Birmingham City Budget

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The Birmingham City Council is expected to look at – and possibly vote on – the city’s $428.5 million operating budget that Mayor Larry Langford proposed a few weeks ago. The council wants to approve the budget by July 1st, when the new fiscal year begins.

The budget includes $1 million in appropriations for a study into the feasibility of a streetcar system in downtown and another $1 million in funds to help restore Bethel Baptist Church, an instrumental civil rights meeting place.

Councilors have been critical of the mayor for not providing a formal capital projects budget. William Bell says the mayor is in violation of the Mayor-Council Act for not doing so. Royal says there could be fear of reprisal in the city’s legal department if something is said about it.

WBHM’s Steve Chiotakis spoke with Councilor Roderick Royal about the budget process, some of the things he approves or rejects and what to expect in the ultimate vote.

 

 

BSC’s Daniel Coleman talks about his years-long effort to save the school and what happens next.

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IVF could help her start the family she wants. Will Alabama’s personhood law derail it?

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Struggling Birmingham-Southern College says it will close at end of May

The College Board of Trustees voted unanimously to close the longtime institution, officials announced in a news release. The announcement came after legislation, aimed at securing a taxpayer-backed loan for the 168-year-old private college, had recently stalled in the Alabama Statehouse.

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Residents in the west Alabama county warn that the lack of emergency care can have deadly consequences. It's a fate that could befall a growing number of rural communities.

Q&A: A bad deal made Jackson’s water problems worse. It wasn’t the only Mississippi city harmed

Reporter Sarah Fowler talks about her investigation that found at least eight Mississippi cities were harmed by deals over faulty smart water meters.

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