Birmingham City Council

Birmingham’s Frequent Flyers: City officials have logged more than $300,000 in travel expenses. Where are they going — and what do they have to show for it?

An analysis of Birmingham City Council agendas from fiscal year 2017 shows city officials — not including the mayor — have spent or been allocated more than $300,000 in travel expenses since July 2016. Officials using city money for travel include members of the City Council and its staff, mayor’s office staff, Police Chief A.C. Roper and two municipal court judges. A total of 73 individuals have received travel funds from the city during the past year. Read more.

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

Birmingham City Council Debates Cemetery Funding, Transparency at City Hall

Much of Tuesday’s Birmingham City Council meeting revolved around issues pertaining to what councilors have labeled “a lack of transparency” from city departments. At several turns, councilors engaged in lengthy deliberations on resolutions presented to the body without completed paperwork or records on topics from cemetery upkeep to land acquisition deals. They also approved $35,720.19 in travel for the months of May and June for the mayor’s administrative assistants and some council employees. Read more.

by Cody Owens, Weld: Birmingham's Newspaper

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

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

Birmingham City Council Report: Mayor and Council Argue Over Resources, Support

An otherwise low-key meeting of the Birmingham City Council was marked by verbal sparring among councilors and Mayor William Bell over who was receiving, or should be receiving, credit for different city initiatives. Read more

by Ryan Scott, Weld: Birmingham's Newspaper

From Vacant Industrial Land to Puppy Palace? Residents Debate Use of Old Trinity Steel Land in Titusville

Sixty Titusville residents sat in the sweltering gymnasium of Memorial Park Recreation Center to consider giving their support for the old Trinity Steel property going to the Greater Birmingham Humane Society. “It is so hot in here,” said Greater Birmingham Humane Society President and CEO Allison Black Cornelius, “but they stayed.” When each side had made its case, 52 residents voted for the Humane Society to move to the long idle property from its Snow Drive location in Homewood. Eight voted no. Read more.

by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.

Off the Lawn: Discussion About Enforcement of Neighborhood Parking Ordinances Threatened to Derail Birmingham City Council Meeting.

Most of the business addressed at the Birmingham City Council’s Tuesday meeting was fairly streamlined, until an extended discussion of a proposed zoning ordinance change led to a freewheeling conversation about parking. Specifically, the issue was how to prevent people from parking on their front lawns, the width of the city’s right-of-way, and the responsibility of the Birmingham Police Department to enforce parking ordinances. “We have gotten far away from the topic that is before the council, which is just the amendment to the zoning ordinance,” said assistant city attorney Julie Bernard at one point. “The issue that is before the council … does not have much to do with the issue that we have diverted to.” Read more.

by Sam Prickett, Weld: Birmingham’s Newspaper

Birmingham City Council Approves Nearly $1.5 Million to Keep Grand Prix Race in the City Despite Concerns

Questions about budgets consistently being presented to the Birmingham City Council during the time of a vote took center stage in Tuesday’s meeting, including during the discussion of a three-year, $1,496,500 contract with Zoom Motorsports to manage Indy Grand Prix Racing at Barber Motorsports Park. Read more.

by By Cody Owens, Weld: Birmingham's Newspaper

City Council Report: Repaving Roads, Not Moving Them

The April 11 meeting of the Birmingham City Council was a relatively uneventful one, with nearly all of the ordinances and resolutions considered by the council relegated to the consent agenda, which the council quickly passed. Read more.

by Sam Prickett, Weld: Birmingham’s Newspaper