Mobile City Council passes budget after adding money for library, football game and concerts

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - The City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved the budget for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1, but not before a debate over several last-minute changes.

The budget envisions spending about $404 million. The biggest point of contention was what to do with about $1.5 million that has been set aside for the new downtown arena but turned out not to be needed.

Councilman Ben Reynolds wanted it to be transferred to a rainy day account called the “unallocated fund balance.” That would have reduced how much money the city will tap into that reserve for long-term capital spending.

But in a series of 6-1 votes, the council approved using more than half of that money for other priorities.

“I think in this budget, that was avoidable,” he said after the meeting. “We just had to tighten our belt in some other areas, but it didn’t seem like we had the will on the council get it done.”

The additional money breaks down like this:

• $400,000 will go to Brothers Working Together LLC to support the annual Port City Classic, a game that brings two historically black colleges and universities to Mobile. Mobile Mayor Spiro Cheriogotis had proposed eliminating funding due to low attendance.
• A $100,000 addition to the Events Department to support entertainment programming. Councilman Cory Penn said he wants the city to increase the number of free concerts the city puts on.
• A $400,000 increase in the city’s contribution to the Mobile Public Library. Cheriogotis said he asked for the increase after consulting with library officials.

Councilman Cory Penn, who proposed the additional funding for the football game and the concerts, said both measures will improve the experience of residents and generate revenue by attracting visitors.

“Amendments that I offered today were opportunities for quality of life,” he said during the meeting. “We want Mobile to grow.”

Although Cheriogotis’s budget proposal contained no funding for the Port City Classic, he said he now is fine with restoring it. He asked for the additional library money after learning that the system didn’t have a big surplus like he initially thought.

Reynolds noted that the state has appropriated $400,000 for the organization that is sponsoring the football game.

“This is an opportunity for us to, you know, sit this one out,” he said during the meeting.

Reynolds did score a partial win. The council agreed to transfer the remaining the remaining $600,000 from the unused arena fund to the reserve fund. He said he wanted the entire amount to be transferred. He said it would help the city eventually get to a goal of leaving the rainy day fund alone instead of raiding it to plug holes in the capital budget.

Cheriogotis said he agrees. He noted that Mobile is required to maintain a reserve under city ordinance.

“We need to keep a two-month rainy day fund,” he said. “I’m aiming for four. You know, I really want to make sure that we have a healthy reserve, so that, you know – Lord knows what’s gonna happen. The world is unpredictable.”