Langford’s Secret Birmingham Plan Reveals New Hope for Projects

By Scott Mauldin
Senior reporter
Published: July 23, 2008

BIRMINGHAM, Ala—From a box labeled “Top Secret,” Mayor Larry Langford handed out his self-titled “Birmingham Survival Plan,” which he hopes can resurrect some of his key goals, recently slapped with city council budget cuts.

“It’s called a back-up plan, just in case they didn’t approve that budget, now you have a pile of money to fix everything you took out,” Langford said at a Wednesday news conference.

The programs in the plan are not new, but Langford insists they are necessities. They include funding for a trolley system to help commuters and visitors in the city’s financial district. Funding for city scholarships for high performing college-bound students is outlined in the proposal. So are financial blue prints for a new municipal complex, including a jail, police, fire and city resources in one facility.

Langford also called for a street paving initiative.

“We have 1,167 miles of roads that need to be paved. We can’t wait any longer for this,” Langford said.

The plan would cost $100 million over five years, taken from the recent sales tax increase and doubled city business license fees, earmarked partly for a domed stadium. Langford says that money is being collected now, but not needed until a dome is complete.

“That gives you five years of using that money and the payments will be due the year after completion, so take that money and fix all of these other pressing needs,” Langford said.

City councilors have not seen this plan. Mayor Langford was set to introduce it Thursday, but a regularly scheduled meeting of the council was cancelled. He’ll likely introduce the measure formally, next Tuesday.