5 takeaways from Mayor Woodfin’s State of the City address

Mayor Randall Woodfin spoke to members of the Kiwanis Club of Birmingham for the annual State of the City address Tuesday, Jan. 13. He highlighted several areas that Birmingham has succeeded in the last year in addition to some areas that need improvement.

Here are our main takeaways from Woodfin’s speech.

1. Safer streets = stronger city

A central theme from Woodfin’s address last year was improving public safety, and he said the city has followed up on that promise.

“Last year, when I joined you here, I talked about our goals for 2025. How we vowed to make public safety not just the number one, but also the number two and number three priority. How we vowed to reduce gun violence in our city, how we vowed to reduce homicides, and how we vowed to raise our police recruitment.”

According to Woodfin, homicides were down 45% in 2025 compared to 2024, and crime as a whole was down 5%.

The 2025 homicide clearance rate was 87.3% — meaning that in nearly nine out of ten homicides in Birmingham, the culprit was arrested — a drastic improvement from 2024’s 53% clearance rate.

2. Unified city leadership drove positive results

Birmingham is chock-full of both government entities and nonprofit organizations working to make the city a better place, and Woodfin says that collaboration is the key driving meaningful change.

“Two undeniable facts about our city: We make the impossible possible, and we do it when we are a city united.”

Woodfin thanked several business, community and government officials in attendance for their involvement in improving Birmingham.

With that large group of city change-makers, however, Woodfin said it is important to act as a united front.

“The success I just mentioned did not come by accident. 
Our gains in public safety are the result of a unified, coordinated plan. That is the same strategy we must take to stimulate our economy, job creation and economic development — a unified front, a coordinated plan, one vision…

“But we got to have a honest conversation. We’ve had real challenges with speaking as one.”

3. Stronger economic development is up next

Now that the city is safer, Woodfin said, it means there is more room for economic development.

““When our streets are safer, our city is more enticing to business, and our economy is stronger.”

What Woodfin made clear is that “Central Alabama is only as strong as Birmingham is,” and the Magic City is competing against the rest of the South for industry and development.

With the improvement that comes in Birmingham, he said, industry should be kept in mind to drive economic impact and increasing the appeal for new industries to call Birmingham home.

“Birmingham is open for business, but as with every business decision, Kiwanis, we take calculated steps for the betterment of our clients, our customers and, in my case, the residents of our city…”

“The reality is, Kiwanis, great things are happening, and we want to make sure Birmingham remains competitive in the South, not just with cities within our state.”

4. Investing in Birmingham’s youth

One of Birmingham’s most notable areas of improvement in 2025 was education. Birmingham City Schools received their highest score on the state report card to date — 77%. In 2023, 15 city schools had received an F; in 2025, that was reduced to just one school.

Now, the goal is to get Birmingham City Schools to a B in 2026.

“This is a moment to recognize what progress looks like, but it’s also a moment to plant a flag in the ground.”

Woodfin gave special kudos to Birmingham City Schools Superintendent Dr. Mark A. Sullivan, under which many of the recent improvements took place.

“We will push him and support him and make sure he can reach that goal of when the next report card comes out, our school system will be at a B…

“He has also publicly declared no schools would have an F next year [with the help of] parents, teachers and students putting in the work.”

Also of note, Birmingham Promise (which Woodfin called “his baby”), has now provided more than $15 million in tuition assistance to more than 1,600 young people.

Small Magic, Birmingham’s early childhood education initiative, has served more than 5,500 children and distributed 15,000 books and educational resources, he said.

“In this order of public safety and economic development, neither works if you don’t make the necessary investments in this generation.”

5. Quality-of-life improvements are vital

On the same note as education, Woodfin highlighted the importance of supporting Birmingham residents from “cradle to career.” This involves investing in conflict resolution, financial literacy and mental health for the youth who need it most.

There has been focus on improving signs of blight, like abandoned homes, empty lots, buckling sidewalks and streets with potholes.

Woodfin mentioned the hundreds of millions of dollars that have been spent on street paving, walkable sidewalks, playground equipment and LED street lights in neighborhoods.

He briefly addressed his Tuesday, Jan. 12 letter in the Birmingham Times in which he discussed public transit and walkability, emphasizing the impact this could have on quality of life and safety.

“We’re focused on making public spaces, mobility, walking, biking and public transportation accessible, safe, and equitable for everyone in Birmingham.”

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