Continuing to Build a Fairer, More Equitable, and Inclusive Birmingham

We have made strides to support our LBGTQ residents. We’ve passed a local non-discrimination ordinance, made sure everyone has access to inclusive city services, and that city employees receive inclusive health benefits. Birmingham’s national rating for LGBTQ+ equality was a 12 in 2016 under my predecessor; I’m proud to say that my administration was able to bring that up to a perfect 100. I established the city’s first-ever full-time LGBTQ+ Affairs Liaison in June 2018, and Birmingham achieved Municipal Equality Index “All-Star” status with the Human Rights Campaign in 2019 — the only Alabama city to do so — for scoring 100% despite being in a state with no state-level protections for the LGBTQ+ community.

We have established a justice portfolio through our Office of Peace and Policy. On 4/20, I announced pardons for 15,000 people convicted of marijuana possession in Birmingham from 1990-2020. Our Office of Peace and Policy is the only one of its kind in the country, and includes the Tuhska Lusa Initiative, which works to reduce recidivism and gun violence by supporting justice-system involved Black men with cognitive behavioral group therapy.

We have built out our infrastructure to better meet the needs of our homeless residents. We created our Homeless Advisory Policy Board and continue to establish and operate warming stations throughout the City during the winter months that have serviced thousands of homeless Birmingham residents. Our Homeless Outreach Partnership Engagement Initiative operates between the Birmingham Police Department, Municipal Court, and the One Roof Continuum of Care to create street outreach teams for our homeless residents, and my 2022 budget provides significant investment in meeting the needs of our homeless population. That includes partnerships with local organizations like Disability Rights and Resources, Metro Changers, Inc., Titusville Development Corp., HouseProud, Habitat for Humanity, Build Up for Urban Prosperity, Christian Service Mission, Neighborhood Housing Services of Birmingham, Fair Housing Center of Northern AL, Birmingham Urban League, and Gateway.

Strengthening Birmingham’s Public Health Infrastructure

We are already making progress in getting back to normal after COVID-19. We continue to work with UAB and Alabama Regional Medical Services to open pop-up clinics in areas with the highest identified needs, including operating a mass vaccination site at A.H. Parker High School. Our goal is a 75% vaccination rate for City residents by the end of 2021 -- go to www.vaccinefinder.org to find a site near you.

We have made significant strides in bringing more healthy food options to Birmingham residents. We enacted the City’s first Healthy Food Ordinance to continue our pledge to work toward eliminating food deserts in the city. That meant expanding Marino’s Market in Ensley, establishing and investing in the City’s Healthy Food Fund to finance healthy food options across food deserts, and taking steps to expand existing grocery stores and prevent others from closing (the former Western Supermarket in Eastlake, the Price Butcher in Huffman, and Community Shelves in Heritage Center). We have also brought in entrepreneurs like Slutty Vegan to expand the City’s plant-based food options and include a broader array of healthy options for our residents and visitors.

We continue to encourage regional and national grocery partners to choose Birmingham. Our Department of Innovation and Economic Opportunity has identified at least four potential sites for new grocery stores -- the former Ensley High School, the former Winn Dixie site in Five Points West, and two sites in east Birmingham (Roebuck Parkway and Parkway East) that we will aggressively use to develop grocer and healthy food solutions.

We have established a public health framework for addressing the root causes for gun violence that we will continue to refine and implement. In March 2019, the City announced its PEACE Strategy, and Vision 2025 will build upon the PEACE strategy by complementing the public safety approach to reducing handgun violence in Birmingham. I recently announced a gun violence task force that organizes the District Attorney, Sheriff, and federal partners to use all available resources to get illegal guns off of our streets and prevent gun violence in the city.

Investing in Birmingham’s Children

We have put our money where our mouth is by investing in our children. We have invested over $9 million in Birmingham City Schools since 2017, and Birmingham Promise has helped over 400 BCS students attend the college or university of their choice -- and about 600 more students are on track to participate in Birmingham Promise’s second year of operation. My 2022 budget invests an additional $2 million to provide students with college and career opportunities through Birmingham Promise, and we recently announced an additional $8 million investment from corporate partners. My budget also sets aside an additional $1 million to BCS will help get mental health experts in schools that can ensure our children heal and thrive after the COVID-19 pandemic is over.

