Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin downsized his security detail by one person following recommendations from the Birmingham police force.
During his campaign, Woodfin often criticized the cost of then-Mayor William Bell’s security team. He made the decision to cut the detail upon taking office, Nov. 28, 2017 based on recommendations by police on how many officers were needed to effectively perform the job.
“Hundreds of thousands of dollars a year go into paying for Mayor Bell’s security detail, which takes uniformed cops off our streets,” Woodfin said in a column he wrote for AL.com in March 2017. “These officers could be patrolling our neighborhoods, but instead, they’re protecting the mayor on the taxpayer’s dime. The mayor of Birmingham doesn’t need a full-time security detail, and as mayor, I would eliminate the security detail and have those officers reassigned to our highest-crime neighborhoods.”
While it is not possible to make a full comparison of previous costs for the security detail, as the Woodfin administration has been in office just over four months, the combined salaries of the current detail during that span of time is $71,436.
For perspective, the year-to-date salary for the same period one year ago was $109,954.42.
