With his third term set to start Tuesday, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin has his mind focused on the big picture, saying his new administration will look beyond year-to-year planning and tackle the long-term goals needed to make the Magic City thrive for generations to come.

Woodfin recently sat down for an interview at City Hall with BirminghamWatch reporter Daniel Gaddy to talk about his policy priorities. The conversation touched on infrastructure needs, tourism and events, workforce development and homelessness outreach, as well as gains in reducing violent crime and improving educational outcomes for K-12 students.

---

The inauguration of Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin

When: Tuesday, 5-8 p.m.

Where: Boutwell Auditorium

Details: Free and open to the public. Register and get more information.

---

To reach his goals and create a long-range mindset in his administration, Woodfin announced the creation of three new leadership roles to oversee city functions: chief of public infrastructure, deputy chief of administrative services and deputy chief of public safety.

Daniel Gaddy: One thing I want to talk about is the new roles you created and the goals you have for them, starting with the new director of infrastructure position.

Randall Woodfin: The big picture here, for all the changes you see, is for us to drive more and honor our core values … . There are five core values: customer service, efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability. Three of those things, particularly around customer service, efficiency, the combination of those is how we deliver services to our residents, and accountability is to make sure there are no gaps. So with that in mind, what we tend to do around here is just do year to year.

This chief of public infrastructure (James Fowler, until recently director of the city’s DOT) will lean more in on the entire portfolio of all public infrastructure. So think Department of Transportation, which deals with city right-of-way, whether it’s sidewalks and streets. Think public works that deals with those same things, sidewalk, streets, stormwater. Think PEP (Planning, Engineering, and Permits) that deals with storm water, so many other things. Think capital projects, all those department heads will still be in place, still run their individual teams, but this is more from a strategic approach, more from a planning approach, and more from an alignment of all those departments I’ve just named, as well as driving accountability and efficiency.

I’m excited about it, actually. So think more strategic alignment and intentionality around public infrastructure and city right-of-way from a global perspective.

DG: And you have Chaz Mitchell (formerly chief of operations for the city) serving as both CFO and the commissioner of sports entertainment?  

RW: He’s just gifted. A lot of people don’t know this, but Chaz was around almost 15 years before he even came and worked for me. He started as a deputy chief of operations, then became a chief of operations. But within that, Chaz was also doing a lot of finance work. Actually, temporarily, he serves as the head of the finance department. Chad is a CPA. He’s literally a certified accountant. He’s very gifted, and not just numbers and math, but the world of finances. I think what we have to do is realize with all our portfolio of our financial enterprise — a half a billion dollar budget — how it moves. Again, that strategic planning, not just year to year, but how the budget looks five, 10 years out. What it looks like to think about all our pots of money, whether it’s our general fund, our general reserve fund, our rainy day account. I’m going to the bond market. How we allocate dollars is extremely important, and working in conjunction with the council.

So this role is elevated and needed, because I don’t want us to just be in a position where we only talk about money year to year. I want to look at how we plan out and spend money on the things our community needs, around parks, around libraries, around recreation centers, around our employees and so many other things related to our city’s infrastructure.

DG: And will Chaz be replacing the current CFO, Diana L. Bolden?

RW: Chaz is not replacing anybody. It’s similar to the chief of public infrastructure position. That person (Fowler) is not replacing the person over public works, or any of those departments. Those departments still have their department heads. Diana Bolden will still run the finance department that has 100 people, and she will still lead that. This is more a global approach, similar to the chief of infrastructure.

DG: Talk about the commissioner of sports and entertainment role.

RW: That’s driving alignment with all the opportunities you’ve seen … so since I’ve been mayor, you’ve had the World Games, you’ve had the Police and Fire Games. You’ve had all these other sporting activities in our city, from NCAA to other things that we’ve seen around sports, Chaz has led in all those efforts. So what you’re seeing me doing is separating those things, but Chaz is still driving the agenda around sports and entertainment. When you think about what we’ve done, as far as the facilities we’ve invested in since I’ve been mayor, from an amphitheater to a new football stadium to upgrading Legacy Arena. Thinking about how we’ve activated Legion Field and the Crossplex and Bill Harris Arena, Chaz is now responsible for activating those physical spaces, making sure we can continue to bring in the opportunity of sports and entertainment, which drives revenue as well.

DG: So will he be doing something like liaison work, reaching out to potential entities that might come to Birmingham for events?

RW: Yeah, it’s liaison. It’s relationships. It’s closing the deal. It’s planning out in advance for things we want to land in 2030 and beyond, etc. A lot of stuff you see for these new positions is like, “Don’t think about today, don’t think about tomorrow, think about the future and planning a more strategic approach.”

DG: When the Crime Commission released its findings, I asked you how city leaders would pay for some of the violence reduction programs when —  at least for the next three years — there aren’t as many federal dollars coming in, and you mentioned public-private partnerships. Talk more about that.

RW: Yeah. First of all, I just want to thank A.C. Roper (strategic adviser to the commission). I want to thank Ralph Williams and Lee Styslinger, the co-chairs of the commission, and all the members of the commission who I still stay in contact with, who ask about updates and who give updates all the time. We’re still chopping wood, making sure we honor those commitments.

