City Council - Regular Meeting

Okay, Toby, we're ready.

That you'd be okay You might have fallen down But nothing has changed You never lost it Oh, you still got your flame Light me up, let me see your fire Light me up, let me see your Light me up, let me see your face.

Good morning, Birmingham. Today is Tuesday, May 19th, 2026. The time is 940. I call to order the regular meeting of the Birmingham City Council. Today's invocation will be led by Reverend Dr. Tyree A. Anderson, pastor of First Baptist Church, Ensley, and I will be leading us in the Pledge of Allegiance. If you're willing and able, please stand and join us.

Eternal God, in the name of Jesus the Christ, God, we thank you for this time of prayer, especially on this election day, where governmental affairs are all out of disorder in this nation. But Lord, they are in order here in Birmingham. And we thank you for our council leaders. We thank you for the committees. God, we especially thank you for our mayor. God, we pray right now that they will continue to receive insight, revelation, and vision from you to lead this city in order that we might continue to be a light on a hill. We pray now that you will bless the residents of Birmingham. You will bless our law enforcement agencies. God, you will bless every person from high office all the way down to grass cutter. That, God, they will know that you are with this city and with this council. We give you glory in the name of Jesus, and we ask, amen.

Amen.

Thank you so much, Dr. Anderson, for that very thoughtful prayer. At this time, Madam Clerk, if you will read the call. Read the call. Read the roll.

Yes, ma'am. Council Member Gunn. Good morning. Good morning. Council Member O'Quinn. Good morning. Good morning. Council Member Smith.

Good morning.

Good morning. Council Member Smitherman. Good morning. Good morning. Council Member Vassa. Good morning. Good morning. Council Member Williams. Council Member Woods. Council President Pro Tem Tate. Good morning, and Council President Alexander.

Good morning. Thank you very much. Councilors, a motion and a second is needed to approve the minutes from the previous meetings of February 3rd through February 24th, 2026. So moved. Second.

All in favor, let it be known by saying aye.

Aye.

All opposed.

All right, thank you. Those minutes are approved. The minutes are not ready from the meetings of May 3rd, 2026, through May 12th, 2026. At this time, counselors, we will follow our agenda where we have the presentation of the mayor's proposed general fund capital budget and his budget message for fiscal year 2026 through 2027. Good morning, Mr. Mayor.

