Mayor Woodfin’s $15 million COVID-19 Response Plan Approved by the Birmingham City Council
March 17, 2020 – Mayor Randall L. Woodfin’s $15 million COVID-19 Response Plan to fund police, fire, public works and a stimulus program for small businesses affected by the pandemic passed the Birmingham City Council Tuesday night.
“I want to thank the council for working with me to secure the funds for the city’s COVID-19 Response Plan,” Mayor Woodfin said. “This is an important message to the people of Birmingham. Through this funding, we are committed to providing a full response to COVID-19 with our police, fire and public works. Also, we have taken the first important step to launch an economic stimulus plan for our small businesses struggling during this pandemic.”
The city will utilize $15,165,333 from the General Fund Cash and Investment. This will not affect current funding of city departments and agencies.
The funding approved will include:
- $547,133 for personal protective equipment and supplies for first responders (Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service, Birmingham Police Department, Department of Public Works)
- $2,638,200 for overtime (Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service, Birmingham Police Department, Department of Public Works)
- $880,000 for equipment and supplies to support increased teleworking to adhere to public health recommendations of social distancing (Information Management Systems Department)
- $1 million for a small business emergency loan fund
- $9.2 million to address the estimated budget shortfall for the next 60 days
The small business emergency loan fund, or BhamStrong Fund, is designed to provide zero-interest, 180-day loans to small businesses (less than 50 employees) of no more than $25,000 (with an average loan size of $10,000) to prevent staff reductions and offset losses related to COVID-19.
In addition to the $1 million approved by the city council Tuesday night, the city’s Department of Innovation and Economic Opportunity has identified an additional $200,000 for the fund. BhamStrong is also designed to include funds from philanthropic and corporate entities. The Birmingham City Council must consider additional action as early as next week to launch the program.
Additional information about BhamStrong can be found at bhamstrong.com.
The COVID-19 Response Plan is the latest step by Mayor Woodfin and the City of Birmingham to address needs during the pandemic. The city is committed to updating residents and employees on the latest information concerning COVID-19. In addition to information at www.birminghamal.gov/coronavirus, the city has established a text message alert system.
People can text BHMCOVID to 888-777 for text message updates. A Spanish language update system is available by texting BHMCOVID19 to 888-777.
