Mayor proposes Department of Public Safety to unify police, fire and 911 oversight

Mayor presented a proposal to create a Department of Public Safety that would place Tuscaloosa Police Department, Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue, and municipal 9‑1‑1 under a single executive director to coordinate response, personnel, training and shared technology. The mayor framed the proposal as a response to modern public‑safety challenges—including mass casualty events, cyber threats, public‑health crises, social unrest and climate‑related incidents—and as a way to maximize resources and integrated planning. Why the mayor proposed the change: The mayor listed five objectives for the new department: a unified response across agencies; maximizing existing resources; enabling shared innovation and technology use; improved event management for large gatherings; and a coordinated approach to mental‑health calls. The mayor said the city now faces more complex demands than when Tuscaloosa last restructured government in 1985, and cited population growth (from about 77,000 in 1985 to about 115,000 today), an increase in high‑demand events and more frequent complex incidents. Operational design described: If approved, an executive director of public safety would oversee the three components, with the fire chief, police chief and the city’s 9‑1‑1 director reporting to that executive director. The mayor said the executive director would focus on strategic coordination, financial accountability, shared data analysis to trim response times, centralized account management and integrated training. Personnel and capital‑asset decisions would remain key responsibilities of chiefs, while the executive director would provide holistic recommendations to the mayor and council. Data and personnel points cited in the presentation: The mayor said the police department has 26 officers assigned in some capacity to mental‑health response and that the city employs two full‑time social workers in the fire service; the city has spent nearly $6,000,000 on mental‑health services. The mayor also noted that roughly 40 percent of the general fund supports police and fire and that a future retirement funding commitment beginning Oct. 1, 2026, will materially increase long‑term public‑safety costs. Council response and next steps: Council members asked about rank structure, personnel management, overtime and the potential for micromanagement of chiefs. Several members recommended studying other Alabama cities that have adopted similar models (Auburn and Mobile) and suggested a multi‑committee review. The committee voted to advance the proposal concept to the Administrative & Policy Committee for Aug. 5 and then to Finance for further review; the motion passed. What changed and what did not: The vote advanced a concept for further study and did not create the department, change ordinances or add positions at this meeting. Council members requested detailed follow‑up on staffing models, costs, manning documents, overtime reduction strategies and lessons learned from Auburn and Mobile before any final decision.