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The Jefferson County Commission on Thursday adopted a $997.3 million budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which is almost $266,000 less than this year’s spending plan.
The focus of the fiscal 2027 budget, according to the county manager’s office, is operating more efficiently and effectively. It includes more than $37 million for road projects and equipment, $15 million for vehicles or equipment and $19.5 million for major capital building projects.
The budget plan was tweaked in the final days to include $250,000 for City Walk BHAM, the recreation space created with the reconstruction of the Interstates 20/59 bridge through downtown Birmingham.
“We wanted to put in some extra funds to fund City Walk,” said Commissioner Joe Knight, the commission’s finance chairman. “I’m trying to get an agreement with BJCC, Convention Board, the city of Birmingham, ALDOT and us to all contribute funds to maintain CityWalk. I was able to get our part into the budget over the last couple of days.”
The Alabama Department of Transportation built the park and the BJCC manages and operates it, but there has been ongoing debate over who is responsible for the cost of continued maintenance, which runs about $1.4 million a year.
The commission also increased the discretionary funds of commissioners from $700,000 to $750,000 each. Knight said that increase wasn’t a loss for citizens.
“No, actually, the county gains,” he said. “Those funds are going back into your district. For so long, the districts were kind of neglected. We’re able to now put money back into each of our districts because we all know what is needed in our districts, or who needs help and that sort of thing.”
He said the county “put more in the districts as opposed to sitting in a fund balance somewhere.”
Commissioner Lashunda Scales echoed that sentiment.
“I love the pieces all the folks who are working along with (chief financial officer) Miss Angela Dixon to make sure not only that our audits are clean but that the money goes back to the communities that we represent,” she said. “That is very critical.”
“None of them are easy,” Knight said of constructing a budget. “It’s a give and take. You get several drafts, and you work with each draft. Sometimes people are happy, sometimes they’re not so happy. But overall, I think it was a pretty good, smooth process. Nobody was screaming and shouting this year.”
The fiscal 2027 budget projects that approximately $17 million will be added to the fund balance. Dixon said the fund is a financial resource for the county, which can later determine how those funds should be allocated. The budget does not include an allocation to the county’s reserve accounts currently as those funds are fully funded, Dixon said. Historically, she said, funds are added to the reserve accounts following completion of the county’s annual financial audit. The amount ultimately transferred to reserves is therefore determined after the audit process is complete.
