2026-09-28 - Budget and Finance Committee

00:02Sorry, I'm over approval of the minutes

00:05of the budget and finance meeting that

00:06was held on September 14th, 2026.

00:10Second.

00:11>> All in favor?

00:12>> I.

00:13>> All right, the item passes. We can move

00:15to item number three.

00:18>> Okay, if it's okay with you all

00:19counselors, I'd like to ask that the

00:21following items be consented.

00:25Item number six on page two,

00:30item number eight on page three,

00:35item number 11 on page four,

00:39items 12 and 13 on page five,

00:44items 14 and 15 on page six,

00:49item

00:5016 on page seven,

00:53and items 18 and 19 on page eight.

00:59>> Second.

01:01>> All right,

01:02item's been made

01:03motion made and properly seconded. All

01:06in favor?

01:06>> I.

01:07>> All right, the eyes have it. We will

01:10move to item four.

01:12>> Item four, Mountain Brook Interlocal

01:14Cooperation Agreement. An ordinance

01:17authorizing the mayor to execute a

01:19three-year interlocal cooperation

01:21agreement pursuant to section 11-102-1,

01:25Code of Alabama, between the City of

01:27Birmingham and the City of Mountain

01:29Brook for a joint patrol and enforcement

01:32of laws at the Alabama Veterans Memorial

01:35Park, a 22-acre park at 100 Overton

01:39Access Road, Birmingham, Alabama 35243,

01:43which is owned and operated by the City

01:45of Mountain Brook and located wholly or

01:47partially within the city limits of the

01:50City of Birmingham. Submitted by Josh

01:52Coleman, Department, Mayor's Office.

01:56>> Second.

01:57>> Thank you, Commissioner from Josh

01:59Coleman's office.

02:01>> [laughter]

02:01>> Yes, sir. Absolutely. My name is Josh

02:04Coleman. I serve as director of public

02:05affairs for the mayor's office. This is

02:08a local agreement with the city of

02:10Mountain Brook to allow their police

02:11force to also patrol the park which was

02:15gifted to the city of Mountain Brook

02:17from a

02:17from a private entity, but that property

02:20is located within the city of Birmingham

02:22city limits.

02:29>> Uh thank you, sir. This is definitely a

02:31very unique

02:32uh situation. Let's see. Any questions

02:35here on the

02:36>> Uh yes, just one. Is this our first year

02:38doing an agreement like this with them?

02:40>> It is. They have not had an agreement

02:42previously. The high school is directly

02:44across the road, the access street. So,

02:46they have been at the under the

02:48assumption that BPD is patrolling it,

02:50which they do from time to time, but

02:53they would just like to be able to

02:54patrol the park.

02:55>> Okay, good. Thank you.

02:58No questions.

03:04>> All right. Well, thank you.

03:06Uh

03:07all in favor?

03:08>> I.

03:09>> I.

03:10>> All right. The eyes have it.

03:12Let's move to item five.

03:14>> Item five. Wilbron Industries LLC Urban

03:18Villages Initiative. An agreement

03:20between the city of Birmingham and

03:22Wilbron Industries LLC DBA Wilbron,

03:25under which Wilbron will develop

03:27community engagement strategies and

03:29project narratives for designated urban

03:31village areas to support urban planning

03:34efforts in connection with the urban

03:36villages initiative for a period of up

03:38to 1 year. The total compensation to be

03:41paid under this agreement shall be in an

03:44amount not to exceed $8,300

03:47monthly and shall not exceed a total of

03:50$99,600

03:53submitted by Hunter Garrison Department

03:55Mayor's Office. Funding source fund 103.

04:01>> Move the item.

04:02>> Second.

04:03>> All right.

04:05>> Good afternoon to the committee. My name

04:07is Colin Alexander. I serve as the

04:09program manager in the Birmingham

04:11Department of Transportation.

04:13We are one of the partner departments

04:14with the Office of Resilience and

04:16Sustainability helping to implement the

04:19Urban Villages initiative where we're

04:20looking at tweet 12 livable nodes across

04:24the city that we're trying to

04:25revitalize.

