The legislature is poised to double Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin's annual salary, bringing it to $220,000.
Senate Bill 375 (SB375) passed the Senate on Wednesday and was taken up by the House Financial Services committee on Thursday and was referred back to Jefferson County Local Legislation Committee. It applies to Class 1 Municipalities; Birmingham is the only city in the state designated as such.
"The annual salary of the mayor of a Class 1 municipality for the duration of his or her term shall be set by the city council in an amount that is no less than two hundred twenty thousand dollars ($220,000) per year," the bill reads.
The bill also increases the monthly allowance from $1,833 to $8,000, "as an allowance for expenses incident to the office of mayor, for which the mayor shall not be required to file an accounting."
“Birmingham has the largest operating budget of any city in Alabama and oversees more city employees than any other Alabama city — yet its mayor earns less than the mayors of Mobile, Huntsville, Tuscaloosa, and Bessemer, all of whom manage significantly smaller operations... The expense allowance has not been adjusted since 1992.... The proposed legislation would change only the expense allowance for the first time in 33 years to a sum of $10,000 per month,” Woodfin’s office told ABC33/40 in a statement.
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