Tuscaloosa mayor unveils $239.8 million FY26 budget; council approves FAA grant booking, police tech purchases and small community disbursements

Mayor: The Tuscaloosa City Council heard the mayor’s presentation of his proposed fiscal 2026 spending plan and approved a set of routine disbursements and budget revisions, including recording a $25,710,664 Federal Aviation Administration grant for a runway extension and authorizing police-technology purchases.

The mayor said the proposed operating budget totals $239,800,000 when combining the general fund and Elevate revenues. "This budget this year is being focused on Tuscaloosa first," the mayor said, summarizing priorities that include public safety, schools and infrastructure.

Why it matters: The proposal sets aside sizable resources for the city’s transition of public-safety employees into the state retirement system (RSA), directs Elevate funds to pre-K, dual-enrollment and parks projects, and books a large FAA grant that will be handled on a reimbursement (drawdown) basis.

Major figures and priorities

- Combined operating budget: $239,800,000 (general fund $208,300,000; Elevate $31,400,000). - Public safety allocation: $82,800,000 (about 39% of the general fund). - Direct discretionary funding to Tuscaloosa City Schools: $7,100,000. - Infrastructure investments: $60,200,000. - Employee investments/new hires: $2,500,000. - RSA transition contribution: $4,900,000 to the public-safety transition fund.

The mayor said the city’s unassigned general-fund balance has grown, and cited credit ratings from Moody’s and Fitch as evidence of financial strength. He described the budget as conservative on revenue assumptions while noting some unexpected revenue gains. "We always budget conservatively," he said.

Revenues and cost pressures

The mayor outlined the revenue mix and weaknesses: 44% of general-fund revenue is projected to come from sales and use taxes, 14% from business licenses and 12% from property taxes. He said sales-tax growth is "anemic," projecting less than 1% growth for the coming year (0.93% in his remarks) and tied some of that weakness to SSUT.

He warned of an increase in health-insurance costs after negotiations with the city’s carrier. The mayor summarized the negotiated increase at about 8.3% and translated that into per-pay-period changes for employees across plan options.

Salaries and benefits account for 64 cents of every general-fund dollar, the mayor said. He proposed pay movements that, if fully realized through step increases, would result in about a 5% total increase for sworn public-safety employees and 4.5% for non-public-safety staff (a combination of step movement and COLA).

Elevate program details

The mayor described Elevate as a funding vehicle that has drawn $116,400,000 in additional leveraged dollars since passage. He said Elevate revenues for the coming year are projected at about $26,400,000 net (approximately $23,900,000 in Elevate sales taxes, $3,300,000 in use tax and $4,300,000 from other sources before adjustments).

He said Elevate sets aside 15% for operations and maintenance; this year that O&M allocation includes roughly $1,100,000 for salaries, $101,000 toward police-related salaries and an expected $3,300,000 in reserves. The mayor cited Elevate-funded programs such as near-universal pre-K (which he said represents a $5,811 per-family savings), summer learning, and dual-enrollment (up to 12 free credit hours funded by the city, with additional matching or discounted hours available through local higher-education partners).

Capital and new projects

The mayor asked the council to include planning-design funds in Elevate for improvements at Freeman Park and pool and to consider how the city should handle the adjacent, vacant Benjamin Barnes YMCA property. He also reiterated that Elevate will continue to fund park and district projects and that roughly one in every five Elevate dollars supports public safety.

Council actions taken (votes at a glance)

- Minutes adopted (vote: unanimous — motion and second recorded). - Item 1: Approved disbursement from district improvement funds to Benjamin Morris YMCA — $5,000. Motion approved (no roll-call vote recorded in transcript). - Item 2: Approved disbursement from District 1 improvement funds to Dream Big Academy — $1,000. Motion approved (no roll-call vote recorded in transcript). The council heard that Dream Big Academy is operating on Stillman College’s campus and reported about 220 students and a waiting list. - Item 3 (General Fund Budget Revision No. 16): Approved two parts — (1) use of diversion/training technology funds for the Tuscaloosa Police Department, totaling $77,333 for items including an X‑ray unit for the bomb unit, drone mapping software, a 3D printer and training; and (2) activation of about $6,000 from the District 1 reserve to fund a district request. Motion approved (no roll-call vote recorded in transcript). - Item (Elevate) Budget Revision No. 4: Council approved booking the FAA grant award for the airport runway extension and activating the project budget for $25,710,664. The mayor noted FAA reimbursements will be drawdown-based. Motion approved (no roll-call vote recorded in transcript).

Quotes from presenters and staff

- Carly Standridge, finance staff, introduced the general-fund revision and said, "This budget revision is coming in two separate parts." (transcript: Miss Standridge) - Police Chief (unnamed) summarized technology and training purchases: "Some of our bigger items is the X‑ray machine for our bomb unit..." and listed drone mapping software, a 3D printer and K‑9 mapping systems. - The mayor: "We really had three goals going into this budget. First was to navigate the impacts of SSUT. The second was to... mitigate the impact to our departments and to the agencies that we fund. And lastly, is to invest into Elevate."

What’s next

The mayor and finance staff will provide detailed budget books to council members next week, and the council will schedule two work sessions and public budget hearings leading up to formal adoption. The mayor said the public can view the detailed budget materials at tuscaloosa.com/'26budget (as announced to council).