04:27Um and as part of this effort we're

04:28starting to step up. There's going to

04:30be, you know, projects that come about

04:32as well as some planning efforts and

04:34rather than having each of these efforts

04:37have their own individual

04:40um community engagement platform, we

04:42wanted to it to be consistent across all

04:4412 and to see it as a a citywide

04:46initiative. And so we are entering into

04:49a contract with Will Bron to be our

04:51community engagement um firm for the

04:54entire Urban Villages portfolio. We

04:56think that'll help keep things

04:58consistent. Will Bron has been a a

05:00vendor for of ours on the Go BHAM plan.

05:03They're local. They've We've really

05:05enjoyed working with them. So, that's

05:07the contract before you.

05:12>> Thank you, sir. Any questions?

05:16>> I do have one question.

05:18I do have one question. I do notice we

05:20have two other items that relate to um

05:23urban villages. And so, is each one

05:26unique within its own self or this is

05:29just three different vendors?

05:30>> Yeah, these are So, this is all These

05:32those are separate from this.

05:34>> Okay.

05:35>> What's What will be coming up later are

05:37we're entering into some area plans for

05:39some of these villages that we really

05:41need to start with a plan. Um some of

05:43them are a little more developed and and

05:45we feel we can go into implementation

05:47where some need some plans. And so we

05:49have a couple of firms that'll be doing

05:50planning efforts. This is just for the

05:52community engagement program all of

05:54them.

05:55>> Okay, and um I apologize. I couldn't

05:58find have we listed those areas yet or

06:01we said we've got a framework that we

06:02want to play

06:03>> That's correct. That's correct.

06:04>> Okay. And so we'll have more information

06:06forthcoming.

06:07>> As as we step up this program. Yes,

06:10ma'am.

06:10>> Okay, thank you.

06:12Um have we previously worked with

06:15Wilborn?

06:16>> Yes, we have. Um Wilborn has been um our

06:19vendor for community engagement for the

06:20Go BHAM plan.

06:22Um and they've been really a fantastic

06:25partner for us and again they're locally

06:27based. They have a lot of connections

06:28within the community. We wanted to to

06:30take advantage of that.

06:32>> Okay. What kind of connections do they

06:34have within the community?

06:35>> Um so they've had connections with

06:37various church leaders, with school

06:38organizations, with neighborhood

06:40organizations, um

06:42things of that nature.

06:44>> Okay.

06:45And do you think they'll we'll need them

06:47past one year of engagement?

06:50>> We're going to start with a year for for

06:52the next years where as we're stepping

06:53up this program and then we'll

06:54re-evaluate our needs at that point.

06:57>> Okay. Um I guess just a quick

06:59suggestion. I think it'd be good if you

07:01got with the business alliances like

07:04five points south business

07:05>> Oh, absolutely. They'll be they're

07:07they're all part of the stakeholders

07:08that we'll be working with but we want

07:09to have one consistent

07:12approach across all 12.

07:13>> Yeah, I agree. I think something not

07:15just the city of Birmingham, most city

07:17governments we kind of it's a little

07:19hard for us to get the message out but

07:20when you have like a third party a

07:22middle man who's connected to community

07:24you can get that message out a lot

07:25better and clearly.

07:26>> Okay, thank you.

07:28>> And I do want to add um just wanted to

07:30give a little bit of a um

07:32acknowledgement for Wilborn Industries.

07:35I know the owner was one of the first um

07:38APR certified um

07:42project managers who deals with public

07:44relations. And so that was a great honor

07:46for him as a um

07:48minority business owner. So, think he

07:51comes well equipped in some of these

07:53areas. So, thank you.

07:57>> All right, good deal. Uh all in favor?

07:59>> I.

07:59>> All right, the eyes have it. We will uh

08:02move over to item seven.

08:03>> Okay.

08:04Item seven, a Deca Volkswagen

08:06settlement. A resolution authorizing the

08:09mayor to apply, submit, accept, and

08:11expand all grant funds for a Deca

08:14Volkswagen settlement eligible

08:16mitigation action item projects. This

08:18request will be up to $3,500,000.

08:22The funds will be utilized to reduce

08:24nitrogen oxide emissions through the

08:26installation of electric vehicle

08:28charging stations and the addition of

08:30electric vehicles to the city's fleet.

08:32There is a 20% local match submitted by

08:35Adrian Stitt, Department Finance Grants

08:38Division.

08:40>> Move the item. Second.

08:45>> Good afternoon.

08:46>> Good afternoon.

08:47>> I'm Adrian Stitt and I serve as the

08:49director of the Grants Division in

08:51Finance.

