Birmingham City Council

Birmingham to Get Federal Help to Improve Stormwater System, Reduce Flooding

Birmingham will receive federal assistance to assess and improve the city’s stormwater drainage systems. The city is one of 20 in the nation — out of more than 100 applicants — to receive a technical assistance grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “There’s no direct funding that will be given to the city,” Kim Speorl, a zoning administrator for the city, told councilors Tuesday. “We will be given a representative who will work with our stormwater and our floodplain and hazard mitigation department to identify projects to apply for FEMA grant funding in the future.” Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Birmingham Council to Hear Arguments on Zoning for Medical Cannabis Dispensaries

The Birmingham City Council has set a Nov. 29 public hearing over proposed changes to the city’s zoning code that would allow for medical cannabis production facilities and dispensaries within city limits. It’s the next step in a process the council started last month when it approved an ordinance broadly authorizing medical cannabis dispensaries in Birmingham. The Alabama State Legislature, which legalized the production and distribution of medical marijuana last year, will maintain strict control over the licensing process via the newly created Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission, which is not expected to issue distributor licenses until July. The new zoning code also would change zoning definitions for opioid replacement therapy treatment facilities, moving them from the “special exception” category to “permitted with conditions.” Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Childhood Literacy Program to Expand After City Approves Funding

The city of Birmingham has committed $1 million to expanding Birmingham Talks, a citywide program promoting early childhood literacy. With the funding, the organization is expected to more than triple its reach from 1,000 to 3,500 students across all 99 neighborhoods over the next three years. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Birmingham City Council Approves Package That Will Bring 76 Research Jobs to City

Kratos Defense and Security Solutions, the San Diego-based company that purchased Southern Research’s engineering division earlier this year, will receive up to $228,000 in city incentives to bring 76 new jobs to Birmingham. The Birmingham City Council unanimously approved the development agreement at its meeting Tuesdsay. Kratos acquired Southern Research’s engineering division (SRE) in May for $80 million; it will invest an estimated total of $26.6 million into the division’s campus, located at 757 Tom Martin Drive. That will include hiring and training 76 new employees over the next five years; for each new hire, the city will refund the company $3,000 in occupational taxes. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Birmingham Gets Grant to Train Unemployed for Health Care Jobs

A $10.8 million grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration will go to a new initiative placing Birmingham’s historically excluded job seekers in high-demand health care positions. “Our grant (proposal) was very competitive because we have an amazing health care sector here, and so essentially this will build on our already existing opportunities (to) connect job seekers who haven’t really traditionally had the ability to cross over and compete for those jobs,” said Sarah McMillan, the manager of workforce and talent development in the city’s Office of Innovation and Economic Opportunity. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

6 Ways the Conversation Around a Guaranteed Income in the US Has Changed

A guaranteed income conference held in Atlanta shows how the movement has progressed since 2017, with more than 50 pilots currently handing out cash. Read more.

by Stephan Bisaha, WBHM

Birmingham Councilors Allege Promises Broken but City Still Renews Via Contract

The Birmingham City Council voted Tuesday to renew its contract with the ridesharing service Via, despite frustration from some councilors that promises of expanding the program had not been kept. Under the contract, the city will pay Via up to $2.64 million per year to provide transit services in the city for a term “not to exceed three years.” Every 12 months, the council will have the option to continue funding or to cancel the partnership. Even so, some councilors expressed anger that they were being asked to recommit to an organization that had not fulfilled its promises to expand its services, despite previous increases in city funding ostensibly for that purpose. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Birmingham Community Police Academy Kicks Off Oct. 4

The Birmingham Police Department will host a 10-week “community police academy” beginning Oct. 4. The program, approved by the City Council Tuesday, will be free and is intended to provide “an opportunity for the community to find out how the police department operates,” said Captain Janice Blackwell, the BPD’s community engagement liaison. It also provides guidance for setting up neighborhood watches and has the goal of strengthening trust between the public and the police department, particularly in the wake of rising gun violence in the city. Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Birmingham Renews Controversial Online Business License Renewal Service but Warns Company to Improve Customer Service

Birmingham has renewed its contract with Avenu Insights & Analytics LLC, the company in charge of the city’s online business license renewal service. The renewal came despite misgivings from officials about complaints that the company’s customer service is subpar, so the city added a 90-day termination clause to the contract. Online business license renewal was a priority for Mayor Randall Woodfin’s first term, and a contract with Avenu was approved in 2019. While Avenu’s online service has increased licensing efficiency, Woodfin said, its customer service “has not been the smoothest.” Talks with the company about improving its “quality control … weren’t necessarily the smoothest” either, Woodfin said, and eventually led to him having a one-on-one call with the company’s president. “I expressed on behalf of our team (that), in its current form, the service doesn’t meet our core values,” he said. “It’s not working for the small business owner. The team in the (city) finance department is not pleased, and there are some trust issues, etc.” Read more.

by Sam Prickett

Birmingham Councilors Approve $5 Million for World Games Debt, Express Ire Over Being Left in the Dark

The city of Birmingham will pay $5 million more to the cash-strapped World Games 2022 committee. That decision was made during Tuesday’s council meeting, amid an atmosphere of bitterness from city officials who felt they’d been misled by the games’ organizers. “I know each of you enough to know this sucks,” Mayor Randall Woodfin told councilors. “I feel the same way you feel.” The World Games, which took place July 7-17 after years of planning and promotion, fell far short of its revenue goals, it was reported last week. Though the event ended up costing roughly $65.1 million — which CEO Nick Sellers admitted was close to $10 million less than initially expected — it only generated $51 million in revenue. The organizing committee was left with a $14.1 million deficit and many local vendors were left unpaid for their services. Read more.

by Sam Prickett