The Huntsville City Council has voted unamiously to adopt Mayor Tommy Battle's $245 million operating budget for fiscal year 2022.
The 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.
The FY22 budget funds the new Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, provides the City’s biggest investment in mental health through collaboration with Wellstone Behavioral Health, and provides property and funding for a new administrative building for Huntsville City Schools.
“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.â€
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.
Highlights include:
$1 million for City Schools administration building
Funding for construction of new City Hall
New fire station in 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