08:53>> I My name is Cedric Robertson and I

08:55serve as the director of Fleet

08:56Management for the City of Birmingham.

08:59>> In this application, it will um where

09:02the funder is a Deca

09:04and the application is due on October

09:066th.

09:07Um a Deca has like 5. $7 million that

09:12available for funding and we're going to

09:14go after 3.5

09:16of those dollars for our equipment

09:18management.

09:23>> Um oh, you got a question?

09:26>> Uh yes.

09:27Um

09:28I know that we have a strategy for how

09:31we would use these funds. Is this a part

09:33of the sustainability plan that was

09:35presented to us a couple weeks ago.

09:38No, I just didn't know if it was related

09:40cuz

09:42No.

09:46Okay. No, no, I think it's a good step

09:47towards us going towards the same

09:49ability plan. Okay, thank you.

09:52No questions.

09:54>> Uh I'm interested. So, these are listed

09:56as settlement funds. Is this a situation

09:59where the state has already received

10:01settlement money and we're applying just

10:04to draw down?

10:05>> Yes.

10:06So, the state has re- received the um

10:09settlement funds from Volkswagen

10:11>> Right.

10:11>> and they made those funds available for

10:14for everyone in the state to apply, so

10:16we're applying for those funds.

10:19>> Oh, is is the number is the 5.7 is that

10:22the total settlement amount or is that

10:24just what we could potentially

10:25>> I think that's just what the state

10:28has received. 5.7

10:31Yeah, and this is the third round

10:35of funding.

10:38>> Godspeed. Um all in favor?

10:40>> Aye.

10:42>> Thank you very much. That'll go to full

10:44council recommendation to approve and

10:46we'll go to item 10.

10:48>> Do item nine.

10:51Do item nine.

10:55>> No, item item nine.

10:57>> Item nine, Interface Studio LLC, an

11:00agreement between the City of Birmingham

11:02and Interface Studio LLC under which

11:04Interface Studio LLC will develop

11:07implementable community supported plans

11:09for designated urban village areas in

11:11connection with the urban villages

11:13initiative for a period of up to 10

11:16months. Total compensation to be paid

11:18under this agreement shall not exceed

11:20$299,980.

11:24Submitted by Hunter Garrison, Department

11:26Mayor's Office, funding source fund 103,

11:29amount $299,980.

11:34>> Move the item.

11:35>> Second.

11:37>> Uh let me ask, are these uh 9 and 10

11:41closely related enough to call together?

11:44>> I don't see why not. They're

11:47They're the same con- um

11:50same contracts. They're just two

11:51different vendors.

11:53>> All right, we'll call them up together.

11:55>> Item 10, TSW, an agreement between the

11:58City of Birmingham and Tunnell-Spangler

12:00and Associates Incorporated DBA TSW,

12:03under which TSW will develop

12:05implementable community supported plans

12:08for three designated urban villages

12:10village areas in connection with the

12:12urban villages initiative for a period

12:14of up to 14 months. Total compensation

12:17to be paid under this agreement shall

12:19not exceed $299,575.

12:25Submitted by Hunter Garrison, Department

12:27Mayor's Office, funding source 103,

12:30amount $299,575.

12:36>> Move the item.

12:37>> Second.

12:38>> Good afternoon again to the committee.

12:40So, as we're stepping up this program,

12:44um a lot of these areas and we've been

12:46doing some very high-level planning work

12:48across the city over the last decade or

12:50so. Now we're getting into a very

12:52granular area where we want to really

12:54focus intensely on a small area in terms

12:57of what is needed. Um we did something

13:00very similar to this recently with uh

13:02the Huffman Station plan that was that

13:04was uh ARPA-funded. And so this is we're

13:06taking that model and applying it to

13:08these areas.

13:10Um we put out an RFQ for vendors to uh

13:14provide their credentials for us to

13:15select.

13:17These areas all have different

13:18challenges. Some of them are more urban

13:21sort of infill development. Some of them

13:23are more suburban retrofit. So we wanted

13:25to make sure that we had the right firms

13:27for the right kind of areas. So, the

13:29first contract is with a firm called

13:31Interface Studios. They do a lot of

13:35urban revitalization work. They're a

13:36firm out of Philadelphia. They'll be

13:38working in partnership with GMC, which

13:40is the local firm here in Birmingham.

13:44And then the other one is TSW.

13:47They do a lot of suburban retrofit kind

13:49of work. They were the firm that

13:50actually did the Huffman Station plan.

