Birmingham City Council Committees

Birmingham City Council Committees are ten committees formed of members of the Birmingham City Council as assigned by the Council's president. Each committee reviews applications and proposed ordinances relating to its sphere and makes a recommendation to the Council at large. The committees include an Administration Committee, an Economic Development Committee, an Education Committee, a Finance and Budget Committee, a Parks and Recreation Committee, a Planning and Zoning Committee, a Public Improvement Committee, a Safety and Technology Committee, a Transportation and Communication Committee, and a Utilities Committee. Typically each council member will chair one committee and serve on at least one or two others.

Following the installation of representatives elected in the 2009 Birmingham City Council election, acting Council President Steven Hoyt made the following assignments:

• Administration: Steven Hoyt (chair), Valerie Abbott, Maxine Parker
• Economic Development: LaShunda Scales (chair), Steven Hoyt, Kim Rafferty
• Education: Roderick Royal (chair), Carole Smitherman, Jay Roberson
• Finance and Budget: Steven Hoyt (chair), Maxine Parker, LaShunda Scales
• Parks and Recreation: Maxine Parker (chair), LaShunda Scales, Johnathan Austin
• Planning and Zoning: Valerie Abbott (chair), Kim Rafferty, Roderick Royal
• Public Improvement: Jay Roberson (chair), Valerie Abbott, LaShunda Scales
• Safety and Technology: Johnathan Austin (chair), Jay Roberson, Valerie Abbott
• Transportation and Communication: Kim Rafferty (chair), Carole Smitherman, Roderick Royal
• Utilities: Carole Smitherman (chair), Steven Hoyt, Maxine Parker

In December 2015 president Johnathan Austin announced a restructuring of the council committees. A "Governmental Affairs Committee" was created to oversee legislative priorities for the city. The "Education and Administrative" committee was split into separate committees, with the "Technology" committee combined with the "Administrative" fuction. The "Public Safety" and "Transportation" committees were combined, as were the "Budget & Finance" and "Economic Development" committees. The new assignments to eight committees were as follows:

• Administrative/Technology Committee: Johnathan Austin (chair), William Parker, Marcus Lundy
• Economic Development, Budget & Finance Committee: Marcus Lundy (chair), Lashunda Scales, Johnathan Austin
• Education Committee: Valerie Abbott (chair), Kim Rafferty, Jay Roberson
• Utilities Committee: Jay Roberson (chair), Valerie Abbott, Kim Rafferty
• Parks & Recreation Committee: William Parker (chair), Jay Roberson, Sheila Tyson
• Planning & Zoning Committee: Kim Rafferty (chair), Steven Hoyt, Valerie Abbott
• Public Improvement Committee: Sheila Tyson (chair), Steven Hoyt, Lashunda Scales
• Public Safety and transportation Committee: Steven Hoyt (chair), Sheila Tyson, William Parker

After winning re-election as President on a 5-4 vote in May 2016, Austin again reassigned some council committees, removing William Parker from the Administrative/Technology and Parks & Recreation committees.

References

• Bryant, Joseph D. (November 25, 2009) "Birmingham City Council members Hoyt and Scales assume key leadership posts." The Birmingham News
• Archibald, John (May 11, 2016) "See how council president punished those who opposed him." The Birmingham News