Redevelopment of Fair Park at the heart of the budget mess
Birmingham is a city that grew up as a manufacturing hub in the American south. The city was hit badly by the Great Depression, and it wasn’t until after the Second World War that things started to look up. The current situation in Birmingham is no different, although the local economy has diversified considerably since back then, it is still heavily reliant on manufacturing activities.
The unemployment rate in Birmingham peaked at 11% in January 2010, which is a 26-year high for the city, and the budget deficit for this year is expected to be around $77 million. Mass layoffs and plunging revenues, as well as bankruptcies and businesses closing down outlets in Birmingham have created a difficult social and financial situation for the city.
The city council is now faced with the difficult task of plugging the deficit, while still providing essential social services and investing in the future of the city at the same time.
The frustration that is inherent to this task was evident in the mayor’s somewhat desperate suggestion that the city take out a loan to cover some of the deficit, while dipping into the city’s savings at the same time.
At the heart of the problem with the deficit is the urgently needed, and yet prohibitively expensive revitalization project for the Fair Park area, as well as the multi-purpose facility adjacent to the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex. These projects are important for the future of the city, and plans for their development (or redevelopment in the case of Fair Banks) were first proposed at a time of plenty (before the great crash of late 2008).
The redevelopment of Fair Park will see the construction of high school sports facilities, shopping and entertainment complexes as well as residential zones. The area is currently in a state of disrepair, and is a breeding ground for crime and various nefarious activities, which puts the social safety of the city at risk.
Now the city is left scrapping in the dust for finances that suddenly evaporated. Part of the problem here was that money was withdrawn from the city’s general fund balance in 2008, to finance the expected $46 million cost of the redevelopment, that money was mistakenly factored into the operational budget as a surplus when it was in fact a deficit.
This project is much bigger in terms of time and financial resources than the multi-purpose domed stadium proposed for construction next to the BJCC, which is perhaps why the mayor has, according to Birmingham news sources, suggested that the multi-purpose project be put on hold.
This then, shows the problem facing the city. Several city councilors, Jay Roberson and Valerie Abbott among them, have been in support of the redevelopment of Fair Park, but do not see the sense in borrowing money to solve a debt problem.
This conundrum of planning for the future with resources that are limited was also reflected recently in Mayor Bell’s call for Birmingham to go green.
“Birmingham is limited in the kinds of businesses that we can attract due to our current air quality, so we want to actively pursue ‘going green’,” the mayor told Birmingham news media at a press conference concerning the “Birmingham Goes Green Initiative”.
This is certainly an investment in the future, as the mayor pointed out when he elaborated that "Having a ‘green’ reputation would give us more opportunities to showcase Birmingham as city that takes sustainability and the environment seriously.”
Having a green reputation would help bring in high-tech low-waste industries to the city, increasing employment and tax revenues while decreasing the burden on the local environment. It sounds good on paper, but Birmingham is still heavily reliant on manufacturing industries.
The task facing the city council, and the mayor, is solving the question of how to invest in the future by redeveloping a badly neglected part of the city with money that doesn’t exist, and transforming a huge segment of the economy at a time of great recession.
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Redevelopment of Fair Park at the heart of the budget mess
The city council of Birmingham is facing the difficult task of trying to redevelop a badly run-down part of the city with money that is short, and transforming the local economy to a cleaner one at a time of great recession, yet this must be done if we are to plan for the future.
Birmingham is a city that grew up as a manufacturing hub in the American south. The city was hit badly by the Great Depression, and it wasn’t until after the Second World War that things started to look up. The current situation in Birmingham is no different, although the local economy has diversified considerably since back then, it is still heavily reliant on manufacturing activities. Read more
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