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Record of Proceedings

Tuscaloosa City Council Meeting - August 19, 2025: Budget Presentation and Approvals

City Council Meetings — Tuesday, August 19, 2025

BodyTuscaloosa, Alabama

SessionCity Council Meetings

DateTuesday, August 19, 2025

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 40:41

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:01

Second.

0:01

All in favor say aye.

0:03

Aye.

0:04

Okay.

0:04

Minutes are adopted.

0:06

Item number one of new business today.

0:10

Councilman Eatman.

0:12

Approval of disbursement from District One Improvement Funds for YMCA total five thousand dollars.

0:17

Thank you, Mr.

0:18

Chair.

0:18

Real quick.

0:19

This is just an uh partnership with Council Lanier, Councillor Council Woman Howard, and myself, and YMCA and Sports Illustrated to fund the basketball league at YMCA, which is gonna sponsor 300 kids to play basketball for free.

0:35

Wow at Benjamin Wars YMCA.

0:38

Any questions or comments?

0:39

Motion.

0:40

Second, all in favor say aye.

0:42

Aye.

0:43

Item is approved.

0:44

Thank you all.

0:44

Three um item number two, approval dispersal from district one improvement funds.

0:51

Dream Big Academy, total one thousand dollars, Councilman Eatman.

0:55

That's simple.

0:55

We've got a new uh charter school in our district.

0:58

Um they just opened their doors up last week and were there to welcome students there, and this is just a help them out.

1:04

Motion working Dream Big Academy, where is I dream big academy is on Skillman College's campus.

1:11

How many kids will I have?

1:12

Uh they got 220 kids right now with a waiting list.

1:16

Okay, there's a motion and a second.

1:18

All in favor say aye.

1:20

Aye.

1:20

Item is approved.

1:22

Item number three, Ms.

1:24

Standridge, general fund budget revision number 16.

1:27

Good afternoon, Council.

1:30

This budget revision is coming in two separate parts.

1:33

Um the first part is usage of diversion training tech funds for the Tuscles of Police Department for a variety of different um of different technology needs from their uh cyber unit.

1:46

There's some um information in there for their canine unit.

1:50

Obviously, uh Chief is here to talk about any details of equipment that's needed.

1:55

The total amount to move in is 77,333, of which they have about a little bit over 79,000 in that fund to be able to use, so it fits well within.

2:07

Okay, Chief, you want to come up and tell us what you get?

2:10

Yes, sir.

2:12

And the reason why I put the larger draw, I'm trying to do less draw so y'all have to approve them as we go throughout the year.

2:17

Um, some of our bigger items is the X-ray machine for our bomb unit.

2:21

Um, what we have is outdated, not the standard, so we're gonna make sure that that's 48,000.

2:25

Um, a drone mapping software, uh 3D printer and filament.

2:29

We uh print a lot of our own parts for our drones and also our vehicle installs, light covers and all that we print in our shop.

2:36

So we produce those in-house because they're cheaper for us to print.

2:38

Um you have two different trainings, canine handler training and a dispatch training, and also a mapping uh system and location system for our canines.

2:48

Okay, so any questions or comments through motion?

2:52

Motion second.

2:52

So there's a there's a second part to this.

2:54

Sorry, the second part to this uh budget revision that was part number one.

2:58

Part number two is um with uh councillor Eatman's district improvement fund request amount.

3:04

Uh prior to uh the council changeover, uh Mr.

3:09

Wilson had spent the the entire balance of the district one improvement fund amount, and so in order to be able to fund the six thousand dollars, there is um a there is about six thousand two hundred left in the district one reserve amount, and so in order to activate that and bring it into the current year, we need a budget revision to do that.

3:27

What's a reserve amount?

3:29

So if you know so district improvement funds uh roll over, they accumulate.

3:33

Um it's amounts that have rolled over, yes, sir.

3:36

So so every year, if you don't spend your balance, it kind of gets set aside into your reserve accounts.

3:41

The reserve amount is required, it's required to be activated by a budget revision and sends to the general fund that requires city council to do so.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Budget Equity Analysis█████████████████████████████████████████████56%

Youth Programs████████████████20%

Public Safety█████6%

Economic Development████5%

Taxation███4%

Short Term Rentals██3%

Technology and Innovation██2%

Personnel Matters██2%

Public Engagement█1%

Summary of Proceedings

Tuscaloosa City Council Meeting - August 19, 2025

The Tuscaloosa City Council met on August 19, 2025, to approve several financial items, including district improvement fund disbursements and budget revisions, and to receive Mayor Walt Maddox's presentation of the proposed Fiscal Year 2026 budget. The meeting focused on navigating the impacts of SSUT, investing in public safety and employee compensation, and leveraging Elevate funds for community projects.

Consent Calendar

No items were considered under a consent calendar; each item was discussed and voted individually.

Public Comments & Testimony

No public comments were made during the meeting.

