City News

Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox presented his Fiscal Year 2026 budget recommendation for the General Fund and Elevate Tuscaloosa Fund to the Tuscaloosa City Council on Tuesday, August 19 at the regularly scheduled Finance Committee meeting. 

The nearly $240 million proposal focuses on public safety, education, infrastructure, employee investments, artificial intelligence (AI) innovation investments and more.

“Public safety remains our top priority, as evidenced by the fact that 40% of this proposed budget is dedicated to protecting our community,” Mayor Walt Maddox said. “I’m also very proud of the work we’ve done to avoid budget cuts while navigating the challenges posed by the limited growth of our sales tax revenue due to the Simplified Sellers Use Tax (SSUT). Thanks to our AAA credit rating, conservative budgeting practices and strong reserve levels, we are able to continue moving Tuscaloosa forward.”

The budget presentation and full proposed budget can be found at Tuscaloosa.com/26budget.