Tuscaloosa Mayor Proposes New Public Safety Director to Oversee Police & Fire

Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox made a five-point pitch on Tuesday to establish a new leadership position overseeing the city's police, fire department and E-911 service.

Maddox shared his proposal during a meeting of the city council's public safety committee and said after years of weighing options, he firmly believes it's time to make this change.

Police officers would still work for the Tuscaloosa Police Department and report to its chief, as would the firefighters and EMTs at Tuscaloosa Fire Rescue. However, those chiefs would report to a new Executive Director of Public Safety.

40 Years of Separate Leadership

In his presentation, Maddox noted that he has been mayor since 2005 and served for four years as a city councilman before that. He said that modern threats could scarcely have been imagined back in 2001, and even less so in 1985, when the city transitioned from a commission form of government to the contemporary council format.

That change 40 years ago also eliminated an existing position for Public Safety Commissioner. Since then, Tuscaloosa's police and fire departments have been led by independent chiefs appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the city council.

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The mayor also said that since 1985, the city's population has increased by more than 40,000 residents. The world now knows terror attacks, mass shootings, increasingly common extreme weather events, pandemics, cybercrime, and other new threats. Maddox said the future may be even scarier as unmanned drones are increasingly weaponized across the globe and other new safety challenges emerge.

"Today, when I'm making a recommendation to you, it's about taking all those things that we as a city are ultimately responsible for and figuring out what is the best methodology, what is the best approach, what is the best model to take on all those challenges?" Maddox said.

Similar departments and roles already exist across SEC Country in Athens, Baton Rouge, College Station, Knoxville, Fayetteville, Gainesville, Columbia, and Auburn, Maddox said.

"I talked to [Auburn] Mayor [Ron] Anders and [Mobile] Mayor [Sandy] Stimpson yesterday, and one of their comments was, 'You'll never regret it,'" Maddox said. "I feel the same way."

A Five-Point Pitch

A Public Safety Department will make the city stronger and safer, Maddox said, by unifying response from law enforcement, firefighters and other public servants as well as maximizing city resources, allowing for shared innovation, better joint event management, and managing mental health.

Take the major fire at Waste Recycling in West Tuscaloosa earlier this month. Maddox said that while TFR took the lead on that response, representatives from four separate city departments were called to the scene.

"As emergencies happen more often, as they become more complex, they require more than just one department," Maddox said. "They require a unified response from the city of Tuscaloosa."

Expenses for the police and fire departments accounted for roughly 40 percent of the city's $200 million general fund budget this fiscal year, and Maddox said he expects that number to increase. Supervision from a newly created position would ensure that money is being spent wisely.

"We should maximize every single dollar," Maddox said. "Just because it flows into fire or police should not mean it's a sacred cow."

In a call after the meeting, Maddox said Tuscaloosa's public safety services are all world-class and the city already utilizes internal budget controls to ensure taxpayer money is spent responsibly. Still, more holistic oversight from a public safety leader could improve an already sound system.

"This department would be tasked with ensuring that the financial assets that we're investing are being spent in the most effective way possible," he said. "We have three amazing departments at the city in police, fire, and E911. I think this is an opportunity for us to be better, improve in how we deliver services, and be more effective in how we manage the taxpayers' resources."

A unified department also simplifies Tuscaloosa's roles as an events manager during Alabama game days, presidential visits, Amphitheater concerts, the Mayor's Cup, and more.

Lastly, Maddox said that a new leadership role will allow veteran Police Chief Brent Blankley and newly hired TFR Chief Mark Delk to focus on their jobs and spend less time in weekly meetings at City Hall.

"Another goal, too, is to free up our chiefs for more of the operational and tactical day-to-day within their respective departments," Maddox said in a call. "We want our chiefs to focus on the operational side, supporting the men and women of their respective departments, looking for tactical ways to be more innovative and effective in how we deliver services. Right now, we stretch them thin with 'other duties as assigned.'"

"Mark Delk and Brent Blakely are only individuals, and today, we're charging them with a superhuman task. These challenges that we face are not going to dissipate. If anything, they're going to be ever-increasing in the future," Maddox continued. "This goal is to get them the support they need so they can be focused operationally on the fire department and police department, then allow the executive director of public safety to be focused on that macro view in terms of the city funding and supporting them at every turn."

Decision A Long Way Off

Any council decision on whether to create this new unified department and leadership position is still far down the road, Maddox said. After the presentation, the Public Safety Committee voted on Tuesday to advance the matter to the Administration and Policy Committee on August 5th. That body will consider sending it to the Finance Committee on August 12th.

After that, the decision could go to the seven-member city council for a vote. Maddox said they have never shied away from investing major resources in TPD and TFR, but he also understands his responsibility to thoroughly explain and defend his proposal.

"We're going to work to earn their support. I think it's very important that we answer every question that's asked and that we approach this in a methodical way that represents the seriousness of this issue," Maddox told the Thread. "Public safety is our number one responsibility, and the delivery of that service is paramount. The recommendation I have, I believe it makes Tuscaloosa safer. It's important that it goes through this process, it answers the questions, and ultimately, it leads to outcomes that we believe it will deliver."

If approved, the new executive director of public safety might not start until the beginning of the new fiscal year on October 1st, or at the start of calendar  2026.

For more coverage of the conversation around the new department, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.