The Birmingham City Commission voted Aug. 25 to direct the city manager to pursue a professional research firm to conduct a citywide community survey to gauge resident priorities and willingness to fund projects.

Staff presented options including an in‑house water‑bill mailing approach and two outside firms (Cobalt Community Research and Polco) with estimated costs in the $20,000–$30,000 range. Outside firms would provide a statistically valid, randomly sampled set of responses (roughly 2,000–3,000 households) and allow benchmarking against other communities and national data. In‑house approaches—such as including surveys in water bills or using the city’s Engage Birmingham platform—were feasible but would require more city staff time and would not provide the same benchmarking ability.

Commissioners urged the city to put guardrails around survey questions so the instrument measures priorities within realistic budget constraints. Commissioner Hague suggested survey design include clear options tied to budget tradeoffs (for example, how much additional tax revenue residents would accept to finance a given priority). Commissioners also recommended coordination with finance and treasury staff so respondents understand the share of city revenue dedicated to core services.

The commission’s vote provided direction to staff to solicit proposals; the commission instructed staff to return with recommended contracts for formal approval. There was no contract approved at the Aug. 25 meeting.