Good morning, Madam President. Good morning to the council. It's good to see everyone this morning and happy election day. Just reminding our general public, today is election day, May 19th. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and encouraging all the residents of the city of Birmingham to exercise your right to vote and participate in a democratic process. With that, Madam President and Council, today, this morning, I present to you the FY2027 fiscal year budget. I say the word I, but there are some names I want to acknowledge. And they can stand and be recognized, because I didn't do this work alone as it relates to the preparation of what you're about to receive. Chas Mitchell is about to pass it out to you very soon. But I want to acknowledge and Lalisha Coleman, Derrick Gray, Juanita Eskridge, Dorothy Maul, Linda Stinson, Diana Bolden, Chas Mitchell, and there are countless others who have been working on this, but this has been the team and the lead to help us get to this point to present this to you. So thank you all for all your hard work, and I appreciate you so much. With that said, Chas, if you could pass out to the council the 2027 proposed budget. As Chas Mitchell brings that to you all, as a city, I'm encouraged as we continue to show what is possible when we all work together with a shared purpose, as well as a united vision for Birmingham's future. Our progress as a city and our communities and neighborhoods has been driven by collaboration with each of you on the council, our community partners, and most importantly, our residents and our businesses. Because of this, we've reached a moment of sustained investment. The proposed $615 million FY2027 operating budget not only reflects our shared priorities of safe and thriving neighborhoods, but also of continuing to support our youth and investment in our people, which are our city employees. It also builds on the momentum from the almost $32 million investment you approved from surplus funds nearly two months ago. Starting with neighborhood revitalization, The budget continues to put neighborhoods first by prioritizing street paving, weed abatement, demolition, traffic calming, and something new this year out of our general fund, critical repair for housing for our seniors. That is a combined $19.3 million. Some of the numbers include street paving, $12 million. Wheater pavement, $3 million proposed. Demolition, $1.5 million proposed. Traffic calming, a half a million dollars proposed. And then critical repair right at $1.5 million. The proposed FY27 operating budget also is enhanced by additional neighborhood revitalization initiatives. Approved again through the surplus spending you all did in March. Which is why you don't see sidewalks in here because you all just supported that with an investment of $2 million. Interstate lighting with $1.2 million and other additional capital improvements. As we continue switching to investing in creative career strategy in our children and youth, this year we continue with our support of the Birmingham Promise with $2 million. Mental health in partnership with Birmingham City Schools, another million dollars. Come and ground our continued investment and conflict resolution of a million dollars. We're re-upping our park and rec safe haven initiative of $625,000, as well as the Youth Sports League of a half a million. And there's some additional funding around the Black Mill initiative, as well as Cradle to Career. This investment also includes our continued investment in partnership with kids and jobs. Moving towards investing in public safety and violence reduction, we continue to have our commitment in safer communities, not just law enforcement, but other community initiatives. Last year for the first time for CVI, which stands for Community Violence Intervention, out of our general fund, we put in $1.5 million. I'm happy to present to this council that we doubled that funding with a proposed recommendation of $3 million this year. I mentioned earlier the Common Ground Conflict Resolution Program, but we're also continuing to invest in the Restore Youth Reentry Initiative at $450,000, which matches what we did last year. Of course, there's no city budget without investing in public transportation. The FY27 budget Seeks to make a proposed recommendation of an additional half a million dollars towards BJC TA at 11.5 million The Express bus rapid transit at 3 million Birmingham on demand micro transit at 2.5 and class train at 300,000 Council also thought it was important this year with some of the first-time investments we made of our general fund separate from our community development block grant dollars that we support our continued investments and strategies to reduce homelessness and address our unhoused residents. Of course, you know, last year that funding was $1.5 million. This year we are proposing a recommendation of doubling that to continue to invest our unhoused strategies at $3 million. On top of that, that's separate from the community development block grants dollars of roughly around $800,000 to address homeless issues in our community. And then last but not least, at a high level, I thought it was important that we continue to make the investments in our city employees. I want to start this year with we have longevity in this proposed budget like we did last year. Merit with the 5% if you're eligible as well. I want to talk about health insurance costs. This year the city will pay an additional $5 million more in health care costs than we did last year as the employer. But the first time, at least in three years, the employees will have to pay a little more in their insurance as well. So, for example, if an employee is at the premium level for the city's health insurance, In dental insurance, some employees may see an increase of up to $32 more in their paycheck for their health insurance. That's separate from the $5 million additional more that the employer is absorbing, but that still balances us for the employer roughly at 79% for health care costs for our employees, and that leaves about 21% for our employees to absorb. This budget does not include a cost of living adjustment. However, it does include a one-time premium pay of $500 per active full-time employees. In addition to that, that's on top of the $1 million premium pay the employees received in December. But the longevity and the merit pay combined is $10 million on top of that additional $5 million more in health care costs. At a high-level council, That is centered around our employees, centered around public safety, centered around investments in our youth, and centered around investments in neighborhood revitalization. There's a significant amount of more information in front of you in the books you have. But we also recognize all of our employees and our residents don't have the book you have for the proposed budget. So we highly encourage and recommend for all of our residents, business owners, and anyone else who wants to check out proposed budget to visit birminghamal.gov slash budget 2027. Again, that's birminghamal.gov slash budget 2027 to go deeper into this proposed budget. Look forward to answering your questions, public's questions, and all other additional questions you may have. And with that, Madam President and Council, any high-level questions you may have now open to taking as well.

Thank you, Mayor Woodfin. We appreciate you presenting these documents to us. We know that this is the heartbeat of the city, the funds that we spend for our neighborhoods, for our safety, and so we appreciate you providing this to us. Of course, we have our work ahead of us as counselors as we go through these documents, as well as the public. And so thank you for announcing public access to the information that we have as well. And Councilors, I'll ask if there are any questions at this time. Councilor Smitherman?

Yes, ma'am. Well, just a couple of comments first. I do want to thank you because I'm looking at page 35, community violence reduction. We have $3 million, and I think that's great. You know, we want a little bit more, but I'm happy for the $3 million. Thank you, Madam Pro Tem. I know you advocated for that. So this is a big win for us because a lot of times with these type of pilot programs, once the pilot program is finished, they kind of just don't really fund it as much. I really appreciate that. And as you mentioned with the homelessness, Um, but number one, can we get an email of your budget message? Cause you can confess. And then, um, number two, during, uh, parks and arts committee meeting yesterday, uh, we had an update from the Negro museum, Southern museum, and we were asking them questions about their, uh, maintenance requests and the type of budget. And so they were telling us they didn't present an actual presentation during the, um, when they have the time in March to present their budgets to you, and they were saying it falls on your office. So what is that process like, and what's the approval for deferred maintenance for that particular facility?

Yeah, so I would have to give with Chaz Mitchell to go deeper on that actual facility. I will tell you in this proposed budget related to, and Chaz, you correct me if I'm wrong, for deferred maintenance related to capital, there's an additional $1 million. 1.5. So we are increasing deferred maintenance budget on purpose, separate from some of the deferred maintenance you all approved from the almost $32 million two months ago. On top of that, additional 1.5. But that is spread citywide with a significant amount of our facilities. I think that brings that to, what, $3 million in this budget for deferred maintenance just for some of our facilities. That's not the entire capital budget that will be shared with the council as well.

