The Birmingham City Council on Tuesday voted to pay $67,000 for a consultant from Newark, New Jersey to develop a strategy to reduce violent crime in the Magic City.

The council unanimously approved the agreement with Synergy Community Development Center, headed by Lakeesha Eure, the Deputy Mayor of Public Safety in Newark.

Eure oversaw Newark’s Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery from August 2016 until she was named deputy mayor for public safety in January.

Uche Bean, the deputy director for Birmingham’s Division of Social Justice and Racial Equality, told the council Tuesday that Eure, who will spend six months in Birmingham as part of the agreement, was instrumental in Newark’s efforts to reduce violent crime. Bean said Newark saw 47 murders in 2023. That’s compared to 103 in 2015.

“I’m excited to see her come down, and I hope in the next five or 10 years we can say about Birmingham what you just said about Newark,” said Councilor Crystal Smitherman.

According to the Birmingham police data, a total of 369 violent crimes were reported in the city as of March 4. That represents a 17 percent decrease from the same time last year. However, Birmingham has seen 17 murders as of March 4, compared to 12 at the same point in 2023.

Bean told the council that Synergy’s efforts will focus on areas like youth employment, community outreach and partnership with law enforcement.

Councilor Clinton Woods said he was part of a group from Birmingham that visited Eure in Newark, and he was impressed with the programs that city has put in place.

“Bringing that knowledge here and looking at our ecosystem and seeing what we can implement I think is key … if something is working, let’s figure out how to make it work here,” he said.

Efforts to reach Eure were not immediately successful Tuesday.

Newark in 2016 began an overhaul of its police department after a three-year Department of Justice investigation found “a pattern or practice of constitutional violations in the NPD’s stop and arrest practices, its response to individuals’ exercise of their rights under the First Amendment, the department’s use of force, and theft by officers.”

In addition to the police overhaul, officials in Newark began several community-based programs to curb violent crime. Those initiatives included the Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery as well as programs like the Brick City Peace Collective, which Newark officials say “provides guidance to practitioners and policymakers who seek to improve communities and effectiveness through a multi-stakeholder network.” The push for violence prevention from the city also included the Newark Community Street Team (NCST), which offers outreach workers to provide casework to those at risk of becoming offenders as well as intervention of ongoing disputes in the community. NCST also provides support to crime survivors “who are overlooked by traditional victim services agencies,” according to the group’s website.

The council on Tuesday also voted to provide $100,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act for the Princeton BMC Healing Garden. The project is a community garden on the campus of the Princeton Baptist Medical Center. Smitherman said the project is particularly beneficial to the residents of the nearby Princeton Towers, an independent living facility for seniors and disabled adults.

Smitherman said the project was one her mother, Birmingham councilor Carole Smitherman, implemented during her time in office.

“I really want to do that as a tribute to her,” the younger Smitherman said before Tuesday’s vote.

In other business, the council:

• Approved an agreement with the Housing Authority of Birmingham to provide seven police officers, one sergeant and one lieutenant for the authority’s High-Intensity Community Oriented Police Patrol Program. The officers will offer services to Housing Authority properties for the next two years. The group will pay the city $2 million for personnel costs and expenses.
• Approved an agreement with the City of Trussville and Norfolk Southern Railway Company for a project to close at-grade railroad crossings and erect alternative routes to enhance public access. Officials say the change will alleviate blocked crossings from the Woodlawn neighborhood in Birmingham into Trussville. Birmingham will use $8 million from the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Grant toward the project. In addition to the grant money, Birmingham will pay $250,000 for the changes, as will the city of Trussville. Norfolk Southern Railway Company will contribute $1,500,000.
• Recognized Autism Acceptance Week and the Black Homeschoolers of Birmingham, who visited the council as part of a field trip to learn about city government. The council also recognized Vernon Brown for his contributions to the sports programs at Wiggins Park and Recreation Center.