Several Birmingham residents emphasized the need for more funding for the city’s neighborhood associations during a Wednesday public hearing on the mayor’s $615 million proposed budget.

Tremain McIntosh, the neighborhood president of Wylam, said his community would like to host community events or make improvements such as pocket parks, but that’s difficult when the association receives only $2,000 a year from the city.

He said he would like to see that allocation go back to the $10,000 associations had been receiving from the city in prior years.

“We’ve got to make sure this future is being passed to the people below us. So, I’m thinking — I’m hoping — that we can get this thing amended back to what it was so that we can move forward for a better future for our city,” McIntosh said.

City funding for neighborhood associations was cut from $10,000 to $2,000 per year for each neighborhood during former Mayor Larry Langford’s administration, from late 2007 to late 2009.

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Previously from BirminghamWatch: Birmingham’s Neighborhood Association Network Faces Challenges at the 50-Year Mark

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Councilor Crystal Smitherman on Wednesday said city leaders looked at the bank balances of the associations several years ago and found that some of them had as much as $50,000 sitting unused in their accounts.

Oxmoor Valley Neighborhood President Madelyn Greene said during her comments that some neighborhood associations can go long periods without officers, and when that happens, money isn’t spent, which can lead to large sums sitting in their bank accounts.

“Oxmoor Valley, we have $11,000. We can’t do anything big that we want to do with that. So therefore, that $11,000 is going to sit in there until that little $2,000 (per year) keeps creeping up,” Greene said. “So, I suggest that you look into it in terms of giving the neighborhoods a little bit more money. I don’t know how much you would consider, but I think those neighborhoods that are really doing things with the money, you can look into talking with those and see what type of projects that we want to do.”

The mayor’s 2027 fiscal year budget anticipates an increase in overall revenue, up more than $20 million from this year. City officials also expect to spend more in FY2027, up from $597 million this year to $615 million. City leaders proposed significant funding increases for transportation, violence prevention programs and homeless outreach services.

Councilor Clinton Woods, who chairs the council’s budget committee, said any residents who have comments or budget requests or who would like a copy of the budget can email him at clinton.woods@birminghamal.gov.