2026-10-12 - Budget and Finance Committee

00:00order.

00:02Let's see here.

00:06All right, we'll consider approval of

00:08the

00:11September 28th meeting minutes.

00:13>> Yes, I'd like to ask for approval of the

00:16September 28th Budget and Finance

00:18Committee meeting minutes.

00:20>> All right, I'll second that motion. All

00:21in favor?

00:21>> Aye.

00:22>> Aye. The ayes have it. Now, we will uh

00:24move to consideration of the consent

00:26agenda.

00:27>> All right, thank you, Mr. Chair. I'd

00:28like to offer the following items for

00:30consent. Item four on page one.

00:35Items six and seven on page two.

00:39Items eight and nine on page three.

00:42Items 10 and 11 on page four.

00:46And item 12 on page five.

00:51>> All right, I'll second those items. All

00:54in favor?

00:55>> Aye.

00:55>> Aye. The ayes have it. Uh we'll go ahead

00:58and move to item five.

01:02>> Item five. Alabama Summer and

01:04Afterschool Care Excuse me, Alabama

01:07Summer and Afterschool Program Grant. A

01:09resolution authorizing the mayor to

01:11apply, submit, accept, and expend all

01:13grant funds for the FY27 Alabama Summer

01:16and Afterschool Program

01:21Grant. The request will be up to

01:23$225,000.

01:25The funds will be used to support

01:27partnerships that provide summer

01:28programming and afterschool care,

01:30enhancing education, and promoting

01:32student advancement. Submitted by Adrian

01:34Stitt, Department Finance, extension

01:372434, amount not applicable.

01:40>> Move the item.

01:43>> Second. The item is before us.

01:51Good afternoon.

01:52>> Good afternoon. I'm Adrian Stitt, and

01:55our service.

01:56as the director of the grants division

01:59in our finance department and this is

02:01>> Arna Odoms in our service, deputy

02:03director at the Department of Youth

02:04Services.

02:05>> Oh, wow.

02:07>> And we are applying for grants that will

02:10help our after school and our

02:13um

02:14summer programs. We're looking to do

02:16this in a partnership with the program,

02:18some of the programs we already have

02:20through the library and

02:22um

02:23park and rec department.

02:29>> I have a couple of questions.

02:31So, we are going after this grant,

02:33correct?

02:34>> Yes, ma'am.

02:35>> And um

02:36what is our current spending that we do

02:39on after school? How would this help to

02:41extend our program? Do we have a number

02:43of maybe new

02:46locations we might have if we were to

02:48win this grant?

02:50>> Uh we're looking to do things with the

02:53like being able to supplement some of

02:55the volunteer, some of the teachers'

02:57salaries,

02:59um some of the transportation needs. So,

03:02it's not necessarily going to a

03:04different location,

03:06but it um assisting with the

03:09the current needs. But, we'll evaluate

03:11everything and depending on the funding

03:14that's received,

03:16you know, we can

03:18we'll talk with with our other team.

03:19>> Yeah, Madam President, just like Miss

03:21Dick said, it's it's really to

03:22accelerate the programs that we already

03:23have to get more involvement in it.

03:26>> Perfect. I'm always asking, trying to

03:27see if we can get more. I just wanted to

03:29see if this was going to increase the

03:31capacity, but any extension that we have

03:34or increase in the services for the

03:35current locations, that's sort of the

03:37same thing you're looking for, right?

03:39>> Yes, ma'am.

03:39>> Okay. Thank you.

03:41Thank you.

03:42>> Uh when is this due? When is this

03:44application due?

03:44>> It's due at the end of this month.

03:47>> All right. All in favor?

03:49>> Aye.

03:49>> Aye. Eyes have it.

03:52Uh uh item will be sent to full council

03:53recommendation to approve. Uh we'll move

03:56to item 13.

03:59>> Item 13, BJCTA service agreement. A

04:03public transportation services services

04:05agreement between the

04:06Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit

04:08Authority and the City of Birmingham

04:10under which the BJCTA will provide

04:13public transportation services for a

04:14term of 1 year to include fixed route

04:17and paratransit services on-demand

04:20services and bus rapid transit services

04:23for an amount not to exceed $17 million,

04:26which compensation is comprised of 11

04:2911.5 million dollars for fixed route and

04:32paratransit services,

04:34$2.5 million dollars for on-demand

04:37services, and $3 million for BRT

04:40services. Submitted by James Fowler,

04:42Department, Mayor's Office, extension

04:442771.

