Latest news with #BirminghamWaterWorksBoard
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Birmingham mayor, city council file lawsuit against state over water utility board changes
The skyline of Birmingham, Alabama. Birmingham officials have filed a lawsuit against a new state law that would reduce the number of appointments from the city to the Birmingham Water Works Board. (John Coletti/The Image Bank) The Alabama Legislature's 2025 session is over, and the lawsuits have begun. After state lawmakers passed a bill reducing Birmingham's appointments to the Birmingham Water Works Board (BWWB), Birmingham officials filed a federal lawsuit to try to protect their controlling interest in the utility. The city government currently appoints six of the nine directors on the board; SB 330, sponsored by Sen. Dan Roberts, R-Mountain Brook, converts BWWB into a regional authority with seven members and a single appointment from the city. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX A hearing on the lawsuit, filed before Gov. Kay Ivey signed the bill on May 7, was scheduled for Thursday but postponed. The law does not explicitly mention BWWB but its provisions reflect the make-up of the water utility. Currently, two directors are appointed by the mayor while the Birmingham City Council appoints four members. A message was left with Gov. Kay Ivey's office Thursday seeking comment. Proponents of the legislation said it was necessary to impose changes. In the past, the water utility has been beset with issues with billing, oversight and concerns over public trust. Customers reported concerns with unread meters and inaccurate water bills. Under Roberts' bill, the governor, lieutenant governor and counties that own a major reservoir would each get an appointment. Birmingham's mayor and the president of the Jefferson County Commission also get an appointment. The governor's appointment must come from one of the counties served by the utility. Another county located outside the area where the utility is based gets to also appoint a board member. The governing body of the municipality where the regional water utility is located appoints a director. Finally, that law states that a resident where the water utility is located may also be a member of the Board. The remaining members are selected, respectively, by the Jefferson County Mayors Association, the Shelby County Commission and Blount County Commission. The lawsuit alleges the bill the equal rights and due process protections in the U.S. and Alabama constitutions. The lawsuit says that lawmakers in the Legislature, most of whom are white, reduced the power of officials in Birmingham whose population is 67% Black and forms 41% of the utility's customer base. The lawsuit also notes that other areas with representation are mostly white. In Blount County, it says, only about 2% of the residents are Black, and in Walker County, only 6% are Black. 'SB330 violates the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution,' the lawsuit states. Plaintiffs listed in the lawsuit also stated that the law violates their right to due process because any changes to the board require changes to the Certificate of Incorporation, which is not part of the legislation, that must be approved by Birmingham City Council. The law changes the Certificate of Incorporation by reducing the number of members that the city council may appoint, which members of the Council did not approve. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
WATCH: City council holds special meeting on Birmingham Water Works
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — The Birmingham City Council is holding a special called meeting Thursday morning to 'take action related to the Birmingham Water Works Board.' Control of the board and who gets to appoint members has become hotly contested following the drafting and passage of SB 330. The law, which Gov. Ivey signed Wednesday afternoon, takes the Birmingham Water Works Board mostly out of the city's hands and restructures it to include regional members appointed by both the state and surrounding counties. Additionally, the previous board would be dissolved and new members are to be appointed. Hours after Ivey signed the bill, the Birmingham Water Works Board voted to sell the utility company to the city of Birmingham for $1 by a vote of 5-2. In response to the water works board voting to sell, Phillip Wiedmeyer, a member of the newly formed Regional Water Works Board, filed a federal lawsuit against the city of Birmingham. Weidmeyer is asking for judge to invalidate all action taken by the Birmingham Water Works Board after SB 330 was signed and affirm that the new board is in full control. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
08-05-2025
- Business
Alabama governor overhauls state's largest water utility amid cries of racial discrimination
MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- The city of Birmingham is one step closer to losing control over Alabama's largest water utility after the governor signed a bill on Wednesday that would give more power to neighboring suburbs, despite a pending federal lawsuit alleging the move would constitute racial discrimination. The bill redistributes power from Birmingham city officials — who currently appoint a majority of the nine-person board — to the governor, the lieutenant governor and the surrounding four counties that are also in the board's jurisdiction. It also reduces the number of board members to seven. Board members approve rate hikes and manage infrastructure projects for the utility's 770,000 customers. The state Senate voted unanimously to pass the bill, and the House of Representatives approved it along party lines. 'No doubt, this is an important issue to all those residents served by this utility board. The Alabama Legislature overwhelmingly passed SB330, and I was pleased to sign it into law,' Republican Gov. Kay Ivey said in a written statement. Proponents of the bill point to frequent rate hikes, old infrastructure and recent scandals. The legislation said that the power transfer will prevent catastrophic events that have happened in cities like Jackson, Mississippi, or Detroit, Michigan. Opponents say that the restructured board wouldn't solve the utility's problems. 'This is a taking of power from the local rate payer by Republican politicians in Montgomery,' Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said in a statement on Wednesday. 