HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Mayor Tommy Battle introduced the City of Huntsville’s proposed FY 2022 –General Fund Budget at the City Council meeting on Sept. 9, 2021. Updated budgets for the City’s capital improvement plans will be presented at an upcoming Council work session.
The $245 million operating budget includes increased spending for public safety, road resurfacing, mental health care, parks and recreation, and a 3% cost-of-living raise for City employees.
Mayor Battle says the balanced budget also reflects the growth in demand for services and amenities.
“Now that the 2020 census has deemed us the largest city in the state, we will continue our goal to be the best,” Battle said. “There’s more demand than ever for city services and we believe this budget allows us to meet those critical needs while remaining fiscally responsible in our spending.”
The FY22 budget funds the new Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, provides the City’s biggest investment in mental health through a collaboration with Wellstone Behavioral Health, and provides property and funding for a new administrative building for Huntsville City Schools.
While the budget reflects a 4% increase in spending over FY21, it reallocates Sanitation from the general fund budget into an enterprise budget. This will allow the department to better track and respond to growing demand for trash and bulk waste collections.
- $1 million for City Schools administration building
- Funding for construction of new City Hall
- New fire station in the western corridor
- $1.5 million increase for outside agencies
- Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
- 20 new Huntsville Fire & Rescue positions
- 29 new Huntsville Police positions
- 35 new Parks & Recreation positions
- Numerous park improvements to include Legacy Park, Oak Park, Crawford Park
- Additional phases of Sandra Moon Complex
- Increased funding for HPD mental health programs
- $16+ million in road and street maintenance
- 3% COLA for City employees
- Sanitation moves to enterprise fund
Council members will hold a work session at 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 16, to review the budget in greater detail. Council is expected to vote on final adoption Sept. 23 in time for the start of the 2022 fiscal year on Oct. 1.
This article was originally published at huntsville.gov.