04:50>> And is this

04:51>> Amount, $17 million.

04:52>> Okay.

04:54And is this also is this another item

04:57that's right

04:58underneath it or is this the same one I

05:00wish you'd call? So, I'm going to put

05:02together is that a typo? They're in

05:04there twice.

05:07>> I think it's just a breakdown.

05:09>> this is the breakdown of of the 15.5

05:11million.

05:11>> Okay, perfect. So, it is the one I

05:12>> No, 17.5 million.

05:14>> Okay, move to item.

05:16>> All right, second.

05:18The item is before us.

05:21>> Yeah, I don't see Chief Fowler, but this

05:23is our annual agreement with the BJCTA

05:26for our fixed route via on-demand and

05:29for bus rapid BRT. Um

05:32the

05:33the only difference between this

05:34contract and last year's just the

05:35increase in the funding that we kind of

05:38gave them an increase due to the cost of

05:40doing business and inflation and you

05:42know, gas and everything is going up.

05:43So, that's really the only major change

05:46out of the

05:47the agreement. We do have some

05:48leadership here from the BJCTA if you

05:50want to ask them any specific questions.

05:53>> I have a couple of questions.

05:54>> Uh thank you, Chief.

05:56>> Yes, sir.

05:57>> Specific to the leadership

05:59>> Uh yeah, y'all can come on. Yes, sir.

06:02Mr. Glenn.

06:12>> Good afternoon.

06:13>> Hey, Mr. Glenn.

06:14>> My name is Glenn Dickerson. I serve as a

06:16chief financial officer at BJCTA and

06:20here to answer any questions you have.

06:22>> Thank you very much. I do just have um

06:24one question, which probably just be one

06:27final question.

06:29I know this is um any increases we're

06:32we're seeing, they say it's because of

06:33just cost, general cost that um

06:38based on how you operate services,

06:40correct?

06:40>> Right. In fact, there are no increases

06:42since last year.

06:43>> Okay.

06:43>> We were expecting a $500,000

06:46increase, but I guess it didn't make the

06:48cut, so

06:49>> Okay.

06:50>> In in light of this new information

06:51>> No, yeah.

06:52>> Okay.

06:53>> increase the budget by $500,000.

06:54>> In light of

06:55>> Perfect.

06:56>> Oh, so it has increased by $500,000.

06:58>> Thank you.

06:58>> Okay.

06:59>> Okay.

06:59>> And I know that um during the year,

07:02there was some discussion about certain

07:04fixed routes and changes with those.

07:07Have those all been taken care of and

07:09this will be reflective of the package

07:11that we would be approving or are there

07:13any plans for any of those um routes

07:16that are currently being provided? Would

07:19there be any changes in those?

07:20>> Right.

07:21>> Well, we are constantly uh improving

07:23routes under the 70/30 plan, so what

07:26routes are in place right now may change

07:29based on ridership and demands of the

07:31customers. So, it's not a stagnant

07:33situation, so we are constantly trying

07:35to look at how we providing services,

07:38looking at the ridership of who's on the

07:40buses and trying to see if we can more

07:43efficiently and effectively serve the

07:44customers.

07:45>> Perfect. And my last thing is

07:48I know you all had an app that was

07:50coming out also and a lot of things were

07:53dependent upon the app and I want to say

07:55improvement in services but additional

07:57services and access for residents. Has

07:59that been launched and could you give us

08:01just a little information about that?

08:03>> Right. The app The app actually launched

08:05about four or five months ago.

08:07>> Okay, perfect.

08:08>> And we're still getting some of the bugs

08:10out but yeah, it's operating. People are

08:12using it. I think it's effective and we

08:15haven't had any major complaints about

08:17it so far.

08:17>> And do you think you got any more

08:19customer satisfaction in those last four

08:21or five months? Just anything that might

08:23be specific to those changes?

08:25>> Yeah. Yeah, definitely we have our

08:28customer service

08:29person here with us just in case there

08:31were any specific questions but

08:34any customer complaints one of the

08:36things we do we respond to them

08:38immediately and make sure that the

08:40customers are pleased and happy and that

08:43we're actually meeting their needs. So,

08:45yeah.

