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Huntsville City Council improvement funds support quality-of-life projects, nonprofits

Published on August 16, 2023

A discretionary improvement fund established for each Huntsville City Council district is helping to improve quality of life for citizens across all parts of our community.

four men and one woman stand and smile for group photo inside buildings
(From left to right) District 2 Council Member David Little, District 3 Council Member Dr. Jennie Robinson, District 5 Council Member John Meredith, District 4 Council Member Bill Kling and District 1 Council Member Devyn Keith.

The City Council proposed a resolution last year that would allow the City to administer $75,000 in discretionary improvement funds to each of the City’s five districts. Since the cash-funded expenditures were approved for the fiscal year 2023 budget, all five Council districts have benefited from the funds, which must assist the public in the district in which monies are allocated.

Council President John Meredith said having a fund for each district allows Council members to allocate taxpayer dollars where improvements are most needed.

“Improvement funds, which must be used for the general welfare of citizens, have proven to be a valuable tool for Council members to address unbudgeted district-specific needs that increase the quality of life of our individual constituencies,” he said. “Any funds left at the end of each fiscal year shall be carried over to the next.”

See funds allocated per district during FY23 below:

District 1

  • Real Fathers Making a Difference – $2,500 for Building H.I.S. Character Mentoring Program
  • The Bullpen Foundation – $2,500 for community-based youth athletics programs
  • Huntsville Revisited – $3,500 for promotion and preservation of fine art and history of North Alabama
  • Arts Huntsville – $30,000 for mural project at the Dr. Robert Shurney Legacy Center
  • Meadow Hills Initiative, Inc. – $2,500 for youth summer programs
  • Huntsville Parks & Recreation – $5,000 for summer reading program at Dr. Richard Showers, Sr. Recreation Center and grand opening of Legacy Park
  • Delta Theta Lambda Education Foundation – $2,500 for Men of Valor Mentoring Program

District 2

  • Land Trust of North Alabama – $30,000 for land acquisition and conservation

District 3

  • Huntsville & Madison County Railroad Authority – $75,000 for crossing equipment installation

District 4

  • Huntsville Association for Pastoral Care – $5,000 for an Angel of Hope memorial
  • Huntsville Animal Services – $25,000 to increase adoptions and decrease euthanasia
  • Huntsville Public Works – $45,000 for road resurfacing and/or sidewalk construction in District 4

District 5

  • Columbia High School Wrestling – $5,000 for equipment and participation fees
  • Huntsville Police Department – $6,500 for license plate reader installation
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