We continue to find creative opportunities to help every child grow to their fullest potential. In addition to the apprenticeships available to our students through Birmingham Promise, our Department of Youth Services continues to identify innovative programs for our children like “Birmingham Can Code” and the “Kids and Jobs” Program, which connects residents ages 14+ with age-appropriate employment opportunities to help cultivate the professional development necessary to become an integral part of the workforce. These programs have reached well over 600 Birmingham students since 2017.

Leading Birmingham's Recovery from COVID

We continue to make progress by leading the City of Birmingham through the uncertainty of COVID-19. When COVID-19 emerged as a public health threat, I worked with the Birmingham City Council to lead Alabama’s earliest stay-at-home orders, enact mask requirements, and establish testing sites across the city.

We continue our laser-like focus on getting Birmingham residents vaccinated and ensuring that our residents and businesses have access to resources for relief. In close coordination with the Jefferson County Department of Health, the Alabama Department of Public Health, our federal partners and community partners like UAB Medicine, vaccine sites have been rolled out across every quadrant of Birmingham. There is also a broad range of financial assistance available to residents, including millions in rental and mortgage assistance dispensed to keep Birmingham residents in their homes.

We continue to make progress in supporting our small business community to help them keep their employees working and opening and operating safely. We led the way in getting our small businesses the relief they needed to keep their businesses open and their payrolls intact. BHAM Strong alone distributed more than $2 million to nearly 100 Birmingham small businesses in 2020, and we’ve worked with federal partners through the CARES Act and Restaurant Revitalization Fund to ensure the small, minority and women-owned businesses that make Birmingham who we are can stay open, with clear guidance from the City on how they can continue to operate safely.

Keeping our Promises to our Retirees and Employees

Unlike my predecessor, we didn’t wait until an election to value City employees. I sought to reward them in every budget. Since taking office, we have provided City employees with cost-of-living raises, longevity pay increases, and merit pay increases in 2017, 2018, and 2019. The most recent budget, FY22, will restore all of these benefits to make sure everyone is whole again after COVID-19.

When the American Rescue Plan passed, restoring employee pay through the Magic City Recovery Plan was my top priority -- and I delivered. The Magic City Recovery Plan will provide each City employee with hazard pay for working through COVID-19 and address pay lost from furloughs.

We have also taken significant steps to keep our employees safe from COVID. In response to COVID-19, we have sought to keep City employees safe by adopting flexible telework schedules, expanding paid leave, establishing a robust COVID-19 testing, tracking, and tracing policy, and providing temporary hazard pay for public-facing workers. This was in addition to improvements to City benefits -- all steps that we believe make the City of Birmingham one of the most competitive employers in the State of Alabama.

We kept our promise to our retirees by stabilizing pension obligations. We have also taken seriously the promises we have made to our retirees who helped to build the Birmingham that we love by doubling the City’s commitment to our pension obligations since taking office in 201. That commitment is reflected in not only the FY22 budget, in which I set aside $32.5 million to meet pension obligations, but by recently passed legislation -- voted for unanimously by the Birmingham Pension Fund Board and Birmingham City Council -- that mandates the city meet required annual contribution needs, ensuring the pension fund is secure for all current and future retirees.

Reimagining Public Safety in Birmingham

We have made progress in fighting crime. We have reduced serious violent and property crime by almost 33% since I took office, and I’m putting money where I need to to keep driving that number down. The city is also completing our Real-Time Crime Center in Summer 2021, investing in community-based violence interruption teams that can help prevent violent gun crimes, expanding our investment in BPD’s Homicide section, constantly revisiting out deployment strategies to ensure that our officers are in the right place at the right time, and the development and implementation of a comprehensive public safety plan for our HABD residents.

Birmingham is a national leader in police oversight and accountability. The tragic deaths of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and far too many others forced every city in America to look inward, and we took action through our Public Safety Task Force. The Task Force produced a series of oversight and accountability reforms that we continue to see through, including prohibiting BPD from engaging in the kind of high-risk raids that killed Breonna Taylor, adopting model use of force standards and training, funding non-police responders to non-violent calls for services, establishing Birmingham’s first Community Review Board, and funding for an independent police monitor to oversee the implementation of the Task Force’s recommendations and ensure that BPD’s policies regarding training, discipline, use of force, and other policies remain aligned with best practices.