Discussion Items

Approval of Minutes: The minutes from the previous meeting were adopted unanimously.
District One Improvement Funds – YMCA Basketball League: Councilman Eatman proposed a $5,000 disbursement to support a partnership with the YMCA and Sports Illustrated to sponsor 300 children to play basketball for free at Benjamin Barnes YMCA. The motion passed unanimously.
District One Improvement Funds – Dream Big Academy: Councilman Eatman proposed a $1,000 disbursement to support Dream Big Academy, a new charter school on Stillman College's campus serving 220 students with a waiting list. The motion passed unanimously.
General Fund Budget Revision #16: Finance Director Carly Standridge presented the revision in two parts. Part one moved $77,333 from diversion training tech funds for Tuscaloosa Police Department equipment, including an X-ray machine for the bomb unit ($48,000), drone mapping software, a 3D printer, canine handler training, and a canine mapping system. Part two activated $6,200 from the District One reserve account to cover the earlier disbursements, as the full balance had been spent under the previous council. The revision was approved unanimously.
Elevate Budget Revision #4: Standridge presented the revision to book the receipt of a $25,710,664 FAA grant for the airport runway extension, to be drawn down on a reimbursement basis. The revision was approved unanimously.
Mayor's FY2026 Budget Presentation: Mayor Maddox presented his 20th budget, emphasizing three goals: navigating SSUT impacts, mitigating cuts to departments and agencies, and investing in RSA conversion. Key highlights included:
- Total general fund budget of $208.3 million, combined with $31.4 million in Elevate funds for a $239.8 million operating budget.
- 39% ($82.8 million) dedicated to public safety; $7.1 million to Tuscaloosa City Schools; $60.2 million to infrastructure; $2.5 million to new employee investments.
- 64% of the budget ($0.64 of every dollar) goes to salaries and benefits.
- Employee raises: 5% for sworn public safety (two-step movement plus COLA) and 4.5% for non-public safety (one-step movement plus 3% COLA).
- Health insurance increase of 8.3%; employee share increases range from $9.56 to $23.80 per pay period depending on plan.
- Revenue sources: 44% sales and use taxes (anemic growth of <1% due to SSUT), 14% business licenses (5% growth), 12% property taxes (3% growth), 5% lodging tax (including short-term rentals growing at 39%).
- Unassigned fund balance of $34.7 million (general fund) and $28.8 million (water and sewer), with strong reserves validated by Moody's and Fitch.
- Elevate highlights: $116.4 million in leveraged grants, funding for universal pre-K (saving families $5,811 per child), summer learning ($5,000 savings per family), and dual enrollment (up to 12 free hours per student, with potential matching from Shelton State).
- Staffing for the Savings Center: $196,207 for two new positions.
- Planning and design funding for Freeman Park and pool improvements, with potential capital recommendation in spring 2026.
- $4.9 million set aside for RSA conversion, with a projected $13.3 million in the public safety fund by end of FY26.
- The budget is available online at Tuscaloosa.com/26budget; printed copies to be delivered the following week.

Key Outcomes

Approved minutes of the previous meeting.
Approved $5,000 disbursement from District One Improvement Funds to YMCA.
Approved $1,000 disbursement from District One Improvement Funds to Dream Big Academy.
Approved General Fund Budget Revision #16 (TPD equipment and District One reserve activation).
Approved Elevate Budget Revision #4 (FAA grant for runway extension).
Received Mayor's FY2026 budget presentation; council to schedule budget hearings (two two-hour work sessions) in September.

Meeting Transcript

Second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Okay. Minutes are adopted. Item number one of new business today. Councilman Eatman. Approval of disbursement from District One Improvement Funds for YMCA total five thousand dollars. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Real quick. This is just an uh partnership with Council Lanier, Councillor Council Woman Howard, and myself, and YMCA and Sports Illustrated to fund the basketball league at YMCA, which is gonna sponsor 300 kids to play basketball for free. Wow at Benjamin Wars YMCA. Any questions or comments? Motion. Second, all in favor say aye. Aye. Item is approved. Thank you all. Three um item number two, approval dispersal from district one improvement funds. Dream Big Academy, total one thousand dollars, Councilman Eatman. That's simple. We've got a new uh charter school in our district. Um they just opened their doors up last week and were there to welcome students there, and this is just a help them out. Motion working Dream Big Academy, where is I dream big academy is on Skillman College's campus. How many kids will I have? Uh they got 220 kids right now with a waiting list. Okay, there's a motion and a second. All in favor say aye. Aye. Item is approved. Item number three, Ms. Standridge, general fund budget revision number 16. Good afternoon, Council. This budget revision is coming in two separate parts. Um the first part is usage of diversion training tech funds for the Tuscles of Police Department for a variety of different um of different technology needs from their uh cyber unit. There's some um information in there for their canine unit. Obviously, uh Chief is here to talk about any details of equipment that's needed. The total amount to move in is 77,333, of which they have about a little bit over 79,000 in that fund to be able to use, so it fits well within. Okay, Chief, you want to come up and tell us what you get? Yes, sir. And the reason why I put the larger draw, I'm trying to do less draw so y'all have to approve them as we go throughout the year. Um, some of our bigger items is the X-ray machine for our bomb unit. Um, what we have is outdated, not the standard, so we're gonna make sure that that's 48,000. Um, a drone mapping software, uh 3D printer and filament. We uh print a lot of our own parts for our drones and also our vehicle installs, light covers and all that we print in our shop. So we produce those in-house because they're cheaper for us to print. Um you have two different trainings, canine handler training and a dispatch training, and also a mapping uh system and location system for our canines. Okay, so any questions or comments through motion? Motion second.

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