Mayor Reed outlines public-safety investments, housing and economic plans in 2025 State of the City

Montgomery Mayor Steven L. Reed delivered his 2025 State of the City address at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, outlining public-safety investments, neighborhood revitalization projects and initiatives targeting homelessness, opioid recovery and economic growth.

The address stressed public-safety upgrades and leadership changes. Reed said the city recently completed a national search and appointed a permanent police chief, and he praised recent improvements at Montgomery Fire and Rescue, noting the department earned an ISO 1 rating and an average response time of 3 minutes, 54 seconds. He also described the opening this year of a new West Montgomery fire station with a final cost of $19,000,000, up from an earlier $11,000,000 estimate.

Reed said the city is expanding services for people experiencing homelessness through the HUB at the MAP Center on East Illinois Avenue, which the mayor said received $2,000,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding. He announced a planned pilot guaranteed basic income program to provide direct financial assistance to working families, and he described a $1,000,000 initiative to address the opioid crisis that will involve the Council on Substance Abuse (COSA), the UAB psychiatry residency program and Alethia House.

On criminal-justice reform, Reed cited executive order 2024-0220, which he said forgave more than $880,000 in unpaid municipal fines and fees tied to nearly 3,600 cases and that the action "relieved 800 citizens" of financial obligations. He described "Together We Rise," a city initiative led by community violence intervention organization Live Free, as a collaborative effort involving the Office of Violence Prevention, the Family Guidance Center, faith-based organizations and city departments to expand violence-prevention and community-engagement programs.

Reed highlighted a historic $36,600,000 Neighborhood Access and Equity Grant the city secured to revitalize West Montgomery and address long-standing inequities tied to redlining and interstate construction. He also noted investments in parks and venues — including more than $2,000,000 at Crampton Bowl — and said the city will pursue expanded convention-center capacity and a new mixed-use arena to capture events and conventions the city currently must turn away.

On economic development, Reed said Montgomery attracted $1.1 billion in capital investment and nearly 600 jobs from 11 projects in 2024, citing Meta's $840,000,000 investment and other manufacturing expansions. He described programs to support small business, including Access Montgomery initiatives funded with $5,000,000 in ARPA funds and partnerships with Hope Credit Union, Builders and Backers and Innovate Alabama.

Reed tied these investments to housing growth, saying 5,157 housing units are under construction or planned in southeastern Montgomery, with room for about 3,194 additional units east of Vaughn and Taylor roads. He described the city’s work to upgrade community centers in Sheridan Heights, Chisholm and Crump and to improve the West Side Corridor through projects such as the Fairview Farmers Market.

"If not us, then who? If not now, then when?" Reed said, invoking the late Congressman John Lewis as he urged continued collaboration across city, county and federal partners. He closed by calling for unity and continued investment in education, public safety and economic opportunity.

Ending: Reed announced further details on several initiatives will be released in coming months and encouraged continued community partnerships to implement the projects he described.