Category: City of Birmingham
Birmingham Gets New Economic Director, Water Board Members
Although still recovering from COVID-19-related pneumonia, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin announced three major political appointments Tuesday morning, including a new director of innovation and economic opportunity and two members of the Birmingham Water Works Board. Read more.
Birmingham Pastor Calls for a State of Emergency Over Murder Rate
Birmingham ended in 2020 with 122 killings – up by 13%. Of that total, 105 killings were ruled justifiable, mirroring a trend of increase in many American cities.
The city began 2021 with three killings in three days – one per day.
Rev. Paul Hollman of Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in Birmingham launched a billboard campaign last year to raise awareness after a member of his church was shot to death. This week he called for Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin to declare a state of emergency. Hollman spoke with WBHM’s Andrew Yeager.
Read more.
Woodfin Released From Hospital, Recovering From COVID
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin has been released from the hospital two days after being admitted with COVID-related pneumonia. While his condition has improved, Woodfin will work from home and stay self-quarantined.
According to a Wednesday afternoon press release, doctors at Princeton Baptist Medical Center found “COVID pneumonia” in the mayor’s left lung.
“I’m blessed they caught it early,” Woodfin said in a statement. He received the drug Remdesivir and convalescent plasma therapy to combat the illness. Read more.
Woodfin Hospitalized With COVID
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin is in the hospital being treated for COVID-related pneumonia. Woodfin is “resting comfortably” and “remains in good spirits,” the city said in a statement posted late Monday night on Twitter and Facebook. Read more.
Woodfin Tests Positive for COVID, Reports Mild Symptoms
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin has tested positive for COVID-19. He announced the news in a press release Wednesday evening that quotes him as saying his symptoms are “currently mild.” While the mayor is self-quarantining, he is “still handling matters of the city,” according to the press release. Read more.
Birmingham Police Need the Public’s Help in Solving Homicides, Woodfin Says
Mayor Randall Woodfin pleaded with Birmingham residents on Wednesday to help police in homicide investigations, saying police have “hit a wall that’s hard to crack” in many cases: uncooperative witnesses.
There have been 120 homicides in Birmingham this year, 15 of which have been ruled justifiable. Sixty-two of the remaining 105 homicides remain unsolved. That low clearance rate, Woodfin said, “is not because our detectives are not doing their job.”
“Trust me, they are,” he said during a news conference with Police Chief Patrick Smith. “But we don’t have more solved cases in part because there are some people who know who are behind these killings, but they won’t say anything.”
Read more.
Birmingham Won’t Defund Police, but Public Safety Plan Includes Training, Social Workers and Civilian Oversight of Complaints
The city of Birmingham said “no” to defunding the police but “yes” to social workers partnering with police, “yes” to improving police training and giving citizens a role in overseeing complaints, and “yes” to better services with which officers and members of the public can interact.
Those are some of the conclusions in the 100-plus-page report Reform and Reimagine Birmingham Public Safety, issued Thursday after a months-long look at how to improve interactions between the city police force and the rest of the community.
Mayor Randall Woodfin and City Council Public Safety Chairman Hunter Williams rolled out the report during a press conference in which they promised more transparency and accountability, enhanced efforts to connect with businesses and the public, and an ongoing commitment to change for stronger relations with constituents. Some of the reforms will go into effect almost immediately. Others may take a year or more, Woodfin said.
The report came from the city’s Public Safety Task Force, which included a former U.S. attorney, a retired detective, an anti-police brutality advocate, a lawyer and the co-founder of Black Lives Matter Birmingham.
Woodfin said the city also will need the assistance of health care providers and citizens to make the reforms work over the long term. Read more.
Birmingham Officials Reject Defunding, Plan Police Reforms with Civilian Oversight, Social Workers and Attacking Crime from a Public Health Perspective
After several months of study and citizen input, the City of Birmingham announced Thursday that police reforms are underway — some of which will go to effect shortly, others that will take years — with the end goal of making law enforcement more transparent and responsive to the needs of the citizens.
Highlighting a more than 100-page final report called “Reform and Reimagine Birmingham Public Safety,” city officials outlined steps to improve relations between the police and the public, improve training for police, make rules and regulations public, and ultimately increase accountability.
The city’s Public Safety Task Force included a former U.S. attorney, a retired detective, an anti-police-brutality advocate, an attorney and the co-founder of Black Lives Matter Birmingham.
But Mayor Randall Woodfin said the city will need the assistance of healthcare providers and citizens to make the reforms work over the long term. And he rejected calls to defund the police, saying that the most common request he hears from citizens is to beef up the department and put more officers on the job.
Read more.
Council Postpones Vote on Holiday Pay, Says Woodfin Expects Them to Make Budget Decisions “Blindly”
Black Friday will be an unpaid holiday for Birmingham city employees after the City Council delayed a proposal by Mayor Randall Woodfin to pay employees out of city reserves.
In a last-minute addendum to Tuesday morning’s meeting agenda, Woodfin called for the city to take $807,333 out of the city’s general fund to restore the paid holiday, which had been nixed due to COVID-19-related budget cutbacks. Employees still will receive their regular paychecks next week but without payment for Nov. 27.
Councilors balked at Woodfin’s proposal because it was brought to them without warning and without details on the health of the reserve fund. One objected to the mayor’s asking the council to make major financial decisions while figuring out the budget numbers “on the back of a cocktail napkin.” Read more.
Birmingham Library Exec Returns to Work After One-Month Suspension
Birmingham Public Library Executive Director Floyd Council was back at work Friday after one month of being suspended without pay.
Council was suspended by the BPL board of trustees last month for undisclosed reasons. As with most details regarding Council’s employment, the board refused to provide details about the decision to the public. The board did not discuss Council during its regular meeting Nov. 10.
Multiple BPL employees confirmed Council’s return to the library Friday, though under condition of anonymity. Read more.