Getting Guns Off The Street

We have made progress by establishing the country’s only Office of Peace and Policy to holistically address the root causes of crime. Our Office of Peace and Policy coordinates the non-policing aspects of public safety, including our programming for our returning residents like the Tuhska Lusa Initiative (the City’s first peace strategy with a public health orientation toward reducing crime), marijuana decriminalization initiatives like Pardons for Progress, and our Public Safety Task Force for reimagining policing, oversight, and accountability in Birmingham.

We announced a Gun Violence Task Force that takes an all-hands-on deck effort to reduce gun violence. Further following recommendations from the Public Safety Task Force, my office announced a Gun Violence Task Force in April 2021 that partners federal and local officials to facilitate information sharing and help us identify trends in gun trafficking so we can confiscate more guns and keep them off of our streets.

We partner with local, community-based organizations to make equitable public safety a reality for all. The newest budget will continue the City’s work to get as many guns off the streets as possible, including by providing money to support the Gun Violence Task Force and to support local community organizations like Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity to host gun buyback programs.

Prioritizing Equitable Public Safety

We have made progress by investing in our first responders and we will continue to invest in the modernization of our Fire Rescue. We have invested over $320 million into our Fire Rescue since 2017 with major investments in Stations 8, 13, 14, 19, 24, 26, 27, and 28. My FY22 Budget proposes an additional investment of over $66 million. We’ve also invested over $6.5 million, with another proposed investment of over $1 million in 2022, to modernize the equipment used by our first responders and Fire Rescue to ensure that Birmingham residents have the most modern equipment available during emergency situations.

We have made progress creating a justice-focused local court system where diversion, restorative justice, and reduced recidivism is our primary focus -- not incarceration. Through diversion programs and special courts, we have successfully reoriented our municipal courts toward diversion and alternative models of justice. The municipal gun court continues to be used to quickly process our most serious violent crime cases.

Building On Our Progress Investing In All 99 Neighborhoods

We continue to make investments in all 99 neighborhoods. When I ran back in 2017, I ran because I did not see Birmingham's neighborhoods making progress outside of downtown, and since being elected, we have made significant investments in stabilizing our neighborhoods. We have paved over thousands of miles of roads, filled potholes in every neighborhood, done our best to keep lawns of abandoned properties maintained, demolished thousands of abandoned homes, and acquired over 738 parcels through our Land Bank Authority for redevelopment. My FY22 Budget invests $14 million in neighborhood revitalization, including $10 million for street paving, $3.15 million for demolition and weed abatement, $300,000 for the Land Bank Authority, $300,000 for a recycling pilot program, and $275,000 for making ADA accessible sidewalks. We have already invested over $8 million dollars into housing preservation and home repairs with a particular focus on our seniors and other long-term Birmingham residents, and we continue to seek opportunities to support the construction of more affordable housing, including $55 million to redevelop the old Ensley High School property into 244 new affordable units.

We’ve also made significant investments outside of Downtown, including:

• $34 million for a new intermodal facility that we completed in 2018;
• $1.5 million for the new Wylam Library;
• $1.8 million for a new tornado shelter at South Hampton Elementary;
• $2.9 million for a new Fire Station 8 in the Kingston community;
• Dramatically expanding the City’s investment in the Land Bank Authority by since 2017, investing nearly $2 million and acquiring over 738 parcels for redevelopment;
• Expanding our investment in the Department of Public Works by expanding the City’s capacity for cutting grass, demolishing properties, and picking up litter;
• Other capital improvements across the City since we assumed office totaling over $90 million in capital investments across Birmingham

Restoring Historic Ensley

Closing on Ramsay McCormack eluded previous administrations, but we got it done. We made the Ramsay McCormack redevelopment a reality by investing over $4 million in the gutting and redevelopment of Ramsay McCormack and leveraging the talent of Black real estate development and construction firms -- EDD, Inc., Charles Williams & Associates, Dragon Energy Consulting, Bhate Geosciences -- in order to do it. We anticipate that the development will be completed by the end of 2022 and will be the future home of Birmingham Promise, Inc. and the Innovation Depot.

