The Birmingham City Council passed a budget amendment proposed by Mayor Randall Woodfin that will direct millions of dollars to address safety, infrastructure and education in the city. The proposal provides significant funding to help recruit and retain police officers to fight the area’s growingly high crime rate.
“Our shared priorities are clear: neighborhood revitalization and public safety,” Woodfin said. “This budget continues our commitment to residents to pave streets and reduce blight in their neighborhoods. We are already seeing increased interest in the next police academy due to the recruitment and retention plan.”
The amended budget includes $15 million for street resurfacing which pushes funding for street resurfacing alone to near $30 million over a two-year period.
The overall street resurfacing budget includes road diets and complete streets construction including sidewalks, ramps, pedestrian and bike lanes based on location assessments and budget.
In addition, the budget allots $1,000,000 for sidewalks, $500,000 for “traffic calming,” $1.5 million for demolition, and $2.75 million for the purposes of weed abatement.
In terms of education, $2 million was committed to Birmingham Promise, $1 million to the Birmingham Board of Education, and $250,000 to the early childhood education initiative, Small Magic (formerly Birmingham Talks). $500,000 in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act will also be designated to Small Magic.
The council has also approved a $16 million police recruitment and retention program which includes a $10,000 bonus for new recruits and $10,000 in four payments of $2,500 each as a retention bonus for officers who have served two years or longer in the department. The first $2,500 bonus will be included in officers’ paychecks later this month. The program funds a take-home-vehicle initiative for officers, part-time reserve officers, and pre-academy hiring.
The city will see an increase in capital projects as well. Nearly $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. The amended budget also provides funding for a 3% COLA for all employees and merit or longevity pay for eligible employees.
Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @ShipleyAusten
