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With a wheeled case in tow marked "Top Secret" Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford entered a breakfast meeting with Birmingham Business Owners Wednesday morning.
During the breakfast the Mayor unveiled a plan to keep promised projects from dying after being cut from the 2009 City Budget.
Following the meeting, the Mayor let the secret out of the bag, literally. The key, says Langford, to "Birmingham's Survival" is money allocated by the city to build a dome stadium.
Langford says that the city is allocating $20 million a year to get the stadium built. But no payments will be due until the facility is completed. At $20 million a year for five years, the projected completion date, the Mayor believes the city has $100 million to play with to fund slashed projects.
Langford says that he wants to see $33 million go to building a Trolley System downtown and that $28 million will be enough money to complete the Fair Park Revitalization funding. The Mayor says that $27 million will remain in a reserve fund for the dome.
That leaves $31 million for economic development. Langford says that money will be divided between building a new police headquarters and jail along with a new public works and vehicle storage area. The dome dollars will also provide enough money to fund the "Vision Scholarship Program" and finally to pay for the repaving of streets throughout the city.
Langford is also championing a campaign to bring the 2020 Olympics to the Magic City. He says these projects must get started now to make that dream a reality.
Langford initially planned to present the proposal to the City Council during Thursday's Committee of The Whole meeting, but decided to act Wednesday after learning that meeting had been canceled.
It'll take a vote of the council to get the dome money released to be spent on other projects.
You can read the full proposal here.
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