By Sym Posey | The Birmingham Times
After working with the previous year’s budget because of a computer hack in March, the Birmingham City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the largest budget in the city’s history — totaling $582.6 million, up from the previous budget of $554 million.
The current fiscal year began on July 1, 2024, and ends June 30, 2025, but the City has been operating with a series of budget amendments, and not a full budget. The final round of updates and changes were made on Tuesday.
“There’s still adjustments,” Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said. “There’s still a steady cadence of information flow between the information department, legal department and finance department, to make sure that things are on par.”
In early March, City officials discovered a disruption in the city’s computer systems. Since then, the finance department was forced to mostly use pencil and paper to keep the books, Woodfin said.
The budget amendments on Tuesday include more than $20 million on street resurfacing, sidewalks, traffic calming, and expanded blight reduction efforts.
After the budget was passed, Woodfin said during a City Hall press conference. “The council and I have shared priorities … neighborhood revitalization and public safety. This budget continues our commitment to residents to pave streets and reduce blight in their neighborhoods.”
The amended budget follows $16 million approved in October to increase recruitment and retention of police officers. “We are already seeing increased interest in the next police academy due to the recruitment and retention plan,” Woodfin said.
The revised budget includes a 3 percent cost-of-living adjustment for employees and merit raises of 5 percent for those eligible, along with longevity pay, the mayor said.
He credited City employees for helping the City through the computer hacking. “These same employees have been on the frontlines when we had this network disruption in March,” he said. “… Their ability to adapt and adjust, whether it’s using pen and paper, or anything else of that nature.”
Education remains a top priority in the amended budget with $2 million committed to Birmingham Promise, $1 million to the Birmingham Board of Education, and $250,000 to the early childhood education initiative, Small Magic formerly known as Birmingham Talks.
In addition, the budget includes:
- traffic calming: $500,000
- demolition: $1.5 million
- weed abatement: $2.75 million
The overall street resurfacing budget includes traffic diets and complete streets construction including sidewalks, ramps, pedestrian and bike lanes based on location assessments and budget.
The city will also see an increase in capital projects. Approximately $10 million from the city’s portion of American Rescue Plan Act funding will support 14 construction projects set to be underway in early 2025.
