Birmingham City Council

Next Phase in Minimum Wage Battle Begins Tuesday

Oral arguments are slated to begin this week in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals as part of the latest stage of a prolonged legal battle over Alabama’s minimum wage law. The focus of the case is the Alabama Uniform Minimum Wage and Right-to-Work Act, which was passed by the state Legislature in 2016, quashing an attempt by Birmingham’s city government to raise its minimum wage from the federal minimum of $7.25 to $10.10. The act gives that authority exclusively to the state — meaning that raising the minimum wage above the federal level can only be done by an act of the Legislature. Plaintiffs in the case, which include several Democratic state legislators, the Alabama NAACP and Greater Birmingham Ministries, allege that the law was racially motivated; state Attorney General Steve Marshall has argued, instead, that the state law has no racial animus and was based on purely economic factors. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Birmingham Councilor Suggests Calling in the Guard If Nothing Else Curbs Crime in the City

Birmingham City Councilor Steven Hoyt called on Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin today to change his strategies for fighting crime in Birmingham, even if it means calling in the National Guard. Woodfin quickly shot down that idea, saying, “We will not be calling the National Guard,” and emphasized that most of the city’s homicides “are not random.” “These are interactions between people who know each other,” he said. Hoyt’s comments were sparked after a Monday night shooting in the city’s Belview Heights neighborhood left one man dead. The victim, 27-year-old Michael James Weeks, was the 60th reported homicide in Birmingham this year; seven of those homicides have since been ruled as justified. That’s a marked increase from last year, which by June 18 had logged 50 homicides. “I just need a new plan,” Hoyt said to Woodfin during Tuesday’s City Council meeting, arguing that residents are being “terrorized” by violent crime. “My mother told me if you don’t know how to do something, ask somebody. Get some help … We did a couple of (crime) studies; it ain’t working. (We) brought a new chief in here; it ain’t working. So I’m just trying to figure it out … Maybe we need to call the National Guard in here to help us control this city.” Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Birmingham Councilors Replace Municipal Judge Despite Frustration on Both Sides

The Birmingham City Council voted Tuesday to replace Municipal Court Judge Cathy E. Daniel with attorney Jermeria Moore, a move that Council President Valerie Abbott said might “politicize the court.” Daniel’s term as judge expired in January, but the council’s decision to replace her was unusual. “This council has never replaced a sitting judge in municipal court before,” Abbott said. “We have always allowed them to either retire, to move to another position if they get elected to another judgeship, or unfortunately, some of them pass away.” Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Birmingham Councilors Warn That Sherman Industries Plan Could Be Resurrected

Plans for a concrete batch plant in the Five Points West community have been placed on hold, but some Birmingham city councilors warned residents that the fight to keep Sherman Industries out of their neighborhood is not over. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Birmingham Council Appoints 2 to Library Board, Filling the Slate for the First Time in 8 Months

For the first time in more than eight months, the Birmingham Public Library has a full board of trustees. The Birmingham City Council voted Tuesday to appoint Lynn Flowers-Martin and Mona Lisa Morris to fill two vacant seats on the board.

by Sam Prickett

Birmingham Council Members Spend More than $75K Traveling Near Home and Abroad on City Business

Current members of Birmingham’s City Council spent a total of $78,555 on travel between November 2017, when the bulk of councilors took office, and May 2019, a look at the council’s meeting agendas reveals. That amount does not include trips for which a final total has not yet been approved. Estimated costs for city-funded trips are approved beforehand by the council; after the trip, the council votes again to approve the actual amount spent. District 4 Councilor William Parker tops the list of the city’s most-traveled councilors, having spent $30,334.15 on 41 trips since November 2017. He’s followed by District 5 Councilor Darrell O’Quinn, who has spent $21,554.04 on 13 trips, and District 8 Councilor Steven Hoyt, who has spent $16,136.80 on five trips. District 9 Councilor John Hilliard, with $12,719.07 for 13 trips; District 7 Councilor Wardine Alexander, with $3,174.65 for two trips; and Council President Valerie Abbott, with $346.70 for one trip round out the list. The remaining councilors — District 1 Councilor Clinton Woods, District 2 Councilor Hunter Williams and District 6 Councilor Crystal Smitherman — each have no confirmed travel expenses since they took office, although Woods and Smitherman have each taken one trip, the expenses for which are pending final council approval. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Council OKs Rezoning Old Sherman Industries Property Downtown

The Birmingham City Council voted Tuesday to rezone the current location of Sherman Industries, the concrete batch manufacturer that earlier this month drew controversy over its announced plans to relocate from downtown to Five Points West. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

BPD Chief Briefs Council on Crime

Birmingham Police Chief Patrick D. Smith presented the City Council with an update on violent crime Tuesday, sparking a discussion that delved into poverty, youth initiatives and some councilors’ dissatisfaction with Mayor Randall Woodfin’s proposed FY 2020 budget. Smith began his presentation by looking at the recent history of crime in Birmingham, which he said dramatically spiked between 2014 and 2018. “In 2014, the city of Birmingham had only 51 homicides within the city,” he said. “But in 2015, we moved up to 78. In 2016, we went to 92. In 2017, 99. In 2018, we reached 100. “So somewhere in there, something happened and we didn’t make the turn to make changes in what we do, make changes in our policing patterns and what we needed to improve the city … . We’ve got to do more to reach out, to help people, to save people in our community.” Smith added that 2019 was so far on par with 2018’s homicide rate, and he warned that summer months — June through September — would likely be the “most violent time of the year,” based on precedent. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Woodfin’s Budget: Money for Pensions, Paving; Changes for Education, Discretionary Projects

Mayor Randall Woodfin presented his proposed FY 2020 budget to the Birmingham City Council Tuesday, pointing to changes in city funding for education and councilors’ discretionary projects. At $451 million, the budget is the city’s largest to date — although, as Woodfin emphasized, several major financial requirements resulted in a “lean” approach to appropriating funding. Speaking to reporters on Friday, Woodfin highlighted what he called the “moral obligations” of the budget — fully funding the city’s long-underfunded pension liability and dedicating $8 million to street paving in all nine council districts. “The only disappointment I’ve had so far in this budget was that I wanted $10 million (for street paving),” Woodfin said. “But the pension said no, so we got to $8 million.” At Tuesday’s meeting, Woodfin spent significant time explaining to councilors his decision to cut certain “pet project” line items from the budget, arguing that this would be offset by $50,000 increases to their individual discretionary funds. Woodfin’s proposed budget cut funding to a handful of organizations and events, including the Agape House, Children’s Village, Shadowlawn Cemetery, Magic City Smooth Jazz, the Ballard House, Bride Ministries, Red Mountain Park, Build Up Ensley, the Northeast YMCA and the Joseph House, among others. But Woodfin specifically chose to focus on District 8 Councilor Steven Hoyt’s Party with a Purpose, an annual event held in Ensley since 2007 that offers health, recreational and entertainment resources to residents. That event has typically received $50,000 from each year’s general fund; in the FY 2020, it receives nothing. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Woodfin Calls on Birmingham Council to Rezone Land in the Five Points West Area to Block a Planned Concrete Plant

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said Tuesday that he opposes the proposed relocation of a concrete plant from downtown to the city’s Five Points West community, and he called for the City Council to rezone the property in question to prevent future industrial use. Last week, the council voted to oppose Sherman Industries’ announced plans to move its concrete batch facility from its current address of 1100 Second Ave. S. to 3240 Fayette Avenue, near the Birmingham CrossPlex Village. Read more.

by Sam Prickett