'We have seen this same thing happen in other cities throughout the southeast. Your water and sewer bill will keep going up.' Five counties rely on the Birmingham Water Works Board. Over 40% of customers are concentrated in the city of Birmingham, and 91% are in Jefferson County. The new system would give more weight to Jefferson County's neighboring areas that have only a fraction of the customers, but which house some of the reservoirs that supply the system. Woodfin and city council members filed a federal lawsuit against Ivey on Tuesday, alleging that the legislation 'constitutes blatant racial discrimination' because it gives the majority-white suburbs disproportionate influence and takes power away from Birmingham, a majority-Black city where close to half of the utility's customers live. Birmingham City Council President Darrell O'Quinn said that the decision exacerbates long-standing tensions in the region. 'Regardless of whether our efforts prevail, the worst, deep-seated fears of the citizens of the City of Birmingham about their suburban neighbors have been confirmed. Old wounds have been reopened. Years of progress have been destroyed,' O'Quinn said. U.S. Chief District Judge Emily C. Marks declined to temporarily block the bill from going into effect on Tuesday evening without first hearing oral arguments from either side. She set a hearing for May 15. ____
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alabama lawmakers discuss if the national anthem should be played in schools
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) — We all hear the national anthem performed before sporting events, and soon, students in Alabama could be singing it in the classroom. Lawmakers disagree on a bill that passed out of committee today, requiring schools to play the 'Star-Spangled Banner' at least once a week. Rep. Arnold Mooney (R-Indian Springs) said it should be a part of education in the state. 'Just being sure that we provide those opportunities for young people to know about the history of their country, from the national anthem standpoint and all,' said Mooney. 'And singing it, learning about other things in history, or civic, or whatever.' The bill outlines the history of the song, and states it's important students have exposure to that history. As a longtime educator, Rep. Barbara Boyd (D-Anniston) said that decision should be left to local schoolboards. Gov. Kay Ivey signs bill that largely wrestles control of the Birmingham Water Works Board out of the city's hands 'I'm a little confused, after 45 years of being around a little bit, what are we dealing with?' she asked. 'And, why are we having to deal with this right now?' Rep. Marilyn Lands (D-Huntsville) said students already have enough on their plate. 'I'd like to see us have a moment of quiet, so our minds could rest a little bit,' said Lands. 'It's not that I'm not for the national anthem, I just feel like we don't need to be adding other things in at this point.' But, Rep. Mooney defended the effort. 'I believe very strongly that singing the national anthem, or hearing it presented in some manner, they can choose from all sorts of things, is a beneficial thing to the students,' Mooney replied. 'It is, in a sense I think, a calming thing.' With only one day left in the session, the bill now goes to the House floor for final passage. If signed by the governor, Alabamians would have to vote on the requirement, as it is a constitutional amendment. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS 42.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Birmingham fights against losing control of its water board, citing racial discrimination
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Birmingham city officials sued the Alabama governor on Tuesday in an effort to halt the codification of bill that would strip the city of control over the state's largest water board, alleging the move 'constitutes blatant racial discrimination.' The bill redistributes power from Birmingham city officials — who currently appoint a majority of the nine-person board members — to the governor, the lieutenant governor and the surrounding suburbs that are also in the board's jurisdiction. Board members approve rate hikes and manage infrastructure projects. The bill's sponsors said that the move was necessary to correct mismanagement and improve the efficiency of the system. The bill passed along party lines 66 to 27 last week and now goes to Republican Gov. Kay Ivey's desk. The federal lawsuit names the governor as a defendant, and seeks a temporary restraining order that would prevent the bill from going into effect. Mayor Randall Woodfin, one of the plaintiffs in the suit, called the bill "unconstitutional on it's face' at a press conference on Tuesday. Five counties rely on the Birmingham Water Works Board. Over 40% of the utility's 770,000 customers are concentrated in the city of Birmingham, and 91% are in Jefferson County. The new system would give more weight to Jefferson County's neighboring areas that have only a fraction of the customers, but that house the reservoirs that supply the system. Woodfin said this would deny Birmingham residents the opportunity for democratic input about the system's governance. 'We live in America, representation matters. It matters at all levels of government, the federal level the state level the local level,' Woodfin said. Proponents of the bill say aging infrastructure and a lack of investment mean residents pay for water that just gets leaked out of old pipes. The utility has been accused of wasteful spending, ethics scandals and making costly errors in distributing bills, according to reporting from "So many elected officials have been getting so many complaints, and I'm sure yours have too, about the quality and the price of Birmingham water,' said Republican Rep. Jim Carns, who represents Blount County, one of the places that will now appoint a board member. The lawsuit echoes testimony from legislators who opposed the bill before it passed, who condemned the move as a political takeover that would wrest power from Birmingham's majority-Black residents and redistribute it to customers in the city's mostly white suburbs. 'The implication that any perceived problems with the Water Works Board's management are due to the majority of Board members being appointed by Birmingham is wholly unsupported,' the complaint said. The lawsuit said the bill, if signed into law, would violate the equal protection clause, the voting rights act and both the state and federal constitution. A lawyer for the city said the goal is for the governor to send the legislation back to the legislature to make 'appropriate changes' — but didn't specify what those changes are. 'We have not officially been served. However, we are aware of the lawsuit and are reviewing this highly unusual attempt to stop the governor form signing a bill passed by the legislature,' said Gina Maiola, a spokeswoman for the governor. ____ Riddle is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
