Birmingham city leaders are holding out a bit longer before they show any support for a Birmingham-Southern bailout.

The Birmingham City Council voted on Tuesday to table a resolution that would have guaranteed their share of public funding to keep the local, private liberal arts college from closing its doors.

“Beyond the immediate impact of a closure, it matters to us who live in College Hills, Bush Hills and throughout District 8 what happens at the school,” said Councilor Carol Clarke of District 8, who represents the Bush Hills area where Birmingham-Southern is located. “Because it’s a huge stabilizer for our otherwise pretty distressed area.”

Read more: Birmingham-Southern students weigh options while college maintains push for state bailout

Clarke authored the resolution, along with District 2 Councilman Hunter Williams, who heads the council’s economic development committee.

The resolution does not guarantee any particular amount of funding, but signals the council’s financial commitment to the school, pending state and county action. The amount of funding and the terms by which the school would receive it, the resolution states, would be determined by the city at a later date.

Financial problems at Birmingham-Southern emerged in 2010 when David Pollick, who had been president since 2004, resigned after a controversy over accounting errors, overspending and increasingly dire budget deficits.

In a news release Monday, Birmingham-Southern leaders said they have raised about $46 million toward their endowment goal of $200 million, which they say they are on track to meet by 2026.

Officials are asking for a combined $37.5 million from state and local funding — including $5 million from Birmingham City — to keep operations going in the meantime.

Dozens of the state’s top business leaders have lobbied legislators to approve the request, joining an outpouring of support from alumni and other stakeholders. Clarke and Williams, however, are among few local officials who have publicly voiced their support for the bailout.

At the meeting Tuesday, they touted the school’s impact on the local community, and called a potential closure a “horrifying prospect.” Councilor Valerie Abbott, a Birmingham-Southern graduate, added that the school has helped strengthen the city’s workforce, and closing it would be “an incredible disaster for Birmingham.”

“It’s incumbent upon us to find a way when there’s no way,” she said.

But the move got pushback from other council members, who said they felt “blindsided” by the resolution, and felt it was premature to vow their support ahead of any state action.

“This is really just a feel-good,” Pro Tempore Crystal Smitherman told her colleagues. “I’m not saying I’m anti Birmingham-Southern, I just want to slow down for a minute.”

They also said they’d like to have more time to hear about the school’s backup plans, noting that lawmakers have already denied a portion of the funding.

Of the $30 million request in state funding, BSC officials asked for $12.5 million in federally-issued pandemic recovery funds, and $17.5 million from the Education Trust Fund.

Legislators approved the state’s American Rescue Plan budget in a special session this month, but did not provide any portion of Birmingham-Southern’s request. Gov. Kay Ivey has not proposed any additional funding for the college, Rep. Bill Poole told AL.com Tuesday.

“There are things we need to consider in another moment, because one big pillar of that support was asking for funding from ARPA… and that did not come to fruition,” said Council President Wardine Alexander.

It’s unclear when the council will hold another vote. But members made clear that they want to have deeper conversations with the school — as well as the community — before a decision is made.

Community activist Kamau Afrika, a 1985 Birmingham-Southern graduate, was in attendance Tuesday. He told AL.com he supports the bailout, but wants to see real action to diversify its student body, and to hire and retain a diverse staff.

Other local activists issued a call to protest the vote, with the belief that the funding would be better spent on local K-12 schools.

“During a crucial time when students are hurting and families can’t afford simple basics like food and shelter, the Birmingham City Council just frivolously gives away $5 million to a private school,” Carlos Chaverst Jr. wrote in an email to council members Monday evening.

Meanwhile, presidents of nearby neighborhood associations said they are continuing to call on local and state legislators for their support. They said the school has been a solid community partner, and one they said they can’t afford to lose.

“We can’t afford to lose positive things in our city, we have enough negatives,” said College Hills president Adrienne Pearson. “We have to go forward.”

In a statement to AL.com, Birmingham-Southern leaders said they were “heartened” by the support they heard from some members of the council, as well as their willingness to meet to answer remaining questions.

“We thank the City Council and Mayor Woodfin for their time and attention at this critical time in the life of the college and we remain confident that, after conducting their due diligence, the City Council will play an important role in ensuring the survival and ultimate success of BSC,” the statement read.