Alabama's 'Big 5' mayors invite leaders of next five largest cities for talks

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For at least five years, the mayors of the five largest cities in Alabama have been meeting quarterly to discuss common issues their cities face, but now the group has expanded to the 10 largest cities, including Hoover.

On Sunday and Monday, the mayors of the “Big 5” cities — Birmingham, Montgomery, Huntsville, Mobile and Tuscaloosa — invited the mayors of Hoover, Dothan, Auburn, Decatur and Madison to join them for talks.

This time, the meeting was in Birmingham, and their discussions centered on topics such as the 2020 census, public safety and small cell towers.

Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange said mayors of the Big 5 cities have been meeting together for years to try to collectively influence state legislators about various issues and to share best practices from their cities.

They decided to expand their group because they realized they don’t have a monopoly on good ideas and they thought some additional large cities would add influence, Strange said.

Collectively, the state’s five largest cities had an estimated July 2018 population of 896,101, representing about 18 percent of the entire state of Alabama, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The next five largest cities add 323,797 people and bring the total for the top 10 to 1,219,898 — about 25 percent of the entire state’s population.

From a regional perspective, the 10 largest cities influence about 65 percent of the state of Alabama, Strange said. So with the addition of five more cities, “the voice takes an additional emphasis,” he said.

Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato, speaking on behalf of the new mayors added to the group, said all 10 cities have common concerns, similar goals and similar problems. As he listened to other mayors share the problems they face this weekend, he could relate to the issues they were talking about.

He said he got more out of their two-day meeting than most municipal conferences he has attended. He appreciates the experience of the mayors, even though some are new to their jobs, he said.

“We look forward to working together, hand in hand, as this group meets regularly,” he said. “We all want our cities to thrive,” but more importantly, “we want Alabama to be out in the forefront. How do we promote the state of Alabama?”

Strange said that as the mayors in the Big 5 have connected, so have their staff members such as police chiefs, finance directors and chiefs of staff. Communication has increased, and “the power is so much greater,” he said.

Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin said the 10 mayors don’t want to step on the toes of the Alabama League of Municipalities, but that group represents more than 400 cities, and the largest cities face some unique challenges that other cities don’t.

Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson said many cities are facing challenges with public safety that stem from the failure of the mental health system, and the opioid crisis is critical in some parts of the state. Cities are having trouble with recidivism, he said. “We find ourselves arresting and re-arresting and re-arresting the same people.”

Stimpson said he’s glad the governor recognizes what needs to happen in the Department of Corrections, but the mayors feel it’s important that they have a voice in developing solutions to the problems.

Also, police chiefs in the large cities have been very aggressive in trying to incorporate the latest technology into their crime-fighting strategies, and sharing best practices and successes with new technology is invaluable, he said.

GETTING READY FOR THE CENSUS

Kristina Scott, executive director of Alabama Possible, a statewide nonprofit that seeks to remove barriers to prosperity, talked with the mayors about the importance of making sure every resident is counted in the 2020 census.

The census determines how many people get to represent the state in Congress, how state legislative and city council districts are drawn and how much money the state and cities receive for things such as housing for low-income people, schools, new roads and infrastructure, and broadband technology, Scott said.

“It helps keep our taxes low because we get our fair share of federal funding,” she said.

Alabama receives $1,567 in federal funding for every person that is counted, so it’s critical for cities to make sure each resident is counted, she said.

The 2020 census will begin in mid-March, and results will be made known in the fall of 2020, Scott said.

Brocato said the city of Hoover already has formed a working group and recruited volunteers to help spread the word about the census. City leaders already have begun talking about it in meetings with various groups and will continue doing so, he said.

Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox said his city is partnering with Tuscaloosa County, the University of Alabama and other higher education institutions to help spread the word.

“We know college students are very difficult to count,” Maddox said.

About 70 percent of the students at the University of Alabama are from outside Alabama and sometimes wrongly equate their voter registration with their census registration, he said.

“We’re going to be working very hard to make certain we get every one of those students counted,” Maddox said. “You can’t underestimate the importance of the census on the state.”

Decatur Mayor Tab Bowling said there are similar challenges getting people counted in assisted living facilities, nursing homes and military facilities.

Woodfin said that, unfortunately in Alabama, there is a level of distrust with engaging the federal government. It will be important not only for elected officials to stress participating in the census, but to involve other people who have trusting relationships with the community, such as pastors, principals and teachers, to overcome that distrust, he said.

Maddox said the state of Alabama is offering $1 million in grants to help communities encourage participation, and he expects all the cities will be seeking some of that grant money.

Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle said cities also are having issues related to communication companies wanting to put up small cell towers throughout cities to improve cellular service.

He said city leaders all are in favor of having digital and broadband connectivity and 5G, the fifth-generation of wireless technology that is designed to greatly increase the speed and responsiveness of wireless networks.

However, there was an effort in the Alabama Legislature this past year to usurp the control that cities have over their rights of ways, and mayors are arguing in favor of maintaining local control, Battle said.

“That’s something that is important to each of us, that we are able to control our own rights of way and what happens in those rights of way,” he said. “If you don’t, you end up with private enterprise coming in and taking away your light poles and putting in communication transfer poles and doing things that don’t necessarily fall within the realm of what you want to see happen in your communities.”

SHOOTINGS

The mayors also acknowledged the 31 people who were killed in mass shootings this weekend in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio.

“As mayors, we grieve for the victims. We grieve for the family members,” Woodfin said. “I have heartfelt sympathy for those people impacted by the two national tragedies that have taken place over the weekend in our country.”

Brocato was asked about his response to a shooting at the Riverchase Galleria on Saturday, in which a 15-year-old boy was shot in the hip during a fight between two groups of teenage boys in the north parking deck.

The mayor said that it was an unfortunate event and that the Hoover Police Department will continue to do everything they can to make the Galleria and other venues in the city safe.

The Galleria is a very popular place, he said. “Our citizens tell me they are not afraid to go to the Galleria,” Brocato said. “That must be true because the Galleria is packed. It was packed this weekend.”

There were extra officers on duty at the Galleria this past weekend because of back-to-school shopping, but “people are going to act foolish,” the mayor said. “You can’t let isolated incidents like this control your life or you’re going to be inside your house the rest of your life ... Our police officers are there, and they're going to enforce the law, and they're going to enforce it quickly."