Government

Protestors Not Allowed Into Birmingham Council Meeting to Speak on Drastic Cuts to the Library Budget

Protestors gathered outside Birmingham City Hall on Tuesday morning, but they weren’t allowed to speak at the City Council meeting going on three stories above them. The demonstrators held signs that read “Reject Woodfin’s Budget,” “Furlough Woodfin” and “Fund Books Not Brutality.” One neon-yellow sign read: “Dear Randall Woodfin & City Council: Y’all have got to do a better job pretending to care …” On Friday, the Birmingham Public Library’s board of trustees made the decision to furlough 157 employees, the result of significant cuts in the budget recommended by Mayor Randall Woodfin’s office. Read more.

House Condemn Racism Against Asian-Americans, Including References to ‘Chinese Virus’

Voterama in Congress WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives voted 243-184 on Sept. 17 to adopt a non-binding resolution (H Res 908) to condemn expressions of racism, discrimination or religious intolerance against Asian-Americans related to the COVID-19 pandemic. That includes terms such as "Chinese Virus," "Wuhan Virus" and ''Kung-flu.'' Read more.

Gov. Kay Ivey Surveys Aftermath of Hurricane Sally

WBHM Gov. Kay Ivey visited parts of Alabama’s coast Friday to survey damage from Hurricane Sally, which struck the coast on Wednesday as a Category 2 storm. “What I’ve seen this morning in the fly over – it’s really, really bad,” Ivey said. “I think that I only saw two piers that were still standing. The rest are just sticks in the water.” Read more.

Library Board Furloughs 158 Workers Because of Budget Cuts

In a Friday afternoon emergency meeting, the Birmingham Public Library board of trustees voted unanimously to furlough 158 of the system’s 211 employees. The cutbacks were a response to city budget cuts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to Mayor Randall Woodfin's recommendation to cut the library’s budget to less than half of last year’s amount. The furloughs will be effective Sept. 25. Of the 158 furloughed employees, 91 are full-time and 67 are part-time employees. Most of Friday afternoon’s meeting took place in a 90-minute, private executive session. The board did not reveal which employees would be furloughed or which library branches would be closed as a result. Read more.

Woodfin’s Revised Library Budget Lower Than Expected, With $3.6M Remaining Until June 30

The Birmingham Public Library now has its operating budget for fiscal year 2021 — and it’s much lower than expected, which means “tough decisions” lie ahead for the BPL board of trustees. During Tuesday’s board meeting, trustees lamented the “moving target” they’d been given by Mayor Randall Woodfin’s office. The city’s overall budget has been greatly reduced as a result of reduced business tax revenue due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The library first had been allocated $12.8 million in Woodfin’s proposed FY 2021 budget, which was bumped up shortly afterward to $15.3 million, bringing it roughly even with its operating budget from this year. Then, board members said, their city attorney had given them a third number that was less than half of that — $7.039 million. The real number, Woodfin told board members and city councilors during a “last-minute” informational call Wednesday, is even less than that. The library’s total budget in his recommendation for FY 2021 is $6.2 million, he said — and it’s spent $2.6 million of that since July. “I want everybody to hear it at the same time,” Woodfin says in a recording of the call obtained by BirminghamWatch. “Your remaining budget you have from October 1 to June 30 is $3.6 million — not a dollar more.” Read more.

Woodfin’s Constantly Changing Budget Leaves Library Board, City Council to Wonder: “What the Heck Is Going On?”

The future remains uncertain for the Birmingham Public Library and its 230 employees, thanks to city budget cuts necessitated by COVID-19. And there have been no clear answers from Mayor Randall Woodfin regarding just how much money the library system will receive from the city, which will determine how many branches will have to close and how many employees have to be furloughed. Or rather, as members of the BPL Board of Trustees remarked during a library board meeting Tuesday afternoon, there have been several clear answers from Woodfin, all of them dramatically different. Read more.

Birmingham City Council Seeks Halt to Closing of Recreation Centers

Members of the Birmingham City Council called on the city’s Park and Recreation Board Tuesday to halt plans to close 12 recreation centers until a “more equitable” plan can be created. The centers in question — Brownsville Heights, Harriman, Harrison, Henry Crumpton, Hooper City, Howze-Sanford, Inglenook, North Birmingham, Roosevelt City, Sandusky/Hudson, Wiggins and Willow Wood — would have to close as a result of employee furloughs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Park and Recreation Director Shonae’ Eddins-Bennett told the council on Sept. 10. Read more.

Republican-Backed Coronavirus Relief Bill Dies on Party-Line Vote

Voterama in Congress WASHINGTON — Alabama’s senators split along party lines this week as the Senate failed to reach 60 votes needed to advance a Republican-sponsored coronavirus relief package. Sen. Richard Shelby, R, voted to advance the bill, and Sen. Doug Jones, D, voted against it. Overall, the vote, held Thursday, was 52 for and 47 against. Consisting of $300 billion in new spending and $350 billion in recycled funds, S178 stopped well short of a competing $3.4 trillion measure passed by House Democrats in May. Read more.

Three Jeffco Cities Pick Mayors as Six Municipalities Hold Runoffs Today

Voters in Center Point, Fairfield and Homewood are choosing mayors today as six municipalities in Jefferson County hold runoff elections. In addition to those runoffs for mayor, residents of Fairfield, Homewood, Hoover, Lipscomb and Tarrant will elect city council members. Twenty-seven cities and towns around Jefferson County held elections Aug. 25. The runoffs feature contests in which no candidate got a majority of the votes. Polls close at 7 p.m. Read more. Read about the where, when and what of the Oct. 6 municipal elections:

Voters’ Toolbox for Oct. 6 Municipal Runoff Elections

Voters’ Toolbox for Oct. 6 Municipal Runoff Elections

The where, when and what of the Oct. 3 municipal elections. Read more.