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Council renews Granicus short‑term rental tracking software amid questions about ordinance timeline and expanded capabilities
Summary
Council approved a renewal with Granicus for short‑term rental (STR) tracking software intended to identify short‑term rental listings and collect lodging tax; councilors asked about current use, data scraping capability and whether the module could track vacant properties or utility shutoffs.
The Birmingham City Council approved a contract renewal with Granicus LLC for short‑term rental software that the administration said will support address identification, compliance monitoring, rental activity monitoring, tax collection and permitting. The three‑year renewal is not to exceed $86,836.38.
Councilor Abbott asked whether the city already had the module and why it had not been used to identify STRs beyond the platform that voluntarily remits lodging tax. Mayor Woodfin responded that the software renewal would expand the city’s ability to identify listings on platforms that do not voluntarily remit tax and that previous limitations were tied to an earlier systems transition.
The mayor emphasized the tool’s purpose was informational: “to be very clear, this is not about the ordinance or policy the council's working on. ... This is only software to track data and information, collect information.” Council members asked whether Granicus could be expanded to other inventory tasks, such as identifying long‑term vacant properties, and staff said they would follow up with details and likely additional costs.
Ending: The administration told council members the STR ordinance and zoning attachments will be before the Committee of the Whole at a special-call meeting next Tuesday; staff said the software purchase will position the city to provide up-to-date data to the council once a policy is set.
