By Graham Smith

Mountain Brook is fortunate in many ways.

We are sometimes viewed as a community unto itself—a place with its own schools, its own resources and its own concerns.

But one of the most encouraging and unexpected things I have seen in local government is how often mayors across Jefferson County are looking beyond their own city limits.

We talk. We compare notes. We share ideas. We make connections.

And increasingly, we are asking a broader question:

What can we do together to make our entire region stronger?

And I think that is a story worth telling.

It Started With a Simple Question

The Jefferson County Mayors Association began with a straightforward economic development idea.

We asked municipalities to identify three development-ready or promising sites that could attract commercial or residential investment.

The thinking was simple: If Jefferson County maintained a list of good opportunities, economic development organizations could more quickly match businesses and developers with communities ready for investment.

Twenty of our 35 county municipalities responded.

But what we learned was more important than the list itself.

Some communities weren’t ready to talk about the next shopping center, housing development or major employer.

They had more basic needs.

One municipality identified storm shelters and park restrooms as priorities.

Another needed repairs to its fire station, senior center and Town Hall.

Another identified improvements to its gas and water systems and the need to replace heavy public works equipment.

Those answers changed our thinking.

Instead of asking, What can we develop?

We began asking, What does each community need to move forward?

That Changed Everything

You can’t attract investment if a community doesn’t have the infrastructure and basic facilities to support it.

And every city is starting from a different place.

That’s where cooperation becomes important.

The Jefferson County Mayors Association is working with the Birmingham Business Alliance, Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham, Jefferson County Commission and Alabama League of Municipalities.

The goal is not to tell communities what they need.

It is to ask them what they need—and then help them get there.

That may mean connecting a city with a grant program, funding agency or regional partner.

It may also mean helping with the studies, plans, matching funds and documentation required before a city can even qualify for assistance.

For a small municipality without a large professional staff, those requirements can be a major obstacle.

Working together can help solve that problem.

What Cooperation Actually Looks Like

This isn’t just people sitting around a conference table talking about regional cooperation.

Two neighboring communities are working together, with help from regional partners, on infrastructure that could open the door to new development.

Many municipalities don’t have employees dedicated to site development, so we’re looking at ways to share or pool existing resources.

We’re also exploring something remarkably basic that Jefferson County still lacks: an easier front door for developers.

Someone interested in building retail, housing or commercial projects can face a maze of municipalities, agencies and organizations.

We can make that easier.

We are even discussing whether neighboring counties could work together to promote the Birmingham region at national retail conferences.

Think about that for a moment.

Instead of every municipality asking, How do we get this project for ourselves?

We are increasingly asking, How do we make the entire region more competitive?

Sometimes Economic Development Looks Like a Fire Station

Municipal government teaches you to take the long view.

The most important project isn’t always the one that produces a ribbon cutting and a headline.

Sometimes it is a storm shelter.

Sometimes it is a water line.

Sometimes it is repairing a fire station or replacing an aging public works truck.

Those projects may not sound like economic development.

But they can be exactly what allows a community to become stronger and eventually attract private investment.

Helping another city accomplish what it says it needs is never wasted effort.

When one Jefferson County community becomes stronger, our region becomes stronger.

Something Is Changing

We are not eliminating city boundaries. We aren’t pretending every community has the same interests or needs.

But we are recognizing something important:

Our futures are connected.

If we can help every municipality become more grant-ready, project-ready and investment-ready, we will do more than strengthen individual cities.

We will strengthen the Birmingham region.

And perhaps we will begin changing an old perception about ourselves along the way.

That really would be a comeback worth working for.

A special thanks is due to Emily Jerkins Hall, founder of Bloom Economy Labs, who has served as the boots-on-the-ground liaison connecting municipalities with appropriate grant organizations and helping guide communities toward resources that can turn their priorities into action.

Graham Smith is Mayor of Mountain Brook. Prior to her election as mayor, she served on the Mountain Brook City Council. She is past president of the Jefferson County City Councilors Coalition, a member of the Leadership Birmingham Class of 2025 and the Birmingham Kiwanis Club. She also serves on the Alabama Trails Commission, Metropolitan Planning Organization and Board of the Alabama League of Municipalities.

David Sher is the founder and publisher of ComebackTown.  He’s past Chairman of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce (BBA), Operation New Birmingham (REV Birmingham), and the City Action Partnership (CAP).

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