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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Tuscaloosa Administrative Committee Meeting Summary - September 1, 2026

City Council Meetings — Tuesday, September 1, 2026

BodyTuscaloosa, Alabama

SessionCity Council Meetings

DateTuesday, September 1, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 25:24

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

0:00

For Mr.

0:00

Tiner, I believe today.

0:02

All right.

0:03

Have you had a chance to look at the minutes?

0:05

I have.

0:06

I make a motion.

0:06

And I'll second it.

0:08

All in favor?

0:09

Aye.

0:09

All right.

0:11

We have several things to do, and Ms.

0:14

Herbert is doing most of it.

0:26

Mayor and Council.

0:28

This first item is a request to enter to a contract with HELIA.

0:35

It is for a spousal incentive HRA.

0:41

So this would introduce a third option for city employees in reference to a health plan.

0:51

We currently have option one and option two under our medical plan.

0:59

But this plan would introduce a third option.

1:02

It would reimburse employees who transition to their spouse's employer sponsors, sponsored health plan, excuse me.

1:10

And it covers out of pocket expenses for family members and the employee under that external plan.

1:22

So it reimburses 100% of the deductibles, the co-pays, and the coinsurance that are under the spouse's plan up to the $12,000 annual maximum.

1:40

The HRA is non-taxable, so the employee would not pay any tax on this.

2:08

Employees do have to successfully enroll in their spouse's group sponsored health plan.

2:15

And family members can be enrolled in a high deductible health plan, but cannot contribute to or receive employer HSA contributions.

2:25

And that's not a city rule, that is an IRS rule.

2:36

They would be ineligible at this time.

2:40

So as far as the city, um zero setup costs for us, no implementation fees, there are no monthly minimums for us.

3:50

So the $12,000 is less than all of those plans except for the employee only plan in option one and option two.

4:04

So do you think the city, I mean it would be a good deal for the employee in my mind.

4:09

Do you think it apparently you think it's a good deal for the city?

4:13

Absolutely.

4:13

I think it's it it's great for the employees and for the city.

4:18

Now it's not going to be a fit for all employees, but there will be some employees that will definitely benefit um from this, being able to have all their copays and deductibles and co-insurance covered.

4:32

And there's also a benefit, of course, to the city.

4:36

Um because again, um Vicky, you're gonna have to help me go back.

4:44

Okay, we're gonna turn this my favorite part.

4:52

One more back.

4:53

Well go back one more.

4:54

Okay, Herbert, you know, 53 years ago almost, I went to work for the city.

5:01

And it's always health insurance is always been an issue.

5:05

Yes, sir.

5:06

And any, I think anything we can do if it helps just a little bit for employees.

5:12

Absolutely.

5:13

It's a great option.

5:14

I'll make a motion.

5:15

Did you have more that you needed to present?

5:17

Well, I was just gonna that that's the different tiers, and um it is it will provide financial support for the employees and their families, and what a lot of employees employers are doing now, they're doing spouse or surcharges where if your spouse is eligible for another plan, they're charging more.

5:38

We didn't want to do that.

5:39

We didn't want to do a carve out, which is saying, okay, if you're on our plan, you're secondary.

5:46

We wanted to provide something that would be a win-win for the city and employees.

5:52

Um, there is a dedicated decision support tool that Helia has.

5:58

So there'll be option one, option two in that tool, but also they can upload their spouse's policy, and it will give a recommendation on what would be more beneficial.

6:12

It uses AI technology.

6:14

So it's it's really good.

6:17

Okay, that's all right.

6:18

Okay, I don't mean if that's now we can probably say that.

6:22

If that's all right with you, yes, okay.

6:24

Now I'll make them all right.

6:26

All in favor.

6:27

All right, we passed that.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Personnel Matters█████████████████████████████████████████████54%

Zoning And Land Use█████████████████20%

Technology and Innovation██████████████17%

Budget Equity Analysis████████9%

Summary of Proceedings

Tuscaloosa Administrative Committee Meeting Summary - September 1, 2026

The Tuscaloosa City Council's Administrative Committee met on September 1, 2026, at 8:46 PM. The committee approved minutes, discussed several personnel and policy items, and voted on actions including a new health insurance option, a technology director position, and a surplus property ordinance. A salary adjustment for the executive director of public safety was referred to the Public Safety Committee.

Consent Calendar

Approval of the minutes from the previous meeting (motion and second, all in favor).

Spousal Incentive HRA Contract with HELIA

Ms. Herbert presented a request to enter into a contract with HELIA for a spousal incentive Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA). This would introduce a third health plan option for city employees, reimbursing 100% of deductibles, copays, and coinsurance under a spouse's employer-sponsored plan up to a $12,000 annual maximum. The HRA is non-taxable for employees. No setup costs, implementation fees, or monthly minimums for the city. The mayor expressed full support, calling it a "win-win" for employees and the city. Motion passed unanimously.