13:53So, we're familiar with their work. And

13:55we felt like they would do a good job in

13:57helping us advance this urban villages

13:59initiative.

14:03>> Any questions from the committee?

14:13>> Okay. I am trying to understand between

14:16the two different ones. So, the scope of

14:18the work is the same or one will be

14:20taking on sort of a larger piece or

14:22smaller

14:23>> So, so the scope of the work is is the

14:25same, right? It's

14:26We're going to be looking at these

14:27areas, providing recommendations on land

14:29use suggestion, on transportation

14:31infrastructure, on doing some market

14:34study analysis.

14:35We really wanted though the specifics of

14:38the environment of how different areas

14:40of Birmingham developed at different

14:42times have different needs. We wanted to

14:44have firms that were really strong in

14:45those specialized areas.

14:47>> Okay. And there's a total of 12 being

14:49planned. What's the

14:50>> So, there are total of 12 areas. Not all

14:52of them are are getting plans. Some of

14:55them have already had some pretty robust

14:57planning efforts that we're building off

14:59of and are going to do some

15:00implementation work. These are This is

15:02filling in the gap for the rest of those

15:04areas.

15:04>> Okay. Thank you.

15:07>> [snorts]

15:07>> So, this includes all of

15:10These are each entity will take on

15:12multiple

15:13>> Each entity will take on three total.

15:16Right? And so, that kind of spreads out

15:18the work to and helps making sure we're

15:21getting a a real strong product.

15:24>> Okay, I appreciate that clarity because

15:26item 10

15:28specifically says three, but nine didn't

15:31have a number.

15:32>> Yeah, no, they they they both are taking

15:34on three.

15:34>> Okay, thank you.

15:35>> And Mr. Chair, can you list the specific

15:39I guess areas or neighbors communities

15:41that will be covered? Like which ones

15:43already have plans in motion versus ones

15:45that need a complete um

15:47>> I'd have to go

15:48back I I don't know that I'm prepared

15:51specifically right now, but we can go

15:52back and get that information for you

15:54right now. I don't I don't want to speak

15:55off the cuff and get something wrong.

15:58But we'd be happy to provide that

15:59information to the council.

16:03>> Now you know we're going to be asking

16:04cuz we all want to know where this is

16:06going to take place.

16:08Okay, thank you.

16:10>> Uh yeah, I guess if you could have that

16:12with this item when it comes to full

16:13council.

16:15>> Sure, we we can we can absolutely come

16:16up with um the list for each of those

16:18firms and where they're working get that

16:20to the full council.

16:22>> And also if there's like a little

16:24timeline too cuz our people are like

16:26>> So yeah, the timeline should also uh

16:28mirror the the um the Wilburn project

16:31should be about a year to get all these

16:33plans done.

16:37>> All right, good deal. I can't say like I

16:38said we did go through a similar process

16:40in Huffman.

16:41>> Did you?

16:42>> Um and it was quite robust, uh very

16:45robust, uh but

16:46>> And so where did your village end up?

16:48Were your villages in place?

16:50>> Are we going to call it something else?

16:51>> Well, we're we're working through

16:52implementation now. So so we have a a

16:55solid plan and we've got some projects

16:56lined up and we're working on

16:58identifying funding for others.

16:59>> Okay.

17:00>> But we're kind of focusing off the

17:02Parkway right at Huffman and Road, Old

17:05Spring Villa Road kind of in that

17:06footprint.

17:07Um so yeah, good opportunities. Things

17:10are happening. Things are happening.

17:11>> Maybe you'll take us on a little tour

17:13one day.

17:13>> Man, I tell you, we get enough gas in

17:15the bus

17:16>> Councilman I would love to get out there

17:18to easy stuff.

17:19>> You know I went to Debre Zeit Christian

17:20so I had to go back to my roots.

17:22>> [laughter]

17:22>> You got to do number eight, we'd be

17:24happy to come show you around

17:26East and

17:28show you why y'all need to let a little

17:29more money slide my way.

17:30>> I see road trip coming. Thank you.

17:34>> All right.

17:34>> We had talked about that, going to the

17:36different districts on the bus.

17:38>> I'd love to show y'all some things. I'd

17:39love to show y'all some things.

17:41>> That's right.

17:42>> [laughter]

17:45>> Thank you.

17:47>> All right, all in favor?

