Title 11 — Title 11

At any time in any budget year, the council may make emergency appropriations to meet a pressing need for public expenditures, for other than a regular or recurring requirement, to protect the public health, safety, or welfare. Such appropriation may be made by the council by not…

Any portion of an appropriation remaining unexpended and unencumbered at the close of the fiscal year shall lapse. History: (Acts 1987, No. 87-102, p. 116, §59.)

Expenses. An election shall be held in 1988 at the regularly scheduled municipal election and the officials elected shall take office upon the expiration of the present official’s term of office. Five council members to be elected by districts and a mayor to be elected at-large s…

At the same time that he submits the general fund budget, the mayor shall submit to the council a capital improvement program covering all recommended capital improvement projects for the ensuing fiscal year and for the four fiscal years thereafter, with his recommendation as to …

Projects; Reserve Fund for Permanent Public Improvements. The council shall adopt a capital budget prior to the beginning of the fiscal year in which the budget is to take effect. No appropriations for a capital improvement project contained in the capital budget shall lapse unti…

Certification by Director of Finance; Void Payments and Obligations; Penalty for Knowing Violations. No payment shall be made and no obligation incurred by or on behalf of the city except in accordance with an appropriation duly made, and no payment shall be made from or obligati…

Any officially adopted budget in existence at the time that the council is first organized shall continue in force and effect during the balance of the city’s then fiscal year, or until such time as the mayor may submit to the council and the council adopts an amended, altered, o…

There shall be a division of finance, the head of which shall be the financial officer of the city. The head of the division shall be appointed by the mayor and shall not be subject to the provisions of the merit system. History: (Acts 1987, No. 87-102, p. 116, §64.)

The head of the division of finance shall be a person skilled in municipal accounting, taxation, and financial control. He shall provide a bond with such surety and in such amount as the council may require by resolution or ordinance. The premium on said bond shall be paid by the…

The head of the division of finance shall have general management and control of the division and of finance. He shall have charge, subject to the direction and control of the mayor, of the administration of the financial affairs of the city, and to that end shall have authority …

Classification of Expenditures; Expenditures Financed by Bonds; Leases or Contracts for Period Exceeding Budget Year. No officer, department, or agency shall, during any budget year, expend or contract to expend any money or incur any liability, for any purpose in excess of the a…

All fees received by any officer or employee of the city shall belong to the city government and shall be paid daily to the division of finance. History: (Acts 1987, No. 87-102, p. 116, §68.)

Powers and Duties of Division Head. There shall be established in the division of finance a division responsible for purchases, the head of which shall be the city purchasing agent. Such division head, pursuant to rules and regulations established by resolution or ordinance, shal…

Vote Requirements; Runoff Elections; Elections Held Quadrennially; When Elected Councilmen Take Office; Term of Office; Councilman May Succeed Himself. Council candidates shall qualify as provided by law and shall have the qualification and eligibility set forth herein. Each vote…

Before the purchasing agent makes any purchase of or contract for supplies, materials, or equipment he shall give ample opportunity for competitive bidding, under such rules and regulations as the council may prescribe by resolution or ordinance; provided, however, the council sh…

Contract; Bidding on Contract; Alteration of Contract. Any city improvement costing more than $3,000.00 shall be executed by contract except where such improvement is budgeted and authorized by the council to be executed directly by a city department in conformity with detailed p…

Certification of Balance Sufficient to Pay for Contract or Order. All purchases made and contracts executed by the purchasing agent shall be pursuant to a written requisition from the head of the office, department or agency whose appropriation will be charged, and no contract or…

In any budget year, in anticipation of the collection of revenues, the council may by resolution authorize the borrowing of money by the issuance of negotiable notes of the city, each of which shall be designated “revenue note for the year _____ (stating the budget year).” Such n…

In the absence of available revenues to meet emergency appropriations under the provisions of this chapter, the council may by resolution authorize the issuance of notes, each of which shall be designated “emergency note” and may be renewed from time to time, but all such notes a…

Sale. No notes shall be made payable on demand, but any note may be made subject to redemption prior to maturity upon notice and at such time as may be stated in the note. All notes may be sold at not less than par and accrue interest at private sale without previous advertisemen…

Not Inconsistent with Personnel, Etc., Provisions of Chapter. Nothing contained in the provisions of this chapter shall affect or impair the rights or privileges of officers or employees of the city or of any office, department, or agency existing at the time when this chapter sh…

Powers and Duties of Office, Etc., Abolished by This Chapter. All personnel, except those specifically designated by the provisions of this chapter as removable at the discretion of the mayor, holding administrative office at the time the mayor-council form of government becomes …

Powers and Duties Reassigned. All records, property, and equipment of any office, department, or agency, whose powers and duties are assigned to any other office, department, or agency by the provisions of this chapter, shall be transferred and delivered to the office, department…