The Ramsay McCormack redevelopment will anchor our revitalization strategy for restoring Historic Downtown Ensley. We see Historic Downtown Ensley as an untapped entertainment district for Birmingham, so we will continue to be intentional about expanding Downtown Ensley’s entertainment offerings by creating a state Entertainment District designation, initiating streetscaping and facade improvements to properties in Downtown Ensley, and establishing targeted small business incentives to encourage hospitality and entertainment venues to build in Downtown Ensley.

We believe that significant affordable home ownership opportunities exist in residential Ensley. By working closely with the Birmingham Land Bank Authority and leveraging our $25 million commitment from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, we will identify properties for affordable, single family housing redevelopment opportunities throughout residential Ensley.

We have taken decisive steps to bring more affordable housing and grocery partners to Ensley. Working closely with the Birmingham Land Bank Authority and leveraging our $25 million commitment from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, we continue to identify properties for affordable, single family housing redevelopment opportunities throughout residential Ensley. In March 2021, we committed $55 million to a revitalization project at the site of the old Ensley High School. Plans include 244 new affordable housing units as well as green space, grocery options and childcare facilities.

Reimagining the Smithfield and Elyton Communities

We have taken the first steps to build new single family housing in the Smithfield and Elyton community. $25 million secured through a partnership with the National Community Reinvestment Coalition will help us continue to identify Land Bank-owned properties to target for new, affordable single-family housing.

We believe that the area is ripe for new commercial development, and are working to make that happen. In November 2020, we applied for $70 million in New Markets Tax Credits that could be leveraged for commercial investments in the Smithfield and Elyton communities to complement anticipated residential development.

Reimagining North Birmingham

Residents of the North Birmingham communities have suffered for far too long. My administration has worked closely with North Birmingham to develop a comprehensive plan for residents who want to move and create a built environment that limits residents’ exposure to nearby industrial uses, while also setting in motion a redevelopment strategy that can attract new businesses and jobs for the community.

Creating a More Mobile Birmingham

We paved more roads and filled more potholes than our predecessors. We have completed more than $28 million in roadway resurfacing, with an unprecedented $10 million in road paving projects planned for 2021. My FY22 budget designates $10 million to road paving alone, part of a $14 million investment slated for neighborhood revitalization.

We have stabilized our transit authority. We took dramatic steps to stabilize the leadership of the Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority Board, and it has paid off in creating a stable environment for charting the future of mobility in Birmingham.

We are making historic investments in rapid transit. We will complete the Birmingham Express by 2022, creating an East-West connector of neighborhoods and jobs connecting 25 Birmingham neighborhoods with 32 bus stops.

We’re thinking creatively about partnerships to help our residents move across the City and the region. Our on-demand ride pilot that was launched in Fall 2019 has completed over 32,000 rides, enhancing on-time access to healthy food, healthcare and education.

We’ve made our roads safer with lighting investments. We’ve restored lighting at the Greensprings Avenue interchange with I-65, University Boulevard interchange with I-65, I-59/20 from Arkadelphia to the western City limits, portions of I-459 at US 280, and worked with ALDOT to install lighting associated with the rebuild of the I-59/20 bridges through downtown.

Ensuring Birmingham's Long-Term Affordability

We’ve made progress in building new affordable housing. We built more affordable housing units than my predecessor, and we will continue to provide housing support to allow for equitable and inclusive economic growth. I secured a $25 million commitment from the National Community Reinvestment Coalition to build new single-family properties, and we continue to seek out new sites for affordable housing developments.

We’ve acquired a historic number of abandoned properties, continue to invest in our Land Bank, and made significant investments in repairs for our seniors’ homes. We have added an additional 738 formerly-abandoned properties to the Birmingham Land Bank primed for affordable housing redevelopment. We have invested heavily in the Land Bank Authority that was underutilized by our predecessors, with over $2 million invested in our Land Bank since 2017, and an additional $300,000 proposed in the FY22 budget. We have also invested over $8 million in stabilizing units for our long-term residents and seniors, and we will continue to build on our progress through 2025.

Honoring and Elevating Birmingham's History

We’ve made progress in a number of historic preservation projects that previous administrations neglected. A number of historic renovation projects are already underway in the A.G. Gaston Motel, Carver Jazz Hall of Fame, Ramsay McCormack Building, Legion Field, and the Masonic Temple, furthering both our preservation objectives as well as our broader community and economic development priorities.

