The Birmingham City Council this morning referred two rival proposals relating to the mayor's authority to spend money without council approval to Wednesday's Committee of the Whole meeting for further discussion.

The council voted 8-1, with Councilman Steven Hoyt dissenting, to discuss the proposals Wednesday instead of today.

The council was discussing a proposal by Hoyt that would make it impossible for the council ever to waive the requirement that the mayor get the council's approval before spending above his set limit.

Another proposal, by Councilwoman Carole Smitherman, would increase that spending limit to $15,000 and require quarterly spending reports.



Currently, the mayor has discretion to spend city money on items of $10,000 or less without prior approval by the council.

The proposals arose from criticism of some of Mayor William Bell's spending relating to the recent Magic City Classic, particularly money he spent entertaining VIPs attending the game and a concert afterward. The council had approved a resolution that waived the mayor's normal spending limits before the game, but several council members said they didn't realize that language had been added to an otherwise routine ordinance declaring spending on the Classic to be a "public purpose."

The city spent $604,000 on October's Magic City Classic weekend. More than $169,000 of that was for entertainment, including drapery rental and food for a VIP-only, cabana-styled seating area at Legion Field, in addition to $10,000 for hotel rooms on Southside.