MAJOR DISCUSSIONS HAPPENING TONIGHT ABOUT THIS YEAR鈥橲 BUDGET FOR THE CITY OF BIRMINGHAM. OVER THE LAST TWO DAYS, CITY LEADERS HAVE BEEN TALKING WITH RESIDENTS ABOUT, WELL, AUDITORIUM, HEARING WHAT THEY FEEL THE MONEY SHOULD BE SPENT ON. 米兰体育 13 S JARVIS ROBERTSON JOINING US NOW WITH DETAILS ON HOW THE CONVERSATIONS WENT. JARVIS WHAT DO THEY WANT LEADERS TO FOCUS ON? WELL GUY AND SHERI, THE BUDGET TOWN HALL GAVE A BREAKDOWN FOR HOW EVERY DOLLAR IS APPROPRIATED FROM THE GENERAL FUND. MOST OF THAT MONEY GOING TOWARDS THE CITY鈥橲 DEPARTMENTS, THE LEAST OF IT GOING TOWARDS YOUTH PROGRAMS. NOW, THE CURRENT BUDGET SITS AT ABOUT $554 MILLION, OR I SHOULD SAY, MORE THAN THAT. TONIGHT, THOSE PEOPLE WHO ATTENDED, THEY GOT A CHANCE TO WRITE DOWN QUESTIONS FOR THE MAYOR AND OTHER CITY OFFICIALS TO ANSWER. AND WE WERE THERE FOR ALL OF IT. YOU DON鈥橳 LIKE IT EITHER, BUT IT鈥橲 NECESSARY TO DO. I THINK IT WAS VERY HELPFUL. ROBERT WALKER IS THE PRESIDENT OF THE WAHCONAH NEIGHBORHOOD AND EAST LAKE COMMUNITY. HE WANTS TO SEE MORE UPKEEP IN THE PLACE HE CALLS HOME. THE MAIN THING THAT WE LIKE TO SEE IS. MAINTENANCE. YOU KNOW, THE MAINTENANCE OF THE STREETS. AND WE HAVE BIG CONCERNS ABOUT DILAPIDATED HOUSING. MAYOR RANDALL WOODFIN SAYS $15 MILLION WAS ALLOCATED TO STREET PAVING IN THIS CURRENT BUDGET, AND $1.5 MILLION WAS ALLOCATED TO DEMOLITION FOR FISCAL YEAR 25. YET WALKER STILL WANTS MORE. THE COMMUNITY WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE OF RESPONSIBILITY OF PEOPLE WHO OWN AND PROPERTY AND NOT TAKING CARE OF PROPERTY. WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE THEM HAVE MORE FINES. WOODFIN TOLD THOSE WHO ATTENDED THE TOWN HALL THAT SLUMLORDS AND ABSENTEE OWNERS HAVE THE SAME RIGHTS AS ALL PROPERTY OWNERS. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM CAN鈥橳 JUST ROLL ON PRIVATE PROPERTY AND JUST TEAR IT DOWN. WE DID HEAR FROM THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF CODE ENFORCEMENT WHO SAYS THERE IS A PROCESS FOR REMOVAL. CURRENTLY, IT CAN TAKE FROM 4 TO 6 MONTHS TO REMOVE BLIGHTED PROPERTY. IN THE PAST, IT WOULD TAKE UP TO 12 TO 16 MONTHS. THERE鈥橲 A PROCESS TO EVERYTHING. THERE鈥橲 A PROCESS TO ME LEAVING HOME, COMING UP HERE. BUT I THINK THEY THEY NEED TO BE MORE STRICT. I THINK THEY鈥橰E TOO FRIENDLY WITH INVESTORS. I THINK I THINK THEY NEED TO BE STERN. SOME COMMUNITIES HAVE DONE THINGS ON THEIR OWN TO BEAUTIFY THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS. SOMETHING WOODFIN IS APPRECIATIVE OF HAVING THEIR OWN CLEANUP DAYS, PICKING UP LITTER, PICKING UP TRASH, CALLING OUT THOSE WHO ARE DOING ILLEGAL DUMPING. IT鈥橲 WORKING. BUT WALKER STILL FEELS MORE IS NEEDED. THIS NEIGHBORHOOD PRESIDENT WANTS PROPERTY OWNERS TO DEAL WITH JAIL TIME OR FINES IF THEY AREN鈥橳 KEEPING THEIR SPACE TIDY. I THINK THEY SHOULD HAVE A THREE BLOCK RADIUS AROUND EVERY SCHOOL TO EVERY EVERY PROPERTY AROUND THE THE LOCAL SCHOOLS SHOULD BE UP TO CODE. NOW, MAYOR WOODFIN SAYS THE BUDGET HAS TO BE PRESENTED AND MADE THE FISCAL 2425 BUDGET. IT DOES END ON JUNE 30TH. THE FISCAL 2526 BUDGET KICKS IN JULY 1ST. AND CERTAINLY WE鈥橰E GOING TO FOLLOW IT EVERY STEP OF THE WAY. REPORTING LIVE IN BIRMINGHAM TONIGHT I鈥橫 JARVI
'They're too friendly with investors': Neighbors urging Birmingham to clean up blight
Mayor Randall Woodfin held a budget town hall to discuss upcoming budget
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Updated: 10:27 AM CDT Apr 24, 2025
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin presented a budget town hall Wednesday evening at Boutwell Auditorium.The current budget is more than half a billion dollars. 86.8 percent goes toward city departments, 3.9 percent for debt service, 2.9 percent for transit, 2.3 percent for boards and agencies, 1.8 percent for redevelopment and infrastructure, 1.8 percent for non-departmental, and .5 percent for youth programs."The biggest thing we鈥檙e doing is accessing revenues. We have to determine if our revenues will increase, be flat, or down. Once we know that, then I'm in a position to have an entire package," Woodfin said.Below is the PowerPoint presentation. It breaks down the current budget and what could be similar in the upcoming budget."The main thing that we like to see is maintenance," Robert Walker said. "Maintenance of the streets, we have big concerns of dilapidated housing."He's president of the Wahouma Neighborhood and Eastlake community. As a leader, he's tired of seeing so many rundown properties."A lot of properties sitting there are dilapidated, they鈥檙e investment properties. There鈥檚 not much we can do about that, but we look to city hall to do something about that," Walker said.During the meeting, someone wrote down a question to ask the mayor what can be done about blight in the city. Woodfin told citizens that all property owners have the same right and that the city "can't just roll up on private property" because there has to be a process to address the problem.We looked up the city's simplified code enforcement to understand the process of how the city will address the problem.A complaint is received, or the Code Enforcement Staff observes a violation.After confirming the violation, research is conducted to identify the owner type, owner or responsible party of the property, with