Birmingham City commissioners gathered July 25 for a full‑day long‑range planning meeting in the municipal building to review the city’s five‑year financial forecast, infrastructure and capital project priorities, city fleet and facilities plans, and a slate of program‑level updates across departments.

The finance team led off with a five‑year forecast showing steady taxable‑value growth supporting general‑fund projections but also highlighting a continued need to replace water‑sewer funding previously subsidized by property tax. City consultants and staff said water and sewer rates must continue to be raised in the near term to finish transitioning the utility funds to a rate‑based model; the forecast assumes no property tax support for water/sewer spending in the 2025–26 fiscal year. The forecast also flagged rising capital needs across water, sewer and local roads that will draw down restricted and unassigned fund balances in some years, underscoring the importance of the city’s capital improvement plan (CIP).

Engineering staff presented the unimproved‑road prioritization map the commission asked for in 2023 and explained the selection methodology: an infrastructure‑score that combines road surface, water and sewer condition, nearby agency projects, and firefighting flow needs. The engineering plan targets priority neighborhoods with existing 4‑inch or aging water mains for utility replacement before surface reconstruction. Staff estimates the city now replaces roughly 0.75 miles of utility infrastructure on unimproved roads a year and showed a scenario that would double that pace; at the current pace some water mains installed in the 1920s could remain in place into mid‑century. Commissioners pressed staff to give earlier, clearer signals to property owners about whether an upcoming project would be a full reconstruction, a cape‑seal, or another surface treatment, because those choices affect homeowner costs (for example, moving services from rear yards to the front when sewers are installed) and public expectations.

The CIP review reiterated major projects planned over the next five years, including Wimbledon (water/sewer replacement), Byrd Avenue water‑main replacement, resurfacing and targeted concrete patching on Maple Road (north lanes), and a Derby Road bridge replacement application that staff said will remain on the state grant list. Staff noted some 2024 projects carried into 2025 because of weather and contractor timing and that project timing and funding will be revised after actual bid returns.

Engineering also brought a draft of proposed stormwater rules for new residential construction. Staff is studying a threshold (for example, a 200‑square‑foot increase in impervious area used by peer communities) and a menu of best management practices—rain gardens, dry wells or cisterns, and pervious paving—plus possible ties to the stormwater fee credit program. Planning and engineering will return in the calendar year with ordinance language options and details on maintainability, inspection and homeowner responsibilities.

Fleet and facilities drew sustained discussion. Department of Public Services staff showed a comprehensive condition audit of roughly 200 fleet items (vehicles and equipment) and recommended moving from reactive repairs to a phased replacement plan. The city’s mechanics have flagged a significant portion of the fleet that has exceeded recommended replacement triggers; staff reported years in which the cost of maintaining aging units exceeded the cost of replacement and warned that long lead times for specialty vehicles (up to two years for large trucks, longer previously) make advance planning essential. Fleet leaders proposed increasing annual replacement funding—perhaps toward $1.0–1.5 million per year—to smooth replacement cycles and avoid years in which many assets age out simultaneously.

Public‑safety fleets received separate briefings. Birmingham Fire described an ordered ladder truck and the challenge of keeping high‑cost specialty apparatus in service; the department outlined a multi‑year replacement plan for engines, ambulances and other apparatus and noted that some purchases must be placed years in advance to secure production slots. The fire chief also described staffing and operational pressures: increased call volume, frequent concurrent medical incidents, and the need to maintain apparatus readiness for structure fires in areas with constrained streets and three‑story residences.

Police leaders reviewed a package of security and operational deficiencies in city hall and the police department’s public spaces. Staff showed plans to add interior access control walls that would secure dispatch, detective interview areas and police administration while preserving public access to the commission chamber and clerk counters. The department also asked for a sally port or secured vehicle bay for prisoner processing, expanded evidence storage and a dedicated interview room that avoids moving detainees through public lobbies; staff presented those as operational priorities the department will ask the commission to fund in upcoming budgets. Police also discussed staffing and overtime trends tied to special events and the Woodward Cruise season and reported planning for a “power shift” or traffic unit to reduce overtime driven by event coverage.

Parking and downtown: city staff reported the 2024 transition of parking operations from a third‑party operator to city control. The city took over monthly‑parking accounts, launched an online parking portal for resident sign‑ups and moved help‑desk calls in business hours to an in‑house call center (off hours handled by an experienced parking vendor). Staff said operating expenses are lower under city control than under the prior contract and presented a five‑year cash‑flow projection that includes anticipated major garage repairs; staff also briefed a planned update and repair sequence for the five city garages, noting the Park Street garage will require significant work and that planned capital timing will affect fund balances in some years.

Other departmental highlights: the library’s recently completed atrium and plaza were praised by commissioners; staff described study rooms, a heated snow‑melt approach to the book drop, and a proposed building generator or a combined solar+storage option under review. The museum presented a phased landscape plan and said it will apply federal and state grant funding to improve ADA access to the pond and to advance sustainable site practices. Planning staff summarized an internal review of national trends (AI, climate migration, housing, and public engagement) and previewed the Birmingham Green Healthy Climate Plan and a draft sustainability fund that would hold savings or other incremental revenue to finance priorities. The sustainability presentation included a specific funding idea that drew interest from commissioners: a small “congestion” or per‑transaction fee on parking transactions (for example, a nickel or ten cents per transaction) to seed a sustainability fund; staff said the concept would be evaluated further for legal and practical implementation steps.

Grants and events: staff reported nearly $1.44 million in recently secured grants across departments (parks, engineering, police overtime, fire turnout gear) and identified other pending applications. Parks staff outlined a revised park‑improvement schedule and a plan to use bond proceeds for playground and master‑plan projects, including Booth Park sequencing, neighborhood playground upgrades and site planning tied to the Saint James senior/recreation plans. The City’s events team said it will keep the Wednesday night Shane Park concert series in 2025 and add a U.S. Army Jazz Ambassadors performance (a one‑off, low‑cost presentation to the city), and staff described options—event promoter, sponsorship portal, and in‑house delivery—for bigger ticket events if the commission wants to expand the city’s footprint of civic festivals.

What’s next: staff will return in the budget cycle with requests tied to the forecast, larger CIP funding decisions, fleet funding increases, police facility improvements, and the proposed stormwater ordinance language. Engineering said it will return with bid results that could affect timing and funding of unimproved‑road projects. Commissioners asked staff to prioritize clearer earlier notices to residents about upcoming projects that would trigger special‑assessment costs or require changes such as moving sewer services from the rear yard to the front yard, and to provide additional public outreach on long‑range plans.

The commission did not take any formal votes at the meeting; staff asked for direction and signaled several items would appear for formal action in the fall budget cycle.

Ending: staff emphasized that many items are contingent on grant awards, bid results and commission direction. Several departments asked commissioners to consider modest increases in annual capital allocations (fleet, garage repairs, park projects) to smooth replacements and meet community expectations without large single‑year spikes in spending.