Birmingham City Councilors and Mayor William Bell celebrated a milestone on Tuesday just before the city council meeting. For the first time in over 15 years the Council and the Mayor have passed a budget for the city prior to the new fiscal year.
“The budget process begins in February and it’s a very tedious one, dotting every “I” and crossing every “T”. The public may see it as a short process, but it is tough and long. So thank you to my staff and the council for working so diligently to get it passed,” Mayor Bell said. The new budget reflects a joint effort between the council and the mayor to ensure that fiscal needs are met across the board. After weeks of studying each line item both sides were able to come up with a balanced budget that was in place weeks before the July 1st deadline.
“As a council we are continuously working together to ensure that the best decisions are made for the citizens of Birmingham in an efficient and timely manner,” Council President Austin said. Councilor Valerie Abbott, chair of the Budget and Finance Committee added, “We’ve got to hold fast to what we said about not going into our reserve fund and holding the Mayor accountable to the budget that he proposed to us.”
