City Approves $10K Retention Bonuses For Tuscaloosa Police Officers

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The Tuscaloosa City Council on Tuesday approved an ordinance establishing a $10,000 retention bonus for Tuscaloosa Police officers.

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The city says Tuscaloosa Police officers who were employed as of August 1 will receive a one-time bonus of $10,000 that is subject to regular employee withholdings. Eligible police officers must agree to continue to serve with the Tuscaloosa Police Department for the next 24 months to receive the bonus, which will be paid to eligible police officers on Sept. 8.

The bonus was approved as an addition to the $5,000 retention bonus for any patrol officers hired after March 1, with the ordinance also establishing a strategic review task force comprised of the chairs of the City Council’s Public Safety, Administrative, and Finance Committees.

Thew task force will work with Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox to create a strategic plan for the Tuscaloosa Police Department to be submitted to the City Council no later than August 1, 2024.

“Public safety remains the number one priority for the City of Tuscaloosa,” Maddox said. “ The data is clear that crime in Tuscaloosa is down thanks to the hard work of our Tuscaloosa Police officers. I applaud the City Council for taking this step to continue to remain competitive as a great place for law enforcement officers to work, and look forward to continuing this discussion with the strategic review task force.”

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