08:46>> you. Well, I appreciate what you all do

08:48and

08:49I remember riding the 45 Bessemer so I'm

08:52very excited about that and I see it

08:54continues to go up and down the Bessemer

08:56Super Highway. So, thank you.

08:58>> Okay.

08:59>> Those are my questions. Thank you.

09:00>> Okay.

09:00>> All right, thank you. Yeah, it's good to

09:01hear that cost has not gone up as much

09:04as we may have thought.

09:06What asked do you have an idea of what

09:09revenue is brought in

09:11just from ridership?

09:13>> Uh it's about $2 million

09:15annually.

09:17Ridership when the when COVID hit

09:19several years ago ridership in most

09:23transit agencies hasn't recovered yet.

09:26So, we get about $2 million a year for

09:28fares.

09:30>> Okay.

09:33And that too I know cuz we still have

09:35the BRT is still free, correct?

09:37>> Right. Yes, complimentary.

09:39>> Um and then I guess some would probably

09:42be interested in, you know, maybe

09:45bringing to full council

09:47would be a little bit more um

09:49kind of ridership

09:52comparison from BRT to just your general

09:56bus service.

09:57>> Right.

09:58>> And try to get an idea of

09:59>> invite Nick Tidy up.

10:02He has that information.

10:08>> Okay, good afternoon, Council. I'm Nick

10:10Tidy. I'm the data and budget analyst at

10:12BJCTA. Uh in terms of ridership, the BRT

10:15is doing roughly about 300,000 rides per

10:18year.

10:20And on the entire service, we're seeing

10:22about 1.6 million and that's on our

10:24fixed route and BRT combined.

10:28>> If I could ask for clarification, what's

10:30the ridership? Was 3,000 or 300,000?

10:33>> 300,000 on on BRT.

10:35>> Okay.

10:36>> And the the system wide was what?

10:38>> 1.6 million. That's fixed route and BRT

10:42combined.

10:49>> Yes, I would

10:51probably lean on y'all for the best um

10:54way to kind of extrapolate more data

10:56from those numbers, but

10:59you know, if there's a way that comes to

11:01mind to be able to compare

11:03um

11:05maybe like an efficiency like more

11:08people per bus

11:11just to try to see if there's more

11:13if there's a higher utilization rate of

11:15say BRT versus uh the general service

11:18and things like that.

11:19>> So so we do get a monthly ridership

11:21report from the BJCTA that we can share

11:23with the council. I

11:24We give it to the council on Queen.

11:26>> That'll be great, man. That'll be great.

11:28>> I thought he might have already shared

11:29it with y'all. We'll see.

11:30>> this Type in like what, eight more

11:32emails, man?

11:33>> We'll we'll we'll forward you the

11:34ridership report that we get every year

11:35every month.

11:36>> Hey, you want to ask for anything else?

11:38You're in a good mood. The Texans won

11:39yesterday.

11:39>> I'm not in a good

11:41>> The Texans got a big win yesterday.

11:44>> All right. So, I think um

11:47just being able to kind of better track

11:49and and that report may have some some

11:51information that's helpful, but uh

11:52anything like that.

11:53>> It It actually breaks it down by

11:55district. And it shows the ridership.

11:57So, I'll be glad to just forward that to

11:59y'all.

11:59>> Yeah, that's fine.

12:00>> Perfect. Um just so we can kind of see

12:03uh

12:04where investment is most impactful

12:07uh going up. But, no, I've heard good

12:08things

12:11uh from the BJCTA and I think Cal's

12:14leadership has really been very

12:16aggressive at trying to improve the

12:17system overall, so uh but yeah, just

12:20having that data to try to keep up and

12:21see

12:22uh

12:24where investment could could

12:26be maximized or most useful, so um

12:30>> We'll stop there.

12:33>> Um

12:42>> Hey, we're talking about BJCTA.

12:44>> Okay.

13:18>> What is the uh what's the name of the

13:20app?

13:21>> The name of the

13:22>> the app.

13:24Uh is it It's the

13:25>> Max on Demand

13:26>> Max Max on demand. Max on demand.

13:29>> Max connect.

13:29>> Max connect.

13:31>> Max on demand?

13:33>> Max connect.