So that's in the capital projects for those public facilities that you're referring to?

It's just confirming Negro League is in my budget.

It's in your budget?

So we'll be sitting and talking with the leadership and the board of the Negro League.

Okay, so my second question is, and this may be quite a bit of work on you all, I just want to know, I don't know if we've ever gotten this, just like a comparison, what departments actually requested and what they were actually granted in the budget.

Yeah, so we actually went through an entire process yesterday where I thought it was important as an administration that before we go public with the council as well as the general public, that we share with each department head your requests versus what you actually receive. So this team, along with the chiefs yesterday, literally the entire day went through with all the department heads, all their requests.

Can we get a copy of that if possible? Yeah. Okay.

I would just like to know. I'm going to verify what's in writing. I wasn't a part of the meetings. I let the chief lead.

Okay.

But I do know this budget team went through requests versus what was honored and what was not able to be honored this year. Like the council, like many other things, we go through a process of telling us what your top record is. Here's a list of the things you want and or need. And within this wants and needs list, please list a one, two, or three priority. So we were not able to honor every single thing every department wanted within their budget. No different than for every single issue in every neighborhood, we're not able to honor in one fiscal year budget. But we did have the department heads give us their priorities. And from within that, I can't tell you, majority of the priorities were honored.

Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you also, and I think for transparency, you spoke of the departments that listed their priorities. I do note that you ask each counselor as well to list priorities.

I'll be going. With your permission, I'll be talking to every one of them about where it is within this budget. Perfect. That top thing they wanted to see.

Thank you very much. And so I appreciate counselors providing that feedback. Often there's this notion that we don't have any opportunity to provide you feedback or to even ask and seek for items that we'd like to see in the budget. So I know that from the list that you've given us, I believe each of those priorities have been considered and have been met.

No particular order, business improvement facade, Traffic calming. Don't let me start railing things off. Weed abatement related to the land bank. Critical repair. A few others off the top of my head. Continuing to fund the study for our parks. There are a few other things related to investments from a priority standpoint.

So I'm sure as we go through this in a deeper dive, we'll continue to have those conversations. And for the new colleagues, if you have any questions as we go through this process, I know for those of us who have been through this before, the book may look a little different in some ways.

So it will be different. So as you go through this, a couple of things I want you to know. Some things will look different. I'm going to give you an example, and then I'll explain why it looks different. If you turn to page 32 in the book, I'm just going to highlight one example. You have the third line, which is 5-0. I'm sorry, you have the fourth line of longevity, which is 5-0-4-0-0-0. This book, as you see in this proposed budget on page 32 in the fourth line, FY27 proposed says zero, but that's not true. Longevity is in here. What makes this different is that our new system, Oracle, that we approve, lets us budget longevity by position and within the department. So the reason it's zero here is because as you go through the book in the different departments and department functions and you look at the detail of salaries, wages, and you get down to longevity, et cetera, you'll see it. per line related to that department versus at a high level here, but that's because of Oracle. So you may see a few other things like that. So if you have any questions, let us know. This team has explained to me, and they can explain to any of us, why you may see something from last year, not this year. It's possibly because it's Oracle, and it's just shifted to the actual individual department slash individual employee.

Thank you. Well, I know we're all combing through it and we'll have additional questions, but we do appreciate the opportunity to go through this document and we'll be giving more feedback. So thank you, Mayor Woodfin.

Yes, ma'am. Thank you all.

At this time, Madam Clerk, if you'll call item one.

Yes, ma'am. Item number one. A resolution setting a public hearing in the council chambers on the mayor's proposed budgets. Motion, please.

So moved. All right. Thank you. At this time, I'll turn it over to Councillor Smitherman to just give us some more information about this item, councillors, as of this resolution.

Yes, ma'am. Thank you, Madam President. In the absence of Chairman Woods, we have a resolution right here just stating that the public hearing that is required by law will be on June 3rd here in the council chambers at 5.30 p.m. Also, you can join either online or in person, and there's the meeting link, which we will have posted as well. So... That's pretty much it. I'm sure we'll have an opportunity for people to give questions beforehand. And this budget hearing is actually about this budget right here and not about neighborhood issues, et cetera, but things you'd like to see in the budget and furthermore.

Thank you so much. Any questions, counselors? We're ready for the vote to entertain the item. The date?

The vote has started.

Was there another question? Are we good? Start the vote. And I am as well.

All right, thank you.

