Reed’s grip on Montgomery tightens while crime slips out of control

Over the weekend, word spread quickly across social media and among Montgomery insiders that Mayor Steven Reed convened a private, off-the-record meeting with several of the city’s top business leaders. The goal of the meeting? Multiple sources familiar with the conversation say it was to downplay concerns about rising crime, rein in public criticism, and pressure local businesses to “get on message” about the state of public safety in Alabama’s capital city.

This wasn’t a roundtable on solutions. It was a closed-door damage control session, spurred by growing public frustration, an overwhelmed police department, and mounting pressure to retain Montgomery’s few remaining corporate anchors — chief among them, ALFA Insurance.

Just days earlier, ALFA announced plans to relocate its headquarters from South Montgomery to the former Colonial Bank campus off I-85 in East Montgomery – a multimillion-dollar deal that was quickly approved to ensure ALFA didn’t leave the city entirely. The urgency was clear: Reed knows if ALFA goes, others may follow.

But placating corporations behind the scenes while citizens face daily threats on the streets is not leadership – it’s a shell game.

According to sources within the Montgomery Police Department (MPD), the city is dangerously understaffed by as much as 25% more than what’s been publicly reported. For every three officers the city hires, five leave. The reasons? Burnout, lack of support, and rising doubts about whether City Hall is genuinely committed to turning things around.

Despite the mayor’s public reassurances, recruitment numbers remain alarmingly low, and crime continues to climb. Business owners across Montgomery report repeated break-ins, assaults and theft. One national chain store in Montgomery has reportedly become the second most-targeted location for theft in the entire country.

While residents and businesses plead for stronger security and real solutions, city leadership seems more focused on managing optics than addressing root causes.

At some point, leadership must answer to the people, not just to donors, developers, or cameras.

The events of this private meeting confirm what many Montgomery residents have suspected: Reed is more concerned with controlling the narrative than correcting the course. This isn’t just a public safety issue anymore – it’s a crisis of trust, transparency and truth.

Instead of listening to residents through public forums, open town halls, and open phone lines on local talk radio stations, the mayor is meeting privately with elite stakeholders, pressuring them to downplay community concerns and portray dissent as disloyalty. That’s not governance — that’s political theater.

Where is the Montgomery City Council in all of this?

Silent. Complicit. Enabling.

Rather than act as a check on the mayor’s power, the council has largely rubber-stamped his agenda, refusing to question the administration’s handling of crime, transparency, or economic development. With few exceptions, they’ve stood by while public confidence erodes.

The only semblance of transparency lately has come in the form of “Consent Agenda” items – high-dollar contracts quietly approved with minimal public scrutiny and no open discussion. Among the most notable:

·      $337,451 to Premise Health for architectural design services on a new healthcare facility.

·      $85,000 to Lightning Line LLC for event planning services for the Dragon Boat Festival.

·      $3.48 million to Matthes-Parker for a new Montgomery Biscuits clubhouse.

·      $150,000 to Arch Lee & Associates for lobbying on behalf of the city.

These figures aren’t just numbers – they’re public dollars approved without public voice.

The people of Montgomery have every right – and responsibility – to ask: Is this the leadership we were promised?

Reed was elected on promises of transparency, reform, and community engagement. Instead, we’ve seen an administration obsessed with optics, disconnected from daily realities, and dismissive of criticism – even when it comes from the city’s own police department and business leaders.

If the mayor refuses to change course, refuses to listen, and refuses to lead with integrity, then maybe it’s time to seriously consider a recall. Let the people decide if this is the vision of leadership they’re willing to accept.

At minimum, we must demand:

• Full transparency of public safety data, staffing levels, and crime trends.
• Regular public forums and town halls across all districts.
• A city council that acts independently, not as a political echo chamber.
• A renewed, public commitment to rebuilding MPD with meaningful recruitment and retention strategies – not PR spin.

Montgomery is a city full of talent, creativity and promise. But promise alone won’t protect our neighborhoods. It won’t reduce theft. And it certainly won’t excuse silence in the face of fear.

We don’t need more closed-door meetings. We need open-door progress – in every neighborhood, for every family, and for every voice that has yet to be heard.

To be fair, the city has taken some visible steps in District 4, where long-neglected structures in West Montgomery have finally begun to be demolished. The removal of blighted eyesores is both welcome and long overdue.

But let’s be honest – demolition is only the beginning. Not the end.

So far, the economic revitalization, job creation, and development incentives promised to West Montgomery have yet to materialize. Empty lots remain untouched. Grand plans are still ink on paper. And the hope that once stirred in residents is now giving way to frustration.

Montgomery doesn’t need more ribbon-cuttings. It needs real results.

We need leadership that delivers, not just demolishes.

We need courageous governance, not guarded spin.

And most of all, we need a city hall that values the voices of the people – not just the power behind closed doors.