Where previous administrations failed to remove the Confederate monument from Linn Park, we made it happen. Part of creating the proper spaces to honor our history is ensuring that there is no safe place for symbols of hate in Birmingham, and we did that by removing the Confederate monument in Linn Park. We continue to explore options for putting a better recognition of Birmingham's storied past in that monument’s place.

Plans are underway to focus on restorations and investments in four iconic Birmingham neighborhoods: Smithfield, Elyton Village, Downtown Ensley, and North Birmingham. We have invested in all 99 of our neighborhoods, and we have an eye on more extensive redevelopment efforts in four iconic neighborhoods: Smithfield, Elyton, Downtown Ensley and North Birmingham, making good on our 2017 campaign promise to extend the City’s redevelopment focus outside of downtown.

We continue to work with our partners at Urban Impact and REV Birmingham to make investments in our 4th Avenue Business District. Anchored by the City’s support for the redevelopment of the Masonic Temple, we will continue to work our partners in Urban Impact and REV Birmingham to invest in our legacy businesses in the 4th Avenue Business District, identify incentives for more minority-owned businesses to locate in the Business District, and complete a plan to attract more catalytic investments and foot traffic to the Business District.

We continue to work with the pillars of the Civil Rights District to chart an elevated path forward When the world comes to Birmingham, visitors honor our resistance and perseverance by visiting our Civil Rights District. We have taken definitive steps to solidify the leadership of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute and continue to seek out opportunities to enhance the Civil Rights District for our residents, neighborhood businesses, and visitors.

Creating More High-Quality Jobs for Birmingham Residents

We’ve created jobs. Since 2017 -- and in the midst of a global pandemic -- the Woodfin Administration has either retained or created over 8,000 jobs working in tandem with Birmingham job creators like Shipt, CRST Malone, Amazon, D’Allesandro Grocery, FedEx, and 20 Midtown.

We’ve exposed our youth to meaningful employment experiences. Birmingham Promise introduced over 400 Birmingham City Schools’ students with apprenticeships and hundreds of additional Birmingham youth participating in the City’s summer jobs program since 2017. An additional 600 students are slated to participate in the program during its second year, helping Birmingham City School students reach their career as well as their college goals.

Supporting Birmingham's Small Businesses

We’ve made progress in supporting our small businesses through COVID-19. The Department of Innovation and Economic Opportunity launched BHAM Strong, the City’s signature low-interest loan program, to distribute more than $2 million to nearly 100 Birmingham small businesses. The City’s $2 million investment was in addition to providing resources to our small business community on SBA programs like the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan and preexisting City loan programs.

We continue to invest in Birmingham’s minority-owned businesses. The City spent over $24 million with minority and women-owned businesses in FY2020, and has a target of spending over $150 million with minority and women-owned businesses by 2025. The Woodfin Administration took an important first step in formalizing the City’s commitment to minority and women-owned businesses by initiating a disparity study that will form the basis of the City’s new Diverse Business Opportunity Program. This program is projected in place by the end of 2021, just in time for the 2022 World Games, presenting a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for our small businesses.

We’re ready to help our small businesses navigate federal COVID-19 relief programs. With potentially billions of dollars of additional federal funding for small businesses coming online throughout 2021 as part of President Biden’s American Recovery and American Jobs Plans, the infrastructure is in place for the City of Birmingham to help guide a full post-COVID-19 recovery for our small business community.

Securing Birmingham's Finances

We’ve made progress in achieving the highest credit rating in the City’s history. We’ve been responsible with your tax dollars, and our efforts have been recognized by credit markets allowing us to borrow money at lower rates when we need it -- that means more savings for you.

We’re showing financial markets that we’re responsible stewards of your tax dollars by creating a plan for fully funding our pension. By fully funding the City’s pension obligations starting in 2022, the City will make historic investments in stabilizing pension obligations to our retirees -- after years of underfunding from my predecessors.

Our rainy day funds are in a strong position. Our general fund, bond, and Birmingham Fund reserves have increased by almost $70 million since 2017 -- the highest cash reserves in Birmingham’s history before COVID-19 began affecting economic activity in the City. My $455 million FY22 budget represents the single largest investment in Birmingham’s 150 year history -- not including the additional $140 million I secured as part of President Biden’s American Rescue Plan. And we’ve done this all while managing COVID-19’s impacts on the City’s finances to make sure Birmingham can build back better.