consultation from the Office of the City Attorney (OCA) as necessary.A Notice of Violation is issued with compliance timeframes ranging from 15-30 days, depending on the type of violation.The property is reinspected to ensure compliance. If the nuisance has been resolved, the case will be closed. However, if an extension is needed, it can be granted upon request.If the violation persists, the next step involves the Code Enforcement staff either preparing a resolution for the City Council to declare the property as a public nuisance for abatement by a third party contractor (only for Unoccupied Weed Bill properties, Newton Bill/Inoperable Vehicles or Demolition Bill properties); or drafting documentation to be sent to the Magistrate鈥檚 Office for a Municipal Court Hearing."Currently, it can take from four to six months to remove blighted property. In the past it would take up to 12 to 16 months," said Artemus Willis, the deputy director for Code Enforcement."Slumlords, absentee owners have the same rights you have," Woodfin said.However, the mayor isn't placing the blame on just those specific people. He says whenever the city removes blight, more of it pops up. he says enough people aren't taking care of their property."We've removed 11 blighted properties in the last week. Next week that number will probably range somewhere between six and eight," the mayor explained.During the town hall, Woodfin said "we have found that there's an arsonist, or several whose been on a tear."Neighborhood investments totals more than $21M in the current budget: demolition, recycling, sidewalks, traffic calming, street paving, and weed abatements.>> 米兰体育 13 ON-THE-GO: Download our app for free
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin presented a budget town hall Wednesday evening at Boutwell Auditorium.
The current budget is more than half a billion dollars. 86.8 percent goes toward city departments, 3.9 percent for debt service, 2.9 percent for transit, 2.3 percent for boards and agencies, 1.8 percent for redevelopment and infrastructure, 1.8 percent for non-departmental, and .5 percent for youth programs.
"The biggest thing we鈥檙e doing is accessing revenues. We have to determine if our revenues will increase, be flat, or down. Once we know that, then I'm in a position to have an entire package," Woodfin said.
Below is the PowerPoint presentation. It breaks down the current budget and what could be similar in the upcoming budget.
"The main thing that we like to see is maintenance," Robert Walker said. "Maintenance of the streets, we have big concerns of dilapidated housing."
He's president of the Wahouma Neighborhood and Eastlake community. As a leader, he's tired of seeing so many rundown properties.
"A lot of properties sitting there are dilapidated, they鈥檙e investment properties. There鈥檚 not much we can do about that, but we look to city hall to do something about that," Walker said.
During the meeting, someone wrote down a question to ask the mayor what can be done about blight in the city. Woodfin told citizens that all property owners have the same right and that the city "can't just roll up on private property" because there has to be a process to address the problem.
We looked up the city's simplified to understand the process of how the city will address the problem.
- A complaint is received, or the Code Enforcement Staff observes a violation.
- After confirming the violation, research is conducted to identify the owner type, owner or responsible party of the property, with consultation from the Office of the City Attorney (OCA) as necessary.
- A Notice of Violation is issued with compliance timeframes ranging from 15-30 days, depending on the type of violation.
- The property is reinspected to ensure compliance. If the nuisance has been resolved, the case will be closed. However, if an extension is needed, it can be granted upon request.
- If the violation persists, the next step involves the Code Enforcement staff either preparing a resolution for the City Council to declare the property as a public nuisance for abatement by a third party contractor (only for Unoccupied Weed Bill properties, Newton Bill/Inoperable Vehicles or Demolition Bill properties); or drafting documentation to be sent to the Magistrate鈥檚 Office for a Municipal Court Hearing.
"Currently, it can take from four to six months to remove blighted property. In the past it would take up to 12 to 16 months," said Artemus Willis, the deputy director for Code Enforcement.
"Slumlords, absentee owners have the same rights you have," Woodfin said.
However, the mayor isn't placing the blame on just those specific people. He says whenever the city removes blight, more of it pops up. he says enough people aren't taking care of their property.
"We've removed 11 blighted properties in the last week. Next week that number will probably range somewhere between six and eight," the mayor explained.
During the town hall, Woodfin said "we have found that there's an arsonist, or several whose been on a tear."
Neighborhood investments totals more than $21M in the current budget: demolition, recycling, sidewalks, traffic calming, street paving, and weed abatements.
>> 米兰体育 13 ON-THE-GO: Download our app for free