Thank you very much. Item number one passes. We'll be providing more information to everyone, but again, this item has set a public hearing for June 3rd, 5.30 p.m. in the council chambers. And so I want to thank again Mayor Whippen and thank the council as we go through the process of considering the budget. Thank you very much. We don't have any communications from the mayor. Do we have communications at this time? All right. We don't have any nominations of boards and agencies. Thank you, Madam Clerk. So before we start to consider the consent agenda, I'd just like to read the statement. All items designated as consent are considered to be routine and non-controversial. and will be approved by one motion. No separate discussion of these items will be permitted unless a council member, the mayor, or citizen interested in a public hearing so request. If so, such items will revert to its normal place on the agenda order of business. All matters of permanent operation, they're indicated with a capital P, will be read. All other matters will be considered by reading the item number only. All public hearings will be announced. At this time, Madam Clerk, if you will entertain the items that are being considered for consent.

Yes, ma'am. The consent agenda begins on page 2 with items 2, 3, 4, and 5. Page 3, we have items 6, 7 and 8. Page 4, we have items 10, 11, 12, 13. Page 5, we have items 14 and 15. Page 6, we have items 19, and 20. Page 7, we have items 21, 22, and 23. Page 8, we have items 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, and 29. Page 9, we have items 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, and 36. Page 10, we have items 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, and 43. Page 11, we have items 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, and 50. Page 12, we have items 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, and 57. Page 13, we have items 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, and 64. Page 14, we have items 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, and 71. PAGE 15 WE HAVE ITEMS 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78. PAGE 16 ITEMS 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, Page 17, items 86, 87, 88, 89. Page 18, items 90, 91, 92, 93. Page 19, items 94, 95, 96. Page 20, items 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, and I believe that is... Okay.

Thank you, Madam Clerk. Counselors, are there any items I'd like you to have?

Excuse me, Counselor. Yes. I apologize. On page... Item number 90, item 23... Item number 23 that there is a correction. We have an addition to I in the funding that will be coming from districts 7 and that would be $1500 which should change the in the total to $3500.

Thank you, Madam Clerk. Any other changes?

We'll note that on item 23, additional $1,500 has been added by District 7 to bring that total of item number 23 on page 7 to $3,500. Are there any items that either of you would like to add or remove from the agenda, consent agenda? All right, thank you. At this time, we'll take a motion and a second for approval of the consent agenda.

I apologize. Who made the second? Okay, thank you. Okay, the vote has started. All right, the vote should be up.

All right, thank you. The items that were considered for consent have been approved and will continue with the rest of our agenda. Please call the first item, Madam Clerk. Yes, ma'am.

The first item will be Item number nine on page three. Item number nine on page three is a resolution relative to the application of IQAP during business as easy pool and pay. for a junk dealer's permit to be used at 1849 Ruffner Road, Birmingham, Alabama, 35210. And this is the hearing of our interests of the parties.

Motion. Second.

All right. Thank you. I'll turn this public hearing over to our chair of public safety, Madam Pro Tem. Thank you, Madam President.

Is any staff planning to zone in here?

I'm sorry.

Yeah, Mr. Lowe. Yeah, we heard this item in public safety on last Tuesday. So, Mr. Lowe, can you give the body an update on where we are with this item?

Good morning. My name is Roger Glow, and I serve as a planner for the city of Birmingham. And the condition was that they needed to resurvey the two lots into one, and that has been satisfied at this time.

Thank you, Mr. Lowe. Any questions for Mr. Lowe? Any counsels have questions for Mr. Lowe? Seeing none.

Thank you, Attorney Recorder. Madam President.

All right.

Thank you, Counselors. Having no questions, we're ready to consider the vote. Yes, ma'am.

All right. And the vote has started. I believe everybody has voted. So the vote should be up. Everyone voted for it.

It never came up on our iPad.

There was one. No, I'm sorry. I didn't see that. It didn't come up. Oh, I'm sorry. Let's try this again. Okay.

Record.

Let's try that again.

As we're about to enter the vote, I do just want to be sure we did not ask if anyone was here to comment from the public. Thank you, Madam President. I'll let you go back and put that in record.

Is anyone here from the public to... Anyone here from the public?

No? Seeing none. Thank you. That's just for the record. Now we are ready for that vote.

Okay. Councilor Quinn? Okay. And... Understand that was a no vote?

No, ma'am.

All right.

Are we good?

All right. Item number nine passes. Next item. The next item is item number 16 on page five, and that item has been requested to be withdrawn by the mayor's office.

All right.

The next item after that is item 17, also on page five, and it has also been requested to be to be withdrawn by the mayor's office.

All right, thank you. Item 16 and 17 are withdrawn. Next item.

