Tag: Birmingham budget
Birmingham Councilors Approve Budget, Cite Need for More Detailed Discussions
The budget includes major spending increases for youth services, homeless outreach, public safety and neighborhood blight.
Residents Ask for More Investment in Parks, Infrastructure at Budget Hearing
The City Council is discussing the $591 million budget proposed last month by Mayor Randall Woodfin.
Birmingham Homicides Dropped by Nearly Half in the First 5 Months of 2025
Birmingham officials touted decreased homicides and increased police recruitment during Tuesday’s City Council meeting. Council budget hearing set for Wednesday afternoon.
Mayor Presents Budget With Increases for Youth Services, Neighborhood Revitalization, Homeless Outreach
City Councilors asked for more details and set a public budget hearing for June 4.
City Officials Host Second Annual Budget Town Hall
Mayor Randall Woodfin outlined spending in the city’s 2024-2025 budget during town hall.
Birmingham To Discuss City Budget in Wednesday Town Hall
City officials will talk about how they draft the budget during meeting at Boutwell Auditorium.
Monday Morning Watch | Week of January 27, 2025
BirminghamWatch’s weekly rundown of public meetings and agendas in the city of Birmingham and Jefferson County. Our goal is to help you keep your elected officials accountable.
With Increased Revenue, Woodfin’s Budget Proposal Targets Neighborhoods, Youth, Pay Raises and Transportation
Mayor Randall Woodfin revealed his proposed budget for the 2024 fiscal year on Tuesday, highlighting its “laser focus commitment” on neighborhood revitalization and youth support services.
The proposed $554.8 million budget is significantly larger than last year’s $522.3 million budget, thanks in part to projected increases in business tax revenue (up $12.3 million from last year) and property tax revenue (up $2.8 million). But Woodfin’s proposed budget reflects few differences in priority from the previous year. Read more.
Birmingham Council Passes Woodfin’s Budget Untouched; Police, Public Works, Youth Programs Biggest Winners
The Birmingham City Council has approved Mayor Randall Woodfin’s operating budget for the 2023 fiscal year. The vote, which happened during Tuesday’s regularly scheduled council meeting, was surprisingly low-key; the budget was approved with a slate of other routine items as part of the council’s consent agenda, with no changes from the budget Woodfin proposed last month.
That lack of controversy has become routine for the once-fraught budgeting process because of 2016 changes in the state’s Mayor-Council Act that prevent the council from altering the proposed budget without the mayor’s approval. While Woodfin had made mild compromises with the council over budgets at the beginning of his first term, his last two budgets were passed without any changes from his proposals.
At $517 million, the budget is the city’s largest ever, marking a $61.5 million increase from last year, thanks to a significant increase in business tax and licensing revenues. Read more.
Birmingham Council Passes the City’s Largest Budget Ever
The Birmingham City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve Mayor Randall Woodfin’s FY 2022 budget, making no changes to the proposal presented to them in May.
The $455.5 million budget is the city’s largest to date, indicating a predicted recovery from COVID-19’s impact on last year’s revenues. Woodfin has emphasized that the budget shows the city’s commitment to its employees, including a restoration of merit raises and longevity pay; and its allocations to neighborhood revitalization, including millions for street paving, blight demolition and weed abatement.
The budget does not include the $74 million in federal relief funding from the American Rescue Plan that the city received last month; it will receive a further $74 million next May.
Woodfin told reporters last month that the budget “doesn’t have any pain points” compared to the previous year, which had seen the city reduce or zero out its contributions to various external organizations, including the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Railroad Park Foundation and Alabama Symphony.
Those organizations were restored to their FY 2020 funding with the new budget, with two notable exceptions. The Birmingham Zoo and Rickwood Field were still allocated COVID-reduced funding — $500,000 for the zoo, down from FY 2020’s $1.9 million; and $50,000 to Rickwood, down from FY 2020’s $150,211. Read more.
