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The Birmingham City Council on Tuesday approved an ordinance to provide temporary security services for elected officials and their families when they’re faced with credible threats.
Council President Wardine Alexander called it a proactive measure related to the “national tenor and concerns related to the public safety of municipal officials.”
The measure passed unanimously with little discussion.
The council and mayor have faced heightened public criticism in recent months over the handling of a data center planned for the Lakeshore area as well as the recent deaths of two inmates held in the Birmingham City Jail.
Terri Michal, a former Birmingham Board of Education member and local activist, was forcibly removed by police from the Birmingham City Council chambers on June 23. Activist Eric Hall was arrested in Birmingham City Hall on June 16 while demanding to meet with the mayor to discuss the inmate deaths.
During the public comment section of Tuesday’s meeting, both Hall and Michal spoke before the council, urging the body to act independently from Mayor Randall Woodfin and his staff.
Hearing Set on Southern Area Framework Plan
In other business, the council set a public hearing for Aug. 18 for the Southern Area Framework Plan, which includes the Crestline, Crestwood and Red Mountain communities.
The framework is one of nine developed under the Birmingham Comprehensive Plan, which outlines strategies for land use, housing, transportation, economic development and public spaces.
One example of policies called for in the plan is an effort to change the zoning of existing industrial sites that are no longer in use to allow for more development opportunities.
The council in June set a similar public hearing for Aug. 4 concerning the changing of zone district boundaries in accordance with the Pratt-Ensley Framework Plan, which includes the 12 neighborhoods in Pratt, Ensley Central and Ensley West.
