Nov. 14, 2017 — A budget for the 2018 fiscal year came closer to passage than ever during Tuesday’s meeting of the Birmingham City Council, but consideration eventually was pushed back to December because of concerns that newly elected officials had not had enough say in the matter. Read more.
Nov. 7, 2017 — The debate at Tuesday’s Birmingham City Council meeting was in many ways a retread of last week’s discussion, with approximately three hours dedicated to a public hearing on the potential revocation of a nightclub’s business license after reported incidents of violence and crime. This time the venue in question was Onyx Lounge, at 615 Eighth Ave. W. The discussion drew a large enough crowd that, early in the meeting, the fire marshal refused to allow any more people into the council chambers. Read more.
The Birmingham City Council drew criticism Wednesday after a committee meeting to discuss city finances was not streamed live on Facebook as advertised. The Committee of the Whole meeting was dedicated to a presentation by Director of Finance Tom Barnett that summarized the state of the city’s finances. Barnett said he asked that the meeting not be streamed because he wanted it to be “a casual conversation” between the finance department and the council, where they could be “free to speak their mind.” Former Councilor Johnathan Austin quickly posted to Facebook that not streaming the meeting appeared to be an attempt to keep the public in the dark. The meeting remained open to members of the public who attended in person. Read more.
Oct. 31, 2017 — The Birmingham City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to revoke the business license of a violence-prone Five Points South nightclub, but discussion over funding for the Birmingham Urban League drove the meeting in a much more contentious direction, revealing potential fault lines among the council’s new lineup. Read more.
Oct. 30, 2017 — Mayor-elect Randall Woodfin announced new co-chairs of his transition team in a Monday morning press conference at the Alabama Workforce Training Center. Perry Ward and Fred McCallum will serve as co-chairs of his Education and Workforce Committee, while Tracey Morant Adams and Josh Carpenter will lead the Entrepreneurship and Economic Development Committee. Read more.
Oct. 24, 2017 — Shortly after being sworn into office for the 2017-2021 term, the Birmingham City Council elected Councilor Valerie Abbott to serve as president and Councilor Jay Roberson as president pro tempore. The two will serve in the leadership roles through 2019. Abbott defeated Councilor Steven Hoyt for the president’s position on a 5-4 vote, drawing support from Councilors Darrell O’Quinn, William Parker, Jay Roberson, and Hunter Williams. This will be her first term as council president; she has served as a council member since 2001. Abbott succeeds former Councilor Johnathan Austin in the position after his loss in the Oct. 3 runoff election. Roberson was elected president pro tem, also by 5-4 vote. He defeated fellow nominee Sheila Tyson, with votes from O’Quinn, Parker, Williams, and Abbott. Roberson has been a councilor since 2009 and served as president pro tem from 2013 to 2016. “The commitment that I make to all of you is that I’m going to be fair, and we’re going to follow our own rules to the best of our abilities,” Abbott said. “I appreciate the confidence my colleagues have shown in me. I know this is a big and very unusual thing for the city of Birmingham, so I am honored.” Read more.
Oct. 24, 2017 – Birmingham City Councilor Valerie Abbott was elected president of the Birmingham City Council this morning. The vote was taken after new council members were sworn into office for the 2017-2021 term. Six incumbent councilors – Abbott, Lashunda Scales, William Parker, Sheila Tyson, Jay Roberson and Steven Hoyt – and three new council members – Hunter Williams, Darrell O’Quinn and John Hilliard – started their terms today. Mayor William Bell remains as mayor until Randall Woodfin, elected in the Oct. 3 runoff, takes office Nov. 28.
This is the fourth in a series of interviews BirminghamWatch conducted with newly elected city officials. John Hilliard might become the Birmingham city councilor for District 9 when he is sworn into office Tuesday, but he wants his constituents to understand that they share responsibility for improving their district. He speaks of himself as a facilitator — someone who will bring together various groups in his community to plot out solutions to the issues of crime, economic stagnation and blight facing their neighborhoods. On the Wednesday morning just six days before his inauguration, Hilliard found himself swarmed by phone calls and scheduled meetings — the result, he said, of a “firestorm” of a transition process. Speaking with BirminghamWatch, he described his plans after he takes office, his goals for economic revitalization, and the importance of millennial involvement in urban communities. Read the Q&A.
Oct. 17, 2017 -- Three outgoing councilors bid their farewells during Tuesday’s meeting of the Birmingham City Council, the last before the new council’s Oct. 24 swearing-in. But the impending infusion of new blood did little to keep the council from engaging in one perennial debate — about funding for the Magic City Classic — or to keep it from appointing a handful of new parks and transit board members, despite protestations from one councilor. Read more.
This is the first in a series of interviews BirminghamWatch will be conducting with newly elected city officials. Accessibility and accountability are the main priorities for newly elected Birmingham City Councilor Darrell O’Quinn. In a close runoff election, O’Quinn unseated current District 5 Councilor Johnathan Austin. After taking office Oct. 24, O’Quinn plans to immediately start working on ways to engage and educate communities on the resources municipal government can provide, he said. O’Quinn is part of a wave of new leadership headed to City Hall after the Oct. 3 runoff election. Despite his neophyte status in city government, O’Quinn has been heavily involved in Birmingham on the community level since moving to the city in 2001. He currently serves as president of the Citizens Advisory Board and the Crestwood North Neighborhood Association. That experience has allowed him to see where communities and neighborhoods have been underserved by Birmingham’s city government, he said. “I’m sorry to say that the bar has been so low that for me to step in and make a significant difference is pretty damn easy,” O’Quinn said. Recently, O’Quinn spoke to BirminghamWatch about his early priorities as councilor, his plans to address Birmingham’s economic stagnation and his expectations from the new power dynamic at City Hall. Read the Q&A.
