Government

Nonprofits Adapt to Harsh Financial Conditions After Birmingham Budget Cuts

The FY 2021 budget passed Tuesday night by the Birmingham City Council contains a number of austerity measures stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, which since March has stymied the local economy and caused the city’s business tax revenue to plunge. The budget, which was approved by the council with no changes to Mayor Randall Woodfin’s original proposal, is nearly $50 million smaller than last year’s and cuts the city’s contributions to schools, libraries and public transit, among other departments. Some of those changes have proven controversial, but other cuts — particularly those to external nonprofit organizations such as the Birmingham Zoo, Jones Valley Teaching Farm and Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve — went largely unquestioned even by opponents of Woodfin’s budget. Leaders of those nonprofits say they were unsurprised by the cuts, and even before the budget’s passage they appeared resigned to the loss. Instead, faced with their own significant budget shortfalls, those organizations are adapting to survive a hostile, post-COVID landscape. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Absentee Ballots Hit Jefferson County Like a “Monsoon,” Clerk Says

Alabama set a high for absentee ballots in 2012, when 89,000 were successfully cast. But Secretary of State John Merrill said the state is on pace to surpass that number. “For the Nov. 3 general election, we've actually had more than 125,000 ballot applications that have been submitted to us and more than 50,000 that have been successfully returned already,” he said. “As you can see,” Merrill said, “we're going to shatter that record.” But the secretary of state said election officials in the state’s 67 counties aren’t worried because they’re ready. “We've already made preparations for this, hiring additional people, enabling more than what we would perceive the necessary number of tabulators to be available on election day to process the ballots,” he said. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Work Begins to Take Down the Ramsay-McCormack Building, Façade Improvement Program Launched

Redevelopment on Ensley’s Ramsay-McCormack Building is finally underway, Mayor Randall Woodfin announced Thursday. The 10-story structure will be deconstructed and replaced with a five-story building constructed using salvaged materials from the original. Woodfin’s announcement came the same day a city-run façade improvement pilot program was announced to target nine “priority redevelopment areas” in the city, including the Ensley Commercial Business District. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Absentee Count Can Start Election Morning, Judge Allows Curbside Voting and Waives ID Requirements for Absentees

The governor and a federal court made changes Wednesday that could affect the election process on Nov. 3. The governor issued an order allowing election officials to begin counting absentee ballots at the same time the polls open, at 7 a.m. on election day. Secretary of State John Merrill welcomed the move to ease the counting of an unusually large number of absentee ballots. The state was not as welcoming of another development on the voting front. A federal court judge also Wednesday issued a ruling that lightens absentee voting requirements for older and infirm Alabamians and allows counties to offer curbside voting if they chose to do so. Attorney general Steve Marshall said he would appeal that ruling. Read more. It’s Oct. 1, Do You Know Where Your Absentee Ballot Is? You can see where your absentee ballot is in the process, as well as finding your polling place and registration status. For more absentee ballot information, read BirminghamWatch’s earlier story: Absentee Ballot Season Gets Underway

by Virginia Martin

Birmingham Passes “Phantom” Budget, Unchanged From Woodfin’s Proposal

The discussion appeared to be over before Tuesday’s Birmingham City Council meeting had even begun. Council members had disinterestedly trickled out of the afternoon’s budget workshop until only a voting minority of the nine-member council remained: Councilors Valerie Abbott, Steven Hoyt, Clinton Woods and Crystal Smitherman. The remainder of the council, led by President William Parker, voted down Smitherman’s proposed amendments to the budget. They opted instead to approve it as proposed by Mayor Randall Woodfin, with Abbott joining them in that vote. The budget has been controversial since Woodfin announced it last month. With the city facing a $63 million shortfall due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Woodfin made several significant cuts to its operating budget. He defended some of his cuts, such as those to the Birmingham school board and the Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority, arguing that those organizations would make up the loss via other funding sources. Other departments, including the library and parks and recreation, were given budget cuts that led to hundreds of full- and part-time city employees being furloughed. Unchanged, Woodfin told residents, was his administration’s commitment to neighborhood revitalization, which had been one of the central promises of his campaign. His proposed budget continued to allocate $10 million for street paving, $1.5 million for dilapidated structure demolition and $1.25 million for weed abatement. His new Birmingham Promise Educational Initiative also continued to receive its $2 million. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

House OK’s Funding to Avoid Government Shutdown, Bill Goes to Senate

Voterama in Congress WASHINGTON — Most of Alabama’s House delegation voted in favor of a bill to fund the government on a stopgap basis for the first 10 weeks of fiscal 2021, which begins Oct. 1. The House approved the bill (HR 8337) in a 359-57 vote on Sept. 22, and it is expected to be taken up by the Senate this week. The continuing resolution became necessary because Congress did not pass regular appropriations bills for the new budget year. The measure will fund agencies at 2020 spending levels through Dec. 11. Read more.

by Voterama in Congress

Fairfield Gets Grants to Sustain Bus Route, Fund Paving Project

The City of Fairfield benefited from a pair of actions approved Thursday during the Jefferson County Commission meeting. Commissioner Lashunda Scales provided the city a $29,355 community grant from her discretionary funds to help offset the cost to sustain bus route No. 5 in the city. Commissioners were unable to provide funding for Fairfield in the general fund because of budget shortfalls brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the County Commission approved a $250,000 ALDOT infrastructure grant to pave E.J. Oliver Jr. Boulevard. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Jones Says Supreme Court Nomination Is ‘a Political Power Play.’ Tuberville Says Go Ahead With Vote.

Debate over the future of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's seat is the latest political clash. The divide is reflected in Alabama too.

by Andrew Yeager, WBHM

Woodfin Schedules Oct. 1 Hearing on Birmingham Police Reforms

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin has set an Oct. 1 hearing to discuss proposed police reforms. The event is the culmination of a 90-day review by the public safety task force, a seven-member group appointed earlier this year to assess Birmingham Police Department policies. The task force also is requesting public input, inviting interested individuals to submit written or video proposals for new public safety policies. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Tyson Will Be Nominated to the UAB Healthcare Authority

A year after she was passed over for a slot on the board of the UAB Healthcare Authority, Commissioner Sheila Tyson has been put on the path to being the commission’s nominee to the board. It is, she said, about time. “They know that they should (have) appointed me from the very beginning,” Tyson said after today’s commission committee meeting. “I think that they were scared that I was going to shake the trees, what they call ‘shake the bush.’ That's what they were afraid of but I'm only one vote. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.