Government

Birmingham Council Opens Door for 27-Acre Humane Society Campus in Titusville

The Birmingham City Council voted Tuesday to transfer ownership of the 27-acre Trinity Steel site in the Titusville community to the Greater Birmingham Humane Society to develop a new animal care and control facility. Despite several speakers who voiced opposition to the move during a public hearing, Councilor Sheila Tyson, who represents the district, said she supported the project because the majority of people she has spoken with support it. “The community has voted yes for this three times,” Tyson said after the vote as people crowded the hallways outside the council chamber. Before the vote transferring ownership of the property, the council also voted in favor of another resolution that rezoned Titusville land for residential use, potentially complicating the process the GBHS must go through to begin construction on the new facility. Read more.

by Cody Owens, Weld: Birmingham's Newspaper

The Mayor and Your Money

When the Mayor-Council Act was modified by the state Legislature last year amid continuous jockeying for power between the elected officials representing Birmingham’s legislative and executive branches, city councilors lamented that the changes would give too much power to Mayor William Bell. Today, even as the mayor and some councilors continue at odds over various issues, one thing is clear: how the mayor has used his broadened powers in the past year has not eased the tension. One example: Bell’s office has paid nearly half a million dollars to one lobbying firm, and at least $122,000 of that was done without the council’s approval as of January 2017. Read more.

by Cody Owens, Weld: Birmingham's Newspaper

JeffCo Commissioners Shut Down Residents With Bankruptcy-Related Petition

A largely uneventful meeting of the Jefferson County Commission ended Thursday with an effort by a resident to get commissioners to rescind their appeal of a federal judge’s decision to hear the county’s bankruptcy case. The commission president told the visitors they could not present a petition because they were not on the agenda. “You can rescind the appeal,” Bob Friedman of Committee to Save Jefferson County told commissioners who remained to listen. “As a result of all the chaos that’s going on with the Water Works, collection issues and (people) having their water cut off, you’re a part of it.” Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr., BirminghamWatch

Citing Improved Finances, JeffCo Commission Debates Reinstating Road Maintenance

June 6, 2017 – Two matters on the Jefferson County Commission’s committee agenda Tuesday showed that the county is on better footing than it had been. Commissioners talked about reinstating agreements to provide service for through roads in some area cities and renewing a resolution for the county to again participate in the back-to-school sales tax holiday. “The county has turned the corner and we’ve established a new baseline for service within Jefferson County,” Commission President Jimmie Stephens said. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr., BirminghamWatch

As You Were: Federal Judge Stays Ruling, Allows Jefferson County System to Run Gardendale Schools While Appeals Play Out

The takeover of two elementary schools by the Gardendale Board of Education will not happen in the coming academic year, after a federal judge issued a stay of her original ruling in the city’s attempt to break away from the Jefferson County Schools. U.S. District Judge Madeline Haikala agreed to motions filed by both Gardendale officials and by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, which represents the original plaintiffs in the landmark Stout v. Jefferson County Board of Education case that resulted in racial desegregation of the county system in the early 1970s. Both parties had asked Haikala to delay the ruling she issued on April 24 and amended a few days later. That order allowed Gardendale to do a partial takeover of the schools inside city limits; Snow Rogers and Gardendale elementary schools would have been under city control beginning this summer, while Gardendale High and Bragg Middle schools would have remained part of JefCoEd for at least three years, until Haikala was satisfied that Gardendale had made sufficient progress toward desegregation. Read more. Students Purportedly Wearing “Blackface” in Online Photos Rekindle Racial Allegations in Gardendale’s Bid to Form Its Own School System Earlier Stories Gardendale School Board Appeals Federal Court Ruling, Asks for Full Control of All Schools in the City Right Away What’s Next? Residents Speak out About Next Steps for Gardendale’s New School System Judge Stands with Order: Gardendale Can Take Steps Toward Separate School System NAACP Asks Judge to Reconsider Allowing Gardendale to Start Its Own School System NAACP Plans to Ask Judge to Reconsider Gardendale School Order; Ruling in Case Defies Conventional Procedure Judge Haikala Is No Stranger to the Spotlight Federal Judge Gives Gardendale Control Over City’s Elementary Schools, Lets JeffCo Keep Middle and High Schools for Now. Read Haikala’s May 9 order Read Hiakala’s initial ruling.