Tell you what we’ve done: There was a recommendation to have a person at a higher position who leads all public safety. So that’s how you get the creation of the deputy chief of public safety. Again, his portfolio will include strategic mindedness around not just the police department, with the fire department, not just those two, but 911, Uche Bean’s portfolio, which includes crime reduction strategies and the community outreach piece. (Bean is director of community safety initiatives in the mayor’s office.) We also — with the public-private piece — we want to continue to build out, what does this police foundation look like? It now has its official status, but we have to build it out, and that’s going to work with the support of corporate Birmingham and small business Birmingham, supporting public safety initiatives.

We hired Carlton Peeples for deputy chief of public safety. We also created the Birmingham youth sports league out of our own funding. So these are intentional ways that, locally, we’re doing what’s necessary to support the recommendations and decrease crime in our city.

DG: I’m told one major priority this term will be workforce development, making it so Birmingham residents don’t feel the need to move to larger cities to have careers. How do you plan on working toward that goal?

RW: I think it starts with the most important thing: cradle to career. Cradle to career is what you’ll see me drive for in most all the things I do, whether it’s public safety, neighborhood revitalization, investing in our city’s infrastructure, job creation, economic workforce development. It will center around cradle to career.

What we do for the next and youngest generation sets us on the path for more job creation, for a safer city, for more home ownership, for better financial literacy, property value, you name it — people feeling safe on their porch. So what does that look like? Engaging in early childhood and expanding the opportunities around Birmingham Talks, which is now called Small Magic. What are we doing for families who have children between birth and age 5?

Continuing to partner with the school system, not just what happens between 8 a.m. and 3 p.m. but after-school initiatives, summer-school initiatives, financial literacy, conflict resolution, mental health. Birmingham Promise is creating opportunities around jobs and scholarships and putting our young people and all our high school graduates on the path to attend college. And we want to set up those programs in partnership with employers to make sure those young people can be gainfully employed, investing more in career technical education for those who don’t want to do a four-year degree.

And what does it look like in partnership with our unions, with our trades to make sure we’re creating the next generation of plumbers and electricians and HVAC and all those other things? And not just as employees, but for them to one day be small business owners in this city to provide services for our residents and others. And so that’s the plan. Really, really, really excited about that.

DG: I wanted to talk about concerns about Urban Alchemy’s performance. (Two council members recently questioned whether UA is effective and providing enough homelessness service for the amount it is being paid.) So I wanted to give you a chance to comment. What makes them right for this work?

RW: We have a toolbox, if you will, of various organizations and programs that engage our ability and intentionality around reducing homelessness and engaging unhoused residents in our community. If there are 20 tools in the toolbox, Heart (the Homeless Engagement Assistance Response Team), which is a part of the national brand of Urban Alchemy, is just one. Let’s not bully them. Let’s not pick on them because there’s room for growth. … They’re doing great work. We are clear on the contract that the council signed and all who voted for it, that they’re meeting their marks.

A lot of their work is engagement. They’re not responsible for reducing homelessness. What they’re responsible for is de-escalating situations for our unhoused residents, providing services they can, being a conduit for those who do want to come off the street to give a path and assistance. But you’ve got to build trust. You and I, we walk up to an unhoused person, they don’t know us from Adam. There’s going to be resistance, and so Heart is breaking down those barriers and walls to get people off the streets. And they’re doing a great job.

DG: Some state and federal politicians have talked about the National Guard being deployed in Birmingham (because of crime.) Have y’all discussed how the city would deal with something like that?

RW: We’ve hired 200 officers since January 1. We have another recruiting class that will start next month before the year ends. So literally, we will hire over 200 officers this year. Homicides are down roughly right at 50%. We have a clearance rate of 80%. All violence is down in our city. That’s my response. We are a model city for how to decrease crime, where people have been trained to fight crime. And the last time I checked, the National Guard hasn’t been trained to police communities. So, do people want actual results, or do they want to politicize public safety? They need to choose. But I’ve made my choice, and we have. We’re producing tangible results.

DG: State Rep. Juandalynn Givan (who ran against Woodfin for mayor) has said she would sponsor a bill in the Legislature to address the Mayor-Council Act. Do you have any comment on that? (Many candidates in the City Council races proposed amending the act, particularly to restore some power over the city budget to the council.)

RW: No.

DG: Is there anything else we didn’t cover that that you want to talk about?

RW: You know, Birmingham has been a City of Perpetual Promise for too long. It’s time to make — and we have made — real growth. But I think what you’ll see in this third term is a very aligned community around public/private economic development, workforce, education. I mean, think about education for a second.

Three years ago, Birmingham City Schools had a 71 on its federal report card. Three years later, it has a 77. That’s real progress. So next year, my expectation is very clear that Birmingham City Schools is going to get a B. And so I want to give Dr. Mark Sullivan his kudos as our superintendent and leader. Three years ago, 15 schools had an F. This year, only one school has an F. That’s real progress. I expect no F’s next year. However I can show support for our schools, I will.

But this notion of what we do for our families, what we do for our children, that’s what real work is. And every success story there has a ripple effect on everything else we want to see. I’m excited about Birmingham’s future. People should be hopeful about where we’re going and our progress.