After nearly an hour of debate, the council voted to withdraw from the Storm Water Management Authority, an inter-local agency in Jefferson County that monitors pollution in storm water runoff.

At the council meeting, representatives of Malcolm Pirnie argued that Birmingham could save as much as $100,000 per year by withdrawing from SWMA and contracting those duties through of Malcolm Pirnie instead.

Councilor Valerie Abbott opposed withdrawing from SWMA and ultimately was the only councilor to vote against the resolution. Abbott argued that the county withdrew from SWMA last year but had to reverse that decision after it realized the true costs, rather than of Malcolm Pirnie’s projections. She noted that when the city originally joined SWMA then-Mayor Richard Arrington had said the agency would save Birmingham as much as $1 million per year.

“We know its all about money,” Abbott said. That’s a fact of life on this council, but if we pull out of SWMA, we have to make sure we won’t be paying more for what we’re getting.”

Councilor Joel Montgomery and Mayor Langford accused the SWMA of distributing misinformation about the agency’s services.

Under the current agreement with SWMA, the city had until Jan. 15 to notify the agency of its intent to withdraw.  The council’s action will not take effect until October.

Councilor William Bell abstained on the vote.