeting, Woodfin said the proposed budget does not include federal coronavirus relief aid.
“In addition to this operating budget, the city will be moving forward on a separate track with the Magic City Recovery supported by the funds provided through the Biden administration’s American Rescue Plan,” he said.
The budget proposal fully restores funding to boards and agencies at a total of $22,500,000. The city cut funding to several groups last year amid a $63 million revenue shortfall sparked by the pandemic. Railroad Park, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, and Red Mountain Theatre are among the groups that will have their budgets restored.
Councilman Hunter Williams thanked the mayor for the $10 million allocation for road resurfacing.
“Over the past 30 years we’ve gotten extremely behind in our infrastructure allocation every single fiscal year,” Williams said. “And it’s something we all inherited, but it’s something we’re on the right path on fixing.”
There will be a public hearing for the proposed budget on June 1. The fiscal year starts July 1.
In addition to the budget proposal, the city council approved the redevelopment of Palisades Shopping Center.
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin’s Proposed Fiscal Year 2022 Budget by WBHM News on Scribd
How Alabama Power kept bills up and opposition out to become one of the most powerful utilities in the country
In one of the poorest states in America, the local utility earns massive profits producing dirty energy with almost no pushback from state regulators.
No more Elmo? APT could cut ties with PBS
The board that oversees Alabama Public Television is considering disaffiliating from PBS, ending a 55-year relationship.
Nonprofit erases millions in medical debt across Gulf South, says it’s ‘Band-Aid’ for real issue
Undue Medical Debt has paid off more than $299 million in medical debts in Alabama. Now, the nonprofit warns that the issue could soon get worse.
Roy Wood Jr. on his father, his son and his new book
Actor, comedian and writer Roy Wood Jr. is out with a new book -- "The Man of Many Fathers: Life Lessons Disguised as a Memoir." He writes about his experience growing up in Birmingham, losing his dad as a teenager and all the lessons he learned from various father figures throughout his career.
Auburn fires coach Hugh Freeze following 12th loss in his last 15 SEC games
The 56-year-old Freeze failed to fix Auburn’s offensive issues in three years on the Plains, scoring 24 or fewer points in 17 of his 22 league games. He also ended up on the wrong end of too many close matchups, including twice this season thanks partly to questionable calls.
In a ‘disheartening’ era, the nation’s former top mining regulator speaks out
Joe Pizarchik, who led the federal Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement from 2009 to 2017, says Alabama’s move in the wake of a fatal 2024 home explosion increases risks to residents living atop “gassy” coal mines.
