By Ariel Worthy
The Birmingham Times
After more than seven months of work, Mayor Randall Woodfin has issued his strategic plan for the city of Birmingham.
The mayor said the plan, released online last week, encompassed findings from a number of areas including the Woodfin Way Transition Team Report, performance assessments and proposed 2019 Operating and Capital Budgets.
“We have formulated a detailed set of enterprise initiatives and major projects for the city of Birmingham,” Woodfin said. “In order to effectively approach both the challenges and the opportunities across our city, we must prioritize the people of the Magic City. It is my hope that this plan will have a positive impact on Birmingham well beyond my first four years in office.”
The plan focuses on six goals:
- Safe, secure, and sustainable communities that supports and ensures quality places and healthy experiences for all who live, visit, work, and play in the City of Birmingham.
Part of that plan includes:
- Reduce blight through community revitalization and capital investments
- Reduce crime and improve public safety through strengthened community-police relations to include expanded community policing
- Reduce impact of potential future natural disasters through preparedness and mitigation
- Healthy, thriving and diverse neighborhoods.
This means to “nurture thriving healthy neighborhoods of choice which are walkable, livable, and serve as social anchors to informed, engaged, and empowered residents who are committed to sustaining the vitality of Birmingham.”
It includes implementing community plans and funding priorities; improving transportation options and access to healthy foods and sustaining neighborhood quality through community education and empowerment.
- High-performing “21st Century” education and workforce development systems.
The goal is to invest in the city’s education and workforce development systems to ensure that all youth are afforded the best possible educational, job, or life opportunities. Also ensure that all who choose to participate in the workforce have the knowledge, training, and skills required to compete for high demand jobs, make livable wages, and enjoy future opportunities.
- Innovative and inclusive economy supported, shared, and served by all.
An innovative and inclusive economy that generates and allows the creative class, start-ups, small businesses, and historically disadvantaged businesses to emerge, grow, and thrive while sustaining and supporting community-minded large employers, institutions, and corporations that create quality jobs.
- Highly effective, people first, smart government.
Provide a level of service that is prompt, professional, responsive, effective, and is equitably and repeatedly experienced by all citizens, clients, customers, partners, employees, community stakeholders, and visitors.
- Global, legacy leadership partner for equity and social justice.
Build upon the city’s legacy as “the cradle of the civil rights movement by continuing to embrace and advance equity-based and social justice policies that ensure that second-chance opportunities, a healthy and livable environment, and sustained economic justice for all members of our community.”
Woodfin said communication will be necessary for the implementation of the strategic plan.
“We want to provide transparency and accountability by ensuring that members of the public have access to up-to-date information regarding our enterprise initiatives and major projects,” he said. “Our citizens deserve to know what is going on in our city and how they and their families will be affected.”
For more on the Woodfin Way visit: https://www.birminghamal.gov/.