Technology Job Classification (Director of Technology for Savings Center)

Jason presented a request for a new job classification: Director of Technology for the savings center. The position will oversee all technology within the building, including approximately 1,400 devices (exhibits, audio visual, computers, STEM hub, etc.), museum software, point-of-sale systems, theater space, and classrooms. The position will report to Jason and eventually oversee eight staff, with two positions reimbursed by Ignite. Questions were asked about budget and staffing. Motion passed unanimously.

Executive Director of Public Safety Job Classification Change (Non-Exempt to Exempt)

Administration presented a request to change the job classification for the executive director of public safety from non-exempt to exempt, in compliance with House Bill 160 which removes eligibility for overtime or compensatory time. The qualifications remain the same. The mayor noted this is a prerequisite for the subsequent salary adjustment. Motion passed unanimously.

Amendment to Pay Grade PF8 (Salary Increase for Executive Director of Public Safety)

A request to amend Section 19-52 of Exhibit D of the Code of Tuscaloosa to change the pay range for PF8. Currently step 1 is $144,206.20 and step 15 is $203,459.59; proposed step 1 is $189,015.91 and step 15 is $267,074.53. The current executive director is on step 11 at $184,000; the proposal would place the position at step 9 ($230,297.53). Discussion noted that under the old classification, the position qualified for overtime, and police and fire chiefs made over $200,000 last year. The mayor argued the salary increase is necessary to ensure the executive director does not lose money and earns more than the chiefs he supervises. A council member expressed concern about public perception, noting that the public safety director in Montgomery is paid much less. The mayor countered that Tuscaloosa faces unique challenges, including 51 large events last year and a weekend with 125,000 people. A motion was made to refer the item to the Public Safety Committee, with the caveat that it be doubled up on the council agenda on September 22. The motion passed.

Surplus Real Property RFP Ordinance

Mayor and Hudson Sheshire presented a proposed ordinance to establish a formal RFP process for the sale of surplus real property owned by the city. The ordinance provides flexibility: the council would direct the city attorney's office to issue an RFP when interested in selling a property, and then later declare the property surplus by resolution. Exceptions include properties acquired through foreclosure on demolition liens (handled by auction) and properties that were unsuccessfully offered via RFP within the previous calendar year. The ordinance aims to increase transparency and accountability. A council member noted a small property in his district that would not require a full RFP. Motion passed unanimously.

Key Outcomes

Approved unanimously: Minutes, HELIA contract, Technology director classification, Executive director classification change to exempt, Surplus property RFP ordinance.
Referred to Public Safety Committee: Amendment to PF8 pay grade for executive director of public safety (to be considered on September 22 and doubled up on council agenda).
The meeting was adjourned after all business.

Meeting Transcript

For Mr. Tiner, I believe today. All right. Have you had a chance to look at the minutes? I have. I make a motion. And I'll second it. All in favor? Aye. All right. We have several things to do, and Ms. Herbert is doing most of it. Mayor and Council. This first item is a request to enter to a contract with HELIA. It is for a spousal incentive HRA. So this would introduce a third option for city employees in reference to a health plan. We currently have option one and option two under our medical plan. But this plan would introduce a third option. It would reimburse employees who transition to their spouse's employer sponsors, sponsored health plan, excuse me. And it covers out of pocket expenses for family members and the employee under that external plan. So it reimburses 100% of the deductibles, the co-pays, and the coinsurance that are under the spouse's plan up to the $12,000 annual maximum. The HRA is non-taxable, so the employee would not pay any tax on this. Employees do have to successfully enroll in their spouse's group sponsored health plan. And family members can be enrolled in a high deductible health plan, but cannot contribute to or receive employer HSA contributions. And that's not a city rule, that is an IRS rule. They would be ineligible at this time. So as far as the city, um zero setup costs for us, no implementation fees, there are no monthly minimums for us. So the $12,000 is less than all of those plans except for the employee only plan in option one and option two. So do you think the city, I mean it would be a good deal for the employee in my mind. Do you think it apparently you think it's a good deal for the city? Absolutely. I think it's it it's great for the employees and for the city. Now it's not going to be a fit for all employees, but there will be some employees that will definitely benefit um from this, being able to have all their copays and deductibles and co-insurance covered. And there's also a benefit, of course, to the city. Um because again, um Vicky, you're gonna have to help me go back. Okay, we're gonna turn this my favorite part. One more back. Well go back one more. Okay, Herbert, you know, 53 years ago almost, I went to work for the city. And it's always health insurance is always been an issue. Yes, sir. And any, I think anything we can do if it helps just a little bit for employees. Absolutely. It's a great option. I'll make a motion. Did you have more that you needed to present? Well, I was just gonna that that's the different tiers, and um it is it will provide financial support for the employees and their families, and what a lot of employees employers are doing now, they're doing spouse or surcharges where if your spouse is eligible for another plan, they're charging more. We didn't want to do that. We didn't want to do a carve out, which is saying, okay, if you're on our plan, you're secondary. We wanted to provide something that would be a win-win for the city and employees.

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