Okay, the next item would be item number 18 on page 6. That is an ordinance authorizing the mayor to execute an interlocal cooperation agreement for a period not to exceed three years between the city of Birmingham and the Birmingham Airport Authority to provide the airport with management and staffing of the fire station located at the airport, as well as to provide the airport with aircraft rescue and firefighting services, equipment and facilities together with the power to take all action necessary for the implementation of the agreement. The BAA will reimburse the city for fully burdened salary expenses of each BFRS ARFF firefighter assigned to BHM during any pay period covered under this agreement. BAA will reimburse BFRS via the City of Birmingham for all overtime costs for duties performed at the airport. And this is an item of permanent operation, so we need unanimous consent first.

So moved. Second.

Okay. Council... Council Member Gunn.

Aye.

Council Member O'Quinn. Aye. Council Member Smith.

Aye.

Council Member Smitherman. Aye. Council Member Vassa. Aye. Council Member Williams. Aye. Council Member Tate.

Aye.

Council, I'm sorry, Council President Rotem Tate. I apologize.

And Council President Alexander.

Aye. Okay. Now we need a motion to adopt the order.

Second.

All right, counselors, this is an ordinance authorizing the mayor to execute an interlocal cooperation agreement with the city of Birmingham, the Birmingham Airport Authority, and this is a renewal of the services that are provided. Do you need any questions or need any information shared from administration regarding this item? All right, we're ready for the vote.

The vote is started. Council President Alexander?

I'm an aye. Thank you.

That vote should be up.

All right. Thank you. Item 18 passes. We did have an opportunity. Some of us were over at the airport authority several months ago, and we got to ride the tarmac and really see the facility over there. So we're grateful for this opportunity and this agreement between our Birmingham Fire and Rescue Services and providing that safety for the airport and for all of us. Thank you very much. Next item.

That concludes the items on the agenda.

Well, thank you so much. At this time, Councilors, we'll entertain any updates that you have from your various districts. And we'll start. Council Vassa, are you ready?

Thank you, Madam President. Two quick announcements. One is that we had a wonderful Birmingham Folk Fest at the Avondale Park. This past Saturday, an incredible attendance. We had wonderful musical performances. We had chair yoga at the library. We had art displayed as well at the park. So we appreciated that great event. And then Five Points Neighborhood Association for tonight is canceled. Thank you, Madam President.

Thank you very much. Counselor Smith. Thank you, ma'am. President, uh, the five point south meeting that was scheduled for tonight has been canceled. Uh, this past Friday we celebrated the ribbon cutting and the ribbon cutting for the president healing gardens. Um, this was actually one of my ARPA projects, so I was happy to see that, um, come to fruition. It was an event filled with reflection, unity and hope for our community's future. And it was really very very special to me because it was something my mom started in 2005 and it was something that kind of was became Dilapidated so nobody could really go into and use anymore. So I first got an office You can't even see through the gates, but it was something you know, I was very passionate about I'm super grateful to the city for allowing each council to get the three million opera funding and to allow me to help with that. We also plant a legacy tree with my mom symbolizing growth, healing, and lasting impact for generations to come. So I really hope the residents really, really enjoy and just really just get to utilize the space. And we also heard from Hemp Heal. We were able to have their choir and their band perform. So it was a really good event. And also this past Saturday, my staff went in my absence to Tittsville Community Gather for the Day Luau party to share feedback and ideas for next year's Tittsville celebration. It was in partnership with Dorian Crawford and the Greedy House, Residents Enjoy, a day of food, conversation, community connections, special thanks to neighborhood officers, volunteers, committee, and vendors for their support in making the event a success. And then this past weekend was definitely very personal to me. My niece graduated with her undergrad degree in communications from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. So I want to say congratulations to my niece, Naomi, on getting her bachelor's. Thank you, Madam President.

Thank you, Councilor Smitherman. Councilor Williams?

Thank you. Economic Development Tourism Committee has been canceled for the day, and we will reschedule that later. And I hope everyone has a great holiday weekend.

Thank you so much, Counselor. Counselor Quinn.

Thank you, Madam President. Central City Neighborhood Association will meet tonight at the Central Library at 6 p.m. We have two neighborhood meetings on Thursday. Southside Neighborhood Association will meet at 6 p.m. at the South Precinct, and North Avondale Neighborhood Association will meet at 6 p.m. at the MLK Rec Center. The Ballard House will host a community soiree on Thursday to launch an event called Vivid Reflection, celebrating a resilient community through cultural artifacts. This is an exhibit that will be on display April 29th through June 13th. And again, that's a event that is on being held Thursday I don't have the exact time, but again, that's at the Ballard House. Jones Valley Teaching Farm, for all the parents out there, please keep in mind that Jones Valley Teaching Farm does camps for rising second grade through eighth graders, and they're They're always doing camps, holiday weekends and during the summer and other times as well. So check out www.jbtf.org for that information. Also, they have an annual fundraiser that's coming up. It's a picnic that they're calling Gather. And it's happening May 30th, 4-7 p.m. at the Downtown Farm And this supports the Good Community Food Fellowship. So these are Birmingham City Schools students from the city of Birmingham who this program helps to support. The tickets include a buffet. There will be local chefs preparing that food and drinks and drinks. There will be some line dancing lessons and other family-friendly activities. Again, check out www.jbtf.org for more information. And I just want to remind folks that we have two great farmers markets that happen every weekend. That's the Eastlake Farmer's Market that runs from 8 to noon at Eastlake United Methodist Church on Saturday, and Pepper Place that takes place every Saturday from 7 to 12 at Pepper Place. And that concludes my announcements.

