Birmingham to close some libraries, rec centers

The City of Birmingham will close five libraries and seven recreation centers as part of spending cuts to balance the 2011 budget, Mayor William Bell told the City Council. The proposed closures would not take place until the end of the coming summer.

The news followed an announcement yesterday that the city would have to cut salaries 10 percent across the board. The cuts are part of Bell’s proposed FY 2011 budget, which must be in place July 1 when the city’s fiscal year begins.

In his address to the council, Bell lamented the national economy and the effects on the city’s finances, but while debating the cuts with the council he said directly what had led to the budget crisis. The prior mayor and council passed a budget last year that was severely out of balance, Bell said.

“That is a fact,” he said.

At the meeting Tuesday, several councilors said they were caught off guard by the announcement of pay cuts.

“The thing that bothered me about yesterday was that the council was blindsided,” Councilor Valerie Abbott said.

Council President Roderick Royal said he did not believe the cuts were necessary. The city should do more to raise revenue, Royal said.

While serving as interim mayor, Royal approved more than $45 million of optional spending on the Fair Park renovation project. That funding came from the operating budget and contributed to the city’s current financial crisis. At the time, Royal was asked whether he had done year-to-date budget comparisons to actual revenues to determine the severity of the city’s budget crisis. Royal would not answer and brushed off the question.

On Tuesday, Councilor Carole Smitherman proposed the city council cut its own pay 10 percent with the employees. Councilor Abbott seconded the motion. However, because the motion was not already on the council agenda, it required a vote of unanimous consent for the council to even consider it. Royal said he felt the motion was premature, and Councilor Steven Hoyt blocked the motion with a dissenting vote.

The council has set a public budget hearing for June 2 at 6 p.m. At that meeting, the public and city employees will have the opportunity to speak to the budget issues.

City officials familiar with the budget said that specific libraries and recreation centers have not yet been identified for closure. The mayor’s office asked the library system for a worst-case scenario funding proposal, the official said.

According to Chief of Operation Jarvis Patton, the library system had not been notified before today that the mayor’s office was using that proposal for its budget. He also added that none of the cuts are yet final.

The mayor’s budget proposal includes an overall reduction of $2.5 million for city libraries and a $700,000 reduction in operating expenses for city recreation centers.