Florence Mayor Ron Tyler has been off to a slow, yet steady start to his mayorship.
The Shoals native was elected to the office of the mayor in November of last year, and recently wrapped up his first 90 days in office. In that time, Tyler has been off to a slow start, but is laying a strong foundation to continue to push Florence into further growth.
“We want to be sure we’re being responsible stewards of people’s taxpayer dollars,” Tyler said. “What we’re working through right now is coming up with a priority list of what needs our attention right now.”
Tyler’s time with the city of Florence goes back for three decades, though his family hails from the Shoals for almost 200, according to his campaign’s website.
Serving in the Florence Police Department for nearly 30 years, he finished the last 12 of those years as the chief of the department. The reputation and relationships he built during his time in law enforcement gathered the support of several close friends of his that encouraged him to run for political office.
After his win in the mayoral race last year, he was sworn in back in early November. He said that the first several days of his tenure have been slowed by the holiday season. Much of his work has been preparatory, laying the groundwork for long-term growth in the city.
Tyler is focusing his initial policy efforts on a host of needs that must be met by the city. One of the biggest of these needs is the further development of Florence’s water treatment systems to help clean the water from PFAS chemical contaminants in the Tennessee river. This treatment plant is one of Tyler’s primary priorities to help promote the health of Florence residents, as well as comply with an Environmental Protection Agency mandate which began in 2024.
The initial cost of the development is $135 million.
“This community could do a whole lot of really good economic development and road paving with $135 million,” Tyler said. “It is not sexy and fun having to spend $135 million on a water treatment plant.”
The EPA mandate requires that public water systems must complete an initial monitoring of PFAS levels in their waters by 2027. After this initial monitoring, the water systems must also provide the public with information on the levels of these chemicals found in drinking water systems.
The mandate also requires the systems to develop ways to reduce the levels of PFAS in their waters by 2029, if the levels are higher than the federal limit.
The city is also faced with the dilemma of raising the funds to realize the development. Tyler said that water rates may have to rise in the future in order to accommodate the plant.
In addition to road paving, speeding and a number of other city focused priorities, Tyler believes that the relationship between the city and UNA could be better leveraged for everyone involved.
Tyler said that he wishes communication between the university and the city was better. He highlighted the value added to the city by UNA’s presence, and wants to continue to develop a collaborative partnership with the school.
“We let the university lay out their own strategy and plan,” Tyler said. “We do want to partner with and support them.”
The city of Florence has already committed millions to the university for various projects, including the math and science building and UNA’s Bank Independent Stadium. Tyler wants to fulfill those obligations before further commitments are made.
“We just want to be partners with the university and they’re kind of leading the way. They’re establishing the way points that they want to hit, and we want to come along beside them and be good partners,” said Tyler.