13:34>> Max connect.

13:35>> Max connect.

13:36>> Connect.

13:36>> Right.

14:10>> Uh Mr. Chair, I have a couple of

14:11questions.

14:13Um

14:14for VIA, with this with this agreement,

14:16are we expanding VIA?

14:19>> Expanding VIA? It includes VIA, but it's

14:21no expansion on VIA.

14:23>> Okay.

14:23>> It's the VIA that the city operated

14:25before we took over.

14:27>> Okay.

14:27>> And it was $2.5 million

14:29when the city had it, and it's still

14:31$2.5 million.

14:33>> Okay.

14:33>> Right.

14:34>> Um

14:36over the past year since our our last

14:39contract,

14:40um has ridership increased?

14:43>> Yes, ridership has been steadily

14:45increasing over the last few years.

14:48Since COVID, there's been a steady climb

14:50in ridership.

14:51>> Okay. By what percentage between this

14:53year and last year?

14:55>> Yeah.

14:56Yeah, I know.

14:57>> I don't have the specific percentages on

14:58me, but we do provide a monthly report

15:01to each district with the ridership

15:03numbers provided.

15:06>> Oh, I know, but I still wanted to know

15:07what was the percentage citywide.

15:10You don't know?

15:11>> We can get you that information. We

15:13don't have it with us right now.

15:14>> Okay. Can we get that by the time it

15:15gets to city council?

15:17>> Sure. We'll have it.

15:18>> Um

15:21I still just want them to say it. Like

15:23they can still say it.

15:25Um

15:41I think

15:43I think those are all my questions.

15:46>> All right, good deal. Yeah, this is a a

15:47very detailed report. Thank you. Uh team

15:50Metro, it's very nice.

15:53Very nice. We'll make sure to ask for it

15:55every every single month.

15:57Um I'll just like I do the capital

15:59project report, I just send this to the

16:01entire council every month when I get

16:03it.

16:04All right, good deal. All right, thank

16:05you gentlemen. Um

16:06>> Is this I have a question. Is this

16:07different than the report we get from um

16:10>> It's the same one.

16:11For my transit.

16:12>> Okay.

16:15>> But if you wanted more detailed

16:18information, we can send it over to to

16:20the board.

16:21>> Okay. Thank you. So my question is, do

16:23we ever do this on the city of

16:26Birmingham socials? Like just telling

16:28people about Okay.

16:31>> No, I don't I don't say we would.

16:33We would kind of lean on them.

16:34>> Okay.

16:35>> Do you all do share whatever they have

16:37on their their social channels.

16:39>> Okay.

16:40Okay.

16:41Cuz I did know there was a route cut in

16:43my district and people were coming up to

16:46me asking me what was the alternative

16:48route. They just I wouldn't say they

16:50weren't aware or you all didn't put out

16:52that information, but if you just be

16:54more conscious of it. I thank you

16:56because Mr. Foster came and met with me

16:59>> Right.

16:59>> and kind of heard my concerns. So I do

17:00appreciate that, but just just more

17:02communication. We have older residents,

17:05so even and we have to do this, it may

17:07cost a little bit more in your print

17:08budget, but just letting them know about

17:10it. Um because I think they were trying

17:12to vote a couple of them and they came

17:13to poll watchers and were like, "My best

17:15route was

17:16cut. It was very difficult to get here.

17:19So, that's just a little bit of

17:21feedback.

17:22>> We understand whenever there's a route

17:23change, we try to make sure we replace

17:26it if it's a fixed route with micro

17:28transit. So, sometimes that information

17:30may not get to the riders, but we'll be

17:33more diligent about

17:35advertising that in the future.

17:37>> Okay. Thank you.

17:37>> Okay.

17:40All right, thank you. All in favor?

17:42>> I.

17:42>> I. All right, eyes have it. Item 6 is a

17:45full council recommendation to approve.

17:48>> Okay. Thank you.

17:49>> Thank you.

17:50>> All right, I believe that is all of our

17:52items for today.

17:54Any unfinished business?

17:57New business?

17:58>> Move for adjournment.

17:59>> All right.

18:00>> All in favor?

18:01>> I.

18:02>> All right, the eyes have it.

18:03>> Thank you very much.

18:04>> Thank you all for your service to the

18:06city of Birmingham today.

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