Residents press Birmingham City Council to restore neighborhood grants and add West Side protections at budget hearing

Councilor Clinton Woods, chair of the budget and finance committee, opened a public hearing June 3 on the proposed 202627 general fund and capital budgets and heard more than a dozen residents press the council for changes and clarifications. No votes were taken; council staff recorded the comments for the city27s budget review process.

Onoyemi Williams, speaking for the Westside Legacy Protection Fund and Westside United, said the city27s budget and an associated HUD Choice Neighborhood planning process risk leaving legacy homeowners on the West Side behind. "We are here because the council is preparing to vote on a $650,000,000 city budget that leaves the glaring systematic hole right in the heart of the historic West Side," Williams said, and asked the council to add a $7,500,000 redevelopment line item for legacy homeowners and make $2,500,000 in CBD flexible grant dollars available to residents.

Councilor Clinton Woods acknowledged Williams27 request and said, "I will add that request to our list, specifically for adding a line item. I know it's 7.5 for legacy homeowners, but, we will ensure that's on the list and make sure we circulate feedback as well." The council did not act on the request during the hearing.

Speakers across the city27s neighborhoods urged the council to restore per-neighborhood allocations that had been reduced in recent budgets. Tremaine McIntosh, neighborhood president of Wylam and a District 9 human rights commissioner, said the current $2,000 allotment is insufficient for local projects and called for a return to $10,000 so neighborhoods can fund benches, pocket parks and youth programs without repeatedly seeking council approval.

Other residents made related points: Rob Burton, Southside Community president and CAB budget committee member, criticized the city27s public-notice practices for the hearing and urged closer cooperation between the council and the Citizens Advisory Board (CAB) to improve outreach; Donald Smith (Center of Pratt) said some neighborhoods actively spend their funds and should not be penalized; and multiple speakers urged more transparency, quarterly budget reviews and clearer project-approval procedures so money does not sit unused in neighborhood accounts.

The CAB vice president, speaking by role, asked the council to consider meeting times and remote sign-up procedures that limit working residents27 access to the public comment list. The officer also said the capital project budget pages were not available on the city website and raised concerns that some ARPA-funded projects, including Lawson Road work, remain incomplete.

Several speakers attributed large-scale development projects near the West Side27s Legion Field area to growing displacement pressures: Williams claimed private developers were positioned to capture large development fees and that outside investors had begun soliciting local properties. The speakers presented those figures and concerns as community assertions; the council recorded them as public comment and did not verify them during the hearing.

Councilor Woods encouraged anyone with additional written comments to email him at clinton.woods@birminghamal.gov. President Alexander then called for a motion to adjourn; a motion was made and the meeting adjourned without any formal votes on the budget.

The council will consider the written and oral comments as part of the administration27s ongoing budget review and the formal adoption process.