Thank you, Dr. Quinn. Dr. Glenn.

I wanted to be a doctor in my past life.

All right.

Thank you, Madam President. Upcoming District 4 announcements. The District 4 office will be hosting a mobile office hours at the Ingle Nook Recreation Center on May 26th from 2 p.m. to 3.30. So this is an opportunity for residents to come out and meet with the council to provide solutions and talk about some ideas that they may have for their neighborhood. This is especially important for people that can't make the city council meeting, so I wanted to extend myself out into the community so we can have conversations about how we move the community forward. The next event that we'll be hosting is a community cleanup day in Ingle Nook. We'll start out at the Ingle Nook Recreation Center on May 30th from 9am to 11am. Upcoming neighborhood associations. South Woodlawn is tonight at 6 p.m. at the Woodlawn Public Library. Pino Vista is next Thursday at 6.30 p.m. via teleconference. Kingston is the fourth Monday at 6 p.m. at the Royal Event Center. And then East Birmingham is the fourth Monday at 6 p.m. at the Shields Conference Center. Upcoming committee meetings. The next community development committee meeting is Monday, June 1st at 3.30 p.m. in the city council chambers. And if you have any items that you would like to submit for the agenda, please send them to Carmen Mays by close of business on Monday, May 25th, which is a holiday. So let's move it to May 26th. Thank you. That concludes my announcements.

Thank you so much, Councilors Smith. All right, thank you. So first, I just want to say congratulations to all of the Birmingham City School students that are graduating this week. Graduations are taking place Wednesday through Friday at... the Bill Harris Arena at the Crossplex. Also, Birmingham Sister Cities has their application open for the International Dual Enrollment Academy. Applications are due on May 22nd. You can go to the Sister Cities website or Birmingham City Schools website. Applications are open for current juniors, rising seniors, and this year's program will take students to Wales in the fall. This Thursday, May 22nd, the Birmingham Museum of Art is premiering The Cry of Jazz, a film screening and panel discussion. And again, that's Thursday at 6 p.m. We have the following board meetings. Civil Rights Institute is meeting this afternoon at 4.30. Parks and Recreation is meeting tomorrow, Wednesday, May 20th, at 9 a.m. Museum of Art, Thursday, and Slossburn is also on Thursday. And the following neighborhood meetings, Grandmont Neighborhood is meeting on Wednesday, May 20th, at 4.30 p.m. at the Smithfield Branch Library. And then lastly, just want to make sure to remind everyone to go vote if you haven't already.

Thank you so much. Madam President? Thank you, Madam President. Evergreen Neighborhood Meeting will be held tonight at 5 p.m. at the Evergreen Missionary Baptist Church. Ainsley neighborhood meeting will be held on Thursday, May the 21st at 6 p.m. at Ainsley Rec Center. The next public safety meeting will be held on Tuesday, May the 26th at 1 p.m. in the Council Chamber. Please submit agenda items by email no later than Wednesday, May the 20th, no later than 12 noon to gregory.stanley at birminghamal.gov or santa.little at birminghamal.gov. Do not forget that Max Transit is offering free rides to the polls. So if you need a ride, please call 205-521-0101. And that concludes my announcements for today, Madam President.

Thank you so much, Madam Pro Tem. These are announcements for District 7. Today, the Green Acres Neighborhood Association will meet at 6.30 p.m. at the Living Christ Worship Center. It's already been announced this week begins the Birmingham City Schools graduations. Congratulations to all the Birmingham City Schools graduates. District 7's own Winona High School commencement is scheduled for 10 a.m. at Bill Harris Arena. So I'm very excited for all those dragons as they walk across the stage. The Hillman and Hillman Park Neighborhood Association will meet at 5 p.m. on Thursday at Hillman Station. Saturday, May 23rd, the Tarpley City Neighborhood Association will be hosting a cleanup that will start at 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. And the starting point will be the Tarpley City Park, which is 3201 Grisela Avenue Southwest in Birmingham. So everyone, please come up and join the Tarpley City Neighborhood as they do some work to clean up within their neighborhood. It's already been mentioned, today is voting day. Some of my colleagues I see got up early and made it to the polls. The polls are open until 7 o'clock p.m. We know the importance of voting, not only this election, but every election. So please go out and vote. I'm happy to see that the gallery is almost empty this morning. I hope that means everybody is out voting. So thank you very much. Thank you, Madam Pro Tem, for announcing. You have no excuse. BCT8, BJ, whatever, the transit, will take you to the polls, and they will give you a free ride. So that number is 205-521-0101. And before I mess up anything else, I'm just going to say, Chiefs, The mayor did not mention, but City Hall is closed Monday, correct? And what will be the services for trash and pickup and anything like that we need to know?