17:49>> I.

17:50>> Thank you.

17:51>> All right, the eyes have it. That

17:52will go to full council uh

17:55with the recommendation to approve uh

17:58pending the

18:00additional information requested.

18:02Uh item 17.

18:04>> Item 17, OAA, a resolution authorizing

18:07the mayor to execute for and as the act

18:10of said city, an agreement of offender

18:13alumni association under which OAA shall

18:16perform services to address the social

18:18and economic concerns of Birmingham

18:20citizens by supporting severely injured

18:23victims of gun violence admitted into

18:25UAB's trauma and acute care division by

18:28providing care to victims and their

18:30families utilizing violence interruptive

18:33activities and mentorship programs like

18:35the hospital-based violence intervention

18:37program that is sensitive to the past

18:40traumas and triggers of these victims

18:42for a term of 1 year in an amount not to

18:45exceed $585,000

18:48submitted by Uche Bean, Department of

18:50Mayor's Office, amount $585,000.

18:54Move the item.

18:57>> Good afternoon.

18:58>> Good afternoon. Good to see you all.

19:02>> The floor is yours.

19:05>> So, uh my name is Uche Bean. I serve as

19:08director of community safety initiatives

19:10for the mayor's office.

19:12Um so this amount is for the emergency

19:15room component of the hospital um,

19:18linked to violence intervention program.

19:20So, we have two components, the trauma

19:22unit, which was the one that you saw

19:24before you a few weeks ago, that is

19:26funded purely by the Department of

19:28Health here in the county, and this one

19:30is the ER component that the city of

19:32Birmingham launched uh, early last year,

19:35which has been extremely successful.

19:37Overall, the Offender Alumni Association

19:39has seen over 300 clients with these

19:43programs that we've launched inside of

19:45UAB, both the emergency and trauma unit.

19:48And of course, they have given out an

19:50array of services from uh,

19:52transportation, grocery assistance,

19:55rental assistance, relocation,

19:58uh, referrals to jobs and other

19:59community uh, supportive services,

20:02as well as mental health counseling. Um,

20:05and not only do they engage the people

20:07that have been injured inside of both

20:09the the trauma unit or the emergency

20:11room, but they're also engaging their

20:12families. And you can only imagine that

20:15beyond the trauma that that person is

20:17dealing with from being shot, they're

20:19also dealing with

20:21familial dynamics that can also be bit

20:24estranged, um, as well as job issues,

20:27finance issues, um, that go way beyond

20:30just their physical health from being

20:32survivors of gun violence.

20:37>> Very good. Any questions here on the

20:39dais?

20:45>> I'm good.

20:46>> Yeah, your work speaks for itself. Your

20:48work speaks for itself.

20:48>> It's it's I'm thankful just now.

20:51>> Yeah, I think we've been

20:52able to

20:54um,

20:55things connect a little bit more

20:56firsthand. I would say

20:58something to think about as we move

21:00towards the end of this fiscal year is

21:02just reporting. I know during

21:04the last budget conversations, we had

21:06some questions come up. so I think if we

21:07could just have a

21:08um

21:10easy like

21:12FY27, this is what we did. Something to

21:14make that process a little smoother.

21:16>> And I I do want to mention to you all um

21:19really to you all's credit for the

21:20Birmingham City Council uh just last

21:23week a Fender Alumni Association, the

21:25Jefferson County Department of Health,

21:27UAB Medical Center um and our office we

21:30actually met to have a conversation

21:32about the sustainability of this

21:34program. Um UAB has been pleased, the

21:37health department as a partner has been

21:38pleased. Um we feel really good about

21:41this program and so we are also looking

21:43at additional grants with the Health

21:45Alliance um violence

21:49intervention. It's a it's really the

21:53authority on hospital-linked and base

21:56violence intervention. So we're looking

21:58at what the sustainability look like. Um

22:01so I absolutely agree with you. We

22:03definitely want to come back and just

22:05really give you all as a whole body an

22:07update on what we've been doing and what

22:09we plan to continue to do.

22:12>> Excellent. Um everybody's good, so all

22:15in favor?

22:15>> I.

22:16>> All right, the eyes have

22:17>> Thank you all. Have a good afternoon.

22:18>> Sounds good.

22:20All right.

22:23All right.

22:26>> I move for adjournment.

22:29>> All in favor?

22:30>> I.

22:30>> All right.