The Birmingham City Council on Tuesday voted to put Jefferson County Commissioner Sheila Tyson on the new regional board governing the Birmingham Water Works Board, which was restructured under a state law approved last week.

However, council members were clear that they still oppose changes to the utility brought on by the legislation, which they call an unconstitutional power grab by state officials.

Council President Darrell O’Quinn said Birmingham leaders learned that the new board will have a called meeting Wednesday, so Tuesday’s appointment was necessary for the city to have representation at that meeting.

“Under duress, in a hostile situation, we had to ensure Birmingham was part of the conversations that will be happening in regards to our water system,” O’Quinn said. “This was a carefully considered decision and we feel as though Sheila Tyson is the right person in this moment to represent and protect the interests of our ratepayers.”

The council’s appointment comes on the same day Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin announced his pick of former city administrator Jarvis Patton Sr. to sit on the water board.

Patton was chief of operations in the Birmingham mayor’s office from 2010 to 2017, under former Mayor William Bell. He also served as city council administrator from 1987 to 2002. A Birmingham resident, Patton earned his bachelor’s in business management and math from Tuskegee University and his master’s in contract compliance from the University of Texas, Arlington.

In a statement, Tyson, who is a bookkeeper by trade, thanked the council for giving her the opportunity to represent the community. “I have always fought for the citizens and this time will be no different,” she said. “With this appointment, ratepayers can rest assured, I will be your voice and make decisions with you in mind. Just as I have in the past.”

Tyson has been a critic of BWW due to customer complaints about billing issues, but she also opposed the new law reducing Birmingham’s influence over the water works.

All of the new members of the board have now been appointed. They are:

• Patton, appointed by Woodfin.
• Tyson, appointed by the council.
• Phillip R. Wiedmeyer, a Vestavia Hills resident who has 40 years of experience as an engineer with Alabama Power Co., was appointed by Jefferson County Commission President Jimmie Stephens.
• Bill Morris, the longtime General Manager of the Leeds Water Works, was appointed by Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth.
• Tommy Hudson, a Mountain Brook resident who is a member of the Jefferson County Economic and Industrial Development Board, was appointed by Gov. Kay Ivey.
• Jeffery Brumlow, an attorney and former member of the Shelby County Commission, was appointed by that legislative body.
• State Rep. David Standridge, R-Hayden, was appointed by the Blount County Commission. Standridge is a retired police captain, former member of the Blount County Board of Education, and a former Blount County probate judge and member of the Blount County Commission.

Before the law restructuring the board was passed, the Birmingham Water Works Board had nine members: two appointed by the mayor of Birmingham; four appointed by the Birmingham City Council; one appointed by the Jefferson County Mayors Association; one appointed by the Shelby County Commission; and one appointed by the Blount County Commission.

The new water board has its first meeting Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. On the agenda, the board is set to hear a resolution declaring invalid the old water board’s acceptance of a purchase offer from the city of Birmingham.

The old board voted to sell the water works on the same day Ivey signed the bill that established the new regional board. Attorney General Steve Marshall said he believed the former water works board members did not have the power to accept the offer because the new law went into effect immediately upon being signed.

Also coming this week, a federal court judge is conducting a hearing Thursday in Montgomery on a suit the city of Birmingham filed to block the new law. The city alleges the bill was unconstitutional and motivated by racial discrimination.