We'll send those out. We normally adjust to the next, I think, Wednesday, Tuesday and Wednesday, but we'll make sure that the public and the council has that info.

Thank you very much. Thank you so much. Those include our announcements, and thank you all. And Madam Clerk, if you will read our speakers list, please.

Yes, ma'am. On the speaker's list, we have Rob Bergen and Donald Smith.

All right, gentlemen, if you'll come on up, you're going to tag team us this morning. We have three minutes, so thank you all very much. If you'll go ahead and give us your names and addresses. Good morning.

Good morning. My name is Donald C. Smith, Jr., central president. I'm here representing CAB. And we put together a committee and we want to talk about some of the issues on that committee. We started in November and strangely we're here voting time. But I'm sure we're not going to be long. But that's what we're here for, to talk about some of the I guess I would say concerns, but things we can try to work together and bring to your attention.

Thank you, Mr. Smith, and thank you, Council. It's good to see you all. As you all know, my name is Rob Burton. I'm at 1907 Fifth Street South. So we just passed down a physical copy of the resolution that was passed at the CAB last night, though our acting CAB president also emailed these out to both the council and the mayor this morning. So if you want an electronic copy, please check your emails. So obviously, for years, there's been a discussion about the budget line item for neighborhood for the $2,000 per neighborhood that we get. So this resolution's got essentially three primary parts. The beginning, as any good resolution is, is just a, what are the legal frameworks that establish the body that we are representing, right? So it discusses Title 24 of HUD and the creation of CPPs. how our Citizens Participation Plan was created in 1974, and what we are responsible for doing. So as the CPP says, that one of our jobs is, in addition to receiving information from the city and responding to it, Birmingham residents have the opportunity to participate in the development of important documents. Some of the most significant of these documents are the city budget. And so that's what we heard to talk about today on budget day. There's also a couple points as it relates to the fact that the city is a member of NUSA, and we always have one to two representatives that serve on that national board. A discussion of how there previously was monthly flyers sent out, which were critical for getting public participation in the city. And then a history of the decreasing neighborhood allocations, which started at $10,000 in the early 2000s. Last year, it was 2,000, which was 0.033% of the FY 2026 budget. And it gives some examples of how neighborhoods are currently spending more money than we receive per year and the benefit the city would see by increasing that investment. So thank you for giving me a couple extra seconds. So therefore, let it be resolved by the Citizens Advisory Board of the City of Birmingham as follows, that the future budget proposed by the City of Birmingham, starting with the FY2027 budget, should include increasing the line item number 800-031 named TRFRS out neighborhood fund, which is underneath community development from a total of 198K a year back to the previous total of 990K per year. For the record, if that was done, that would make this line item 0.16% of the FY2027 budget. The second is for the future budget to INCLUDE A $5,000 LINE ITEM WHICH WOULD NOT ROLL OVER IF UNUSED FOR THE TRAVEL EXPENSES FOR THE BOARD MEMBERS OF NUSA, THE ONE TO TWO BOARD MEMBERS TO GET TO THE NUSA CONFERENCE BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO, THAT'S WHERE THEIR NATIONAL BOARD MEETING IS HELD. FOR THE RECORD, THERE IS A LINE ITEM FOR TRAVEL UNDERNEATH COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT THAT ALREADY EXISTS. IN FY2027, THAT IS $50,000. BUT THAT $50,000 DOES NOT CURRENTLY INCLUDE THIS REQUEST. AND THEN LASTLY, THAT THE FUTURE BUDGET PAST WOULD REINSTATE A LINE ITEM FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD FLYERS. SO WE'RE JUST HERE TO PRESENT THIS TO YOU TO BEGIN THESE DISCUSSIONS. WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE A MEETING EITHER COLLECTIVELY WITH YOUR BODY OR INDIVIDUALLY WITH MEMBERS THAT COULD INCLUDE OTHER MEMBERS OF OUR COMMITTEE AND CAB LEADERSHIP TO FURTHER DISCUSS WHAT THIS IS, WHY THIS IS BENEFICIAL. AND THE SAME GOES FOR THE MAYOR'S STAFF. So thank you all so much.

Thank you. Are there any other speakers, Madam Clerk?

No, ma'am, that's the last speaker.

Thank you.

