BENJAMIN NIOLET
News staff writer

Birmingham City Council members, unwilling to pay for their inaugural party from their own pockets, agreed Thursday to ask a judge to compel Mayor Bernard Kincaid to cut a check for the eight-months-late bill.

Six members of the council voted Thursday to file for a writ of mandamus, and to ask the state Ethics Commission for an opinion on whether the November party was a legitimate use of city money. The council also voted to pay for about $670 worth of alcohol for the party out of their own pockets. They agreed that the law did not allow the city to buy the wine that few council members seem to recall consumed at their bash. The alcohol bill per council member equals $74.66. The overdue bill has drawn $536 in interest and late fees bringing the party tab to $7,358 from the original charge of $6,822.

Kincaid has refused to cut a check for the party because the city attorney issued an opinion that it did not serve a public function.

The council disagrees, and members said Thursday they either don't have the money to pay their share of the bill or don't want to.

"It is not fair for us to take on that personal responsibility," said Council President Lee Loder. [...]