Gadsden City Council approved $128,301 in funding for the Humane Society Pet Rescue and Adoption Center for the 2025-2026 fiscal year on Tuesday.
In Alabama, every county with a population of more than 5,000 must provide an animal shelter or contribute to the operational cost of the county pound, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) regulations.
“We want to continue to support the Humane Society 100 percent,” Mayor Craig Ford said. “The city does not want to get into owning a Humane Society… It’s in our best interest to always support a third branch or another authority to support the Humane Society where we don’t own it.”
The amount is the same from previous years, but Ford said that is not the only aid the adoption center gains from the city.
Public works has gone to the shelter for cleanup days and the building department has helped with emergency lighting and draining issues, Ford said.
Council president Kent Back and council member Dixie Minatra serve on the board of the Humane Society, but Ford said there are many boards that need members.
“I just ask the public, if you’re willing to serve on board, we need you,” Ford said. “We have the same list of people we run through and the same people are serving on about five or six boards. So if you’re willing to serve on a board, we have a place for you.”
In other business, the council approved the city’s fiscal year 2026 budget.
The $80 million budget was presented earlier this month by Mayor Craig Ford and approved by the Gadsden City Council on Tuesday.
“This budget is another way that we’re working to keep Gadsden growing,” Ford said. “Our revenues have increased by an average of 10 percent per year since 2022, and with the addition of new programs, improvements, and projects from this budget, we expect to see that continue.”
The budget is a complement to the RISE Project, a proposed $100+ million bond issue that will fund numerous city projects over the next several years, such as the Gadsden Athletic Center (GAC), improvements to Twin Bridges Golf Course, additions to the East Gadsden Community Center, and more.
It also provides a raise for Gadsden’s employees, covering everyone from first responders to part-time workers.
All employees with a satisfactory evaluation are receiving a minimum 2 percent raise, and part-time pay is increasing by $1.00 to a minimum of $12.00 per hour.
“Our employees are one of our greatest assets, and with this budget, we’ve been able to give another raise while lowering our personnel costs at the same time,” Ford said. “Several years ago, Gadsden was spending more than 70 percent of our annual budget on personnel. We’ve been able to bring that down to 54 percent while still increasing our employees’ pay.”
The city paid off one bond in FY25 and will finish payments on another in the upcoming FY26 budget.
“I want to thank Finance Director Brandon Phillips and the rest of our staff that have worked hard on this budget, and I want to thank the City Council for passing it,” Ford said. “Overall, we’re in great shape as a city, and this keeps us moving forward.”
The council also approved the issuance of a special events retail alcoholic beverage license for the Artoberfest in Alabama City on Oct. 16.
This will be the second year for the festival, which features performances by Gadsden State Show Band, Downtown Dance Conservatory and the Theatre of Gadsden.
The council also approved the use of the Memorial Bridge, also known as Broad Street Bridge, for Sunset Sips on Oct. 21. The bridge will be transformed into a makeshift venue with complementary hors d’oeuvres, wine and beer where attendees can watch the sunset on the river from atop the bridge. Tickets are available for $50.
The construction of pickleball courts and two firepit areas were approved by the council for phase five of the Gadsden Sport Complex for the amount of $17,000.
During the meeting, the council approved a request from the city attorney, Lee Robers, to write the Attorney General to clarify legislation that requires a reporting system for disciplined police officers.
Roberts said the statute is not clear if all disciplinary actions are to be reported or if only incidents revolved around use of force. The way Roberts reads the legislation, among other cities and the police department, is that only the use of force incidents should be reported. However, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA), the state agency which oversees the incident report program, wants every disciplinary action to be reported.
“There is kind of a disagreement amongst cities and ALEA on this,” Roberts said. “It’s like I told the attorney (AG), we’re not trying to buck the system, we are just trying to follow the law.”
ALEA is aware of the intent to seek guidance from the Attorney General for the clarification of the legislation.
Gadsden Housing Authority will continue its community policing program with Gadsden, in which it will reimburse the city from hourly salaries for up to four police officers across the seven public housing facilities. The authority will pay up to $28.86 per hour, including benefits, with a 5 percent incentive pay, according to Back.
In another update from the police department, soon it will store footage from car cameras on the cloud. Currently, the footage is kept at an inhouse server, with the new server all the files will be stored in the same place and will allow easier access when the files are needed for court, according to Gadsden Services Captain, Byram Hammonds.