Quickly, Madam President, Mr. Donna Smith is our president for Central Prairie. Hey, Mrs. Smith. Good morning.

Thank you. Thank you very much. Appreciate you. All right. Any other items? I did not have I do want to thank those officers that were on duty today, as well as our fire inspectors. Thank you all very much. At this time, we'll entertain a motion and second for adjournment.

All in favor, let us know by saying aye.

Aye.

All opposed.

Thank you. Meeting is adjourned. Thank you all.

And this is a thank you from the community back to you and that And you see the sign, we preserved the original sign, y'all. The first sign, that was the sign from the first gardens, and now we have a second one. So mom, I hope you enjoy this. I hope you come back, I hope you garden, and just to know this is a labor of love on behalf of myself and District 6.

This is, when I left the city council, I said to my daughter, Crystal, what about my legacy? What about all the projects I've left? What about the healing gardens? Because we didn't have the money to do it. She came up with the money and everything. I said, what about the gardens? My legacy? She said, Mama, can you please stop sweating that? Nothing is going to happen. I will always, always, always lift up your legacy and the things that you have found out.

And the beauty of this is, if you know my mother and I's relationship, we are as thick as leaves. That is my best friend. And I told her when I first got in office, I said, Mom, one of the things I would do is preserve your legacy as your child. And so this is why this is so important. That's why you always walk in together, because this is almost like a bridge between the past in the present and the future right here. So mom, this is for you.

Plenty of friends here this morning gathering in this space to celebrate the reopening of a truly meaningful space in Birmingham. And anyone who has experienced it in its heyday knows how special the place is. Today marks more than just a restoration. of this garden. It marks the reopening of a place of healing, a place that's been rooted in healing reflection and connection. For years, this healing garden has served as a quiet source of comfort for patients and for their families, also for staff right across the street, caregivers and neighbors here alike.

And just a brief history about these gardens. So it's called Healing Gardens because it's for really a healing power, right? So it's for people who may have disabilities, et cetera. The plants and flowers are supposed to help them heal from the inside out. This is supposed to be a place of peace, tranquility for people, especially over here in West End.

Thank you.

Hey folks, so I'm standing here with the Stephen Collins. Stephen is the person who founded and set up the work towards Birmingham Folk Fest. Stephen, thank you so much for your efforts. I know this is your brainchild and you came up with it a few years ago. Talk to us a little bit about what that motivation was and what the why was behind the Birmingham Folk Fest.

Well, yeah, I mean, it wasn't just me. In the end, it's all about the relationships and the partnerships with the people that are in Birmingham doing this kind of stuff year round. And I think that's what astounded me is just how many right below the radar, amazing arts and art initiatives and communities that are just making life happen and making Birmingham better. And I just thought we should have a day where we just get to put that out in the open and celebrate it.

Let's give a hand for the Folk Fest and everybody involved, right? And secondly, it's a reminder that it takes more than any one of us to get something done. You with me? When we want to get something done, we want to work towards a cause, it requires us to come together to see it through. Hi, folks. Again, Josh Vassa, City Council, District 3, here with Michael Schneiderman. Michael heads up the Friends of Avondale Park, which is a wonderful organization. I'm going to let him speak more on what the organization does. So, Michael, tell us a little bit about Friends of Avondale Park and your involvement.

Yeah, well, Friends of Avondale Park is a nonprofit organization. all volunteer member organization dedicated to making avondale park the best it can be we work closely with the counselor's office and city park and rec we plant trees we put flowers out we work with the city to make sure everything is working on the park and uh We love the relationship we have with the city and we invite anybody who loves Avondale Park to go to friendsofavondalepark.org and become a member.

The smallest unit in a democracy is our neighbor. And when we get to know our neighbor, good things start to happen.

All right, folks, so we're here with Chris Davis.

Chris Davis is a board member for the Birmingham Punk Fest. Chris, thanks for joining us. We've been here talking to Stephen Collins, Michael Schneiderman, who's one of the friends of Attendale Park. You know, this event takes so many different people coming together to make it happen. Tell us a little bit about your role and what you do and sort of how you feel about the turnout this 50 years.

I am super happy with this turnout. There's so many people here. The weather is perfect. We actually have May. I mean, we actually have spring in May in Birmingham, which is a rarity, so that makes everything wonderful. I'm on the board. I'm also the emcee for the festival, so I get to come onto the mic and talk about the bands, talk about the sponsors and all the things here, like the art and the food, the beer vendors up there and here and there and everywhere.

That's great. What got you excited? Of course, seeing this level of engagement from folks, but what else is your motivation for being involved?

It's just a wonderful part of community and music, which brings all community together. It's free. It's free, so we have a lot of great sponsors who've helped us to make it free. A lot of volunteers are doing a lot of stuff here, and it's just a wonderful time. I look forward to it every year.