by Robert Carter, BirminghamWatch

At $428 Million, the Mayor’s Proposed 2018 Operating Budget is the City’s Largest Yet. But Where is That Money Going?

Mayor William Bell last week revealed his proposed operating budget for the fiscal year 2018. At $428 million, the budget is Birmingham’s largest ever, which appeared to be a point of pride for the mayor. But what is in the proposed budget? How is the growth the mayor spoke of reflected in spending choices? And what are the points of contention that will likely influence not only the budget talks but the upcoming municipal elections? Read more

by Sam Prickett and Cody Owens, Weld: Birmingham’s Newspaper

Who’s running for the U.S. Senate?

Ten Republicans and eight Democrats are running for the open U.S. Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions when he took the U.S. attorney general job. Wednesday was the deadline to file papers qualifying to run for the office. See the list.

by Glenn Stephens, BirminghamWatch

Students Purportedly Wearing “Blackface” in Online Photos Rekindle Racial Allegations in Gardendale’s Bid to Form Its Own School System

An incident involving students at Gardendale High School has taken social media by storm and once again raised the issue of race as the city seeks to separate from the Jefferson County Schools and form its own system. Read more.

by Robert Carter, BirminghamWatch

Birmingham City Councilors Suggest Bell is Forcing Lundy out of Office

Birmingham City Councilor Marcus Lundy announced Tuesday he will not be seeking re-election, leading to an outpouring of verbal — and at times emotional — support from his fellow councilors, with some indicating they believe he was forced out. A majority of the council members, speaking on the record and anonymously after the meeting, allege that Lundy was pressured to not seek re-election by Mayor William Bell or else potentially lose his job at Regions Bank. Read more.

by Cody Owens, Weld: Birmingham's Newspaper

Gardendale School Board Appeals Federal Court Ruling, Asks for Full Control of All Schools in the City Right Away

Lawyers for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and for the Gardendale Board of Education agree on something. They both want Gardendale’s takeover of two elementary schools in the city to be delayed by federal courts. The Gardendale board filed two motions Tuesday. One informed the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that it intends to cross-appeal a federal judge’s decision allowed the new system to take over operation of the two schools for the coming academic year. The other asked the original judge to stay her own ruling, delaying the order’s implementation until the board’s appeal and that of the NAACP are handled by the appellate court. Gardendale is appealing Haikala’s late April ruling because it feels she should have ruled entirely in its favor, allowing it to take control of all four JefCoEd schools inside the city’s limits, including Gardendale High and Bragg Middle schools. The NAACP, on the other hand, is asking for a stay so it can argue that Gardendale shouldn’t be able allowed to take control of any of the schools. Read more. Students Purportedly Wearing “Blackface” in Online Photos Rekindle Racial Allegations in Gardendale’s Bid to Form Its Own School System Earlier Stories What’s Next? Residents Speak out About Next Steps for Gardendale’s New School System Judge Stands with Order: Gardendale Can Take Steps Toward Separate School System NAACP Asks Judge to Reconsider Allowing Gardendale to Start Its Own School System NAACP Plans to Ask Judge to Reconsider Gardendale School Order; Ruling in Case Defies Conventional Procedure Judge Haikala Is No Stranger to the Spotlight Federal Judge Gives Gardendale Control Over City’s Elementary Schools, Lets JeffCo Keep Middle and High Schools for Now. Read Haikala’s May 9 order Read Hiakala’s initial ruling.

by Robert Carter, BirminghamWatch