MobileGR outlines FY26 priorities: Vital Streets investments, staffing and parking maintenance

MobileGR staff and city engineers briefed the MobileGR Commission on July 10, 2025 about fiscal year 2026 priorities and example investments tied to the city's Vital Streets program, budget constraints from a financial systems transition and planned follow-up reporting in September.

Director Jessica Smith told the commission she had planned to bring detailed numbers but could not access all line-item data because the city's financial system was undergoing a transition. "Instead of giving you something that could be inaccurate, I decided not to go super detailed," Smith said, and she pledged a more detailed September briefing when the systems are available.

Smith and staff outlined key FY26 example investments and staffing requests. Items identified in the presentation included recurring and grant-funded safety and multimodal investments: $200,000 annually for pedestrian push-button conversions; $1,125,000 from the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) for rectangular rapid-flashing beacons and similar treatments; $299,000 used as the local match for Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ)–funded projects; $150,000 annually for neighborhood traffic calming; and $200,000 annually for transit-stop improvements (staff estimated as many as 20 stops could be constructed in the coming construction season). Staff also noted a $300,000 allocation toward expansion of a car-share program and said phase 2 would move the municipal program from seven to 12 electric vehicles.

Staff described departmental staffing requests for FY26: recruitment for an assistant director (estimated 10–12 week recruitment process), a parking shift supervisor to reduce overtime pressure on a 24/7 operation, dispatch/customer-service hires to restore coverage and an administrative aide. Smith described people-management training, equity and engagement training for staff and a supervisor handbook as retention and capacity-building measures.

Cindy Irving, assistant city engineer, reviewed Vital Streets background and implementation. She said the Vital Streets strategy originated from a 2013 Sustainable Streets task force and a voter-approved funding commitment that created a 15-year investment program to raise the condition rating of streets and sidewalks. Under that policy the city assumed ownership of sidewalk repair and replacement, which Irving said allowed the city to contract for larger, more efficient sidewalk projects rather than relying on individual point-of-sale repairs. Irving reported that the city’s condition metric moved from about 56% good-or-fair in 2023 to about 62% good-or-fair by the end of 2024.

Staff described other capital items and maintenance needs for FY26: $1,280,000 for structural and roof repairs at parking ramps, $1,000,000 set aside for government center structural repairs, and continued work on parking market competitiveness and cost-recovery analyses. Smith said the department will examine fiscal impacts of the last year’s parking rate adjustments—including a 2% increase to monthly parking pass rates—and report back with detailed numbers once financial data are accessible.

Commission discussion covered outreach to business districts, coordination with the Rapid for event-day service, and using grants and local match funds to leverage federal grant programs. Staff requested a $250,000 budget line for multi-year transportation systems planning and emphasized that many projects depend on external grant awards and interdepartmental coordination. Staff said they will return with a detailed FY26 budget presentation in September once the finance system is available.