Same as Existing Office Deemed a Continuation of Such Office. Any office, department, or agency provided for by this chapter with a name or with powers and duties the same or substantially the same as those of any such office, department, or agency heretofore existing shall be de…

The candidate for mayor receiving the largest number of votes for the office shall be elected thereto, provided such candidate receives a majority of all votes cast for such office. If at the first election no candidate received a majority of the votes cast for the office, then a…

Legislative Steps Taken. All contracts entered into by the city, or for its benefit, prior to the application to such city of the mayor-council form of government, shall continue in full force and effect. Public improvements for which legislative steps have been taken under laws …

No action or proceeding, civil or criminal, pending at the time of the organization under the mayor-council form of government, brought by or against the city or any office, department, or agency or officer thereof, shall be affected or abated by the change to the mayor-council f…

Force. All laws and parts of laws relating to pensions or retirement and relief funds for policemen, firemen, and other employees of the city, contained in the general or local laws of the state as the same may apply and be in effect with respect to any such city at the time when…

All laws and parts of laws relating to establishment or financing of an authority for fairgrounds, parks, exhibitions, and other facilities for the amusement, recreation, and cultural development of the citizens of the city, contained in the general or local laws of the state, as…

All ordinances and resolutions of the city in effect at the time the form of government herein provided for becomes effective shall continue in effect unless and until changed or repealed by the council. History: (Acts 1987, No. 87-102, p. 116, §84.)

Any merit system officer or employee to whom the mayor, or a head of any office, department, or agency, may appoint a successor, may be removed by the mayor or other appointing officer at any time, and the decision of the mayor, or other appointing officer, shall be subject to ap…

The mayor, the heads of all divisions and departments, and such other officers of the city as may be designated by the council, shall be entitled to attend meetings of the council, but shall have no vote therein. The mayor shall have the right to take part in the discussion of al…

Investigations as to Municipal Affairs; Subpoena Power. The council, or the mayor, shall have power to inquire into the conduct of any office, department, agency, or officer of the city and to make investigations as to municipal affairs, and for that purpose may subpoena witnesse…

Prohibited; Acceptance of Gifts, Etc.; Free Transportation of Officials, Policemen, and Firemen in Discharge of Duties. No elected official or city employee shall be interested, directly or indirectly, in any contract for work or material, or the profits thereof, or services to b…

Every officer of the city shall, before entering upon the duties of his office, take and subscribe to an oath or affirmation as provided by law, to be filed and kept in the office of the city clerk. History: (Acts 1987, No. 87-102, p. 116, §89.)

The mayor shall qualify and take office in the manner herein prescribed. The regular election for mayor shall be held quadrennially thereafter under the same rules and regulations and in the same mode and manner herein provided. The mayor elected at such regular election shall qu…

Whenever there shall be a change in the population in any of the five districts heretofore established following a decennial federal census beginning in 1990, there shall be a reapportionment of the council districts in the following manner: (1) The mayor shall within six months …

Council Form Prohibited for Four Years. The city is prohibited from changing from the mayor-council form of government within four years after the adoption thereof. At the end of such period, or at any time thereafter, the city’s form of government may be amended or changed when:…

Community; Participation in Contracts by Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Individuals; Capital Improvements to Be Based on Need and Fairly and Equitably Made; Allocation to Agencies Serving Poor and Needy. (a) Within 30 days of taking office, the officials of the city gove…

The governing body of any Class 5 municipality operating under a United States district court consent decree approved by the court in the case of Tolbert and Petty vs. the City of Bessemer, Civil Action No. 75-297, by a majority vote of the members thereof may adopt an ordinance …

Improvements. All contracts entered into by the municipality, or for its benefit, prior to the adoption by such municipality of the mayor-council form of government, shall continue in full force and effect. Public improvements for which legislative steps have been taken under law…

No action or proceeding, civil or criminal, pending at the time of the adoption of the mayor-council form of government, brought by or against the municipality or any office, department, board, or agency or officer thereof, shall be affected or abated by the adoption of the mayor…

Funds. All laws and parts of laws relating to pension, retirement, and relief funds for any employees of the municipality, as the same may apply and be in effect with respect to the municipality at the time when it shall elect to be governed by the provisions of this chapter, sha…

All laws relating to the school board, library board, airport authority, planning and zoning commission, zoning board of adjustment, park or recreation board, and any municipally owned service enterprise, and any board, authority, or agency given such independent status, as the s…

Council. (a) The mayor shall be the chief executive officer and shall have general supervision and control of all other officers, employees, and affairs of the city, which shall include the management of the public utilities, either owned and operated by the city or operated by p…

Neither the council nor any of its members shall direct or request the appointment of any person to, or his removal from, office or position by the mayor or by any of his subordinates, or in any manner take part in the appointment or removal of officers and employees in the admin…

Upon the request of the mayor, the council may establish not more than two positions of administrative assistants to the mayor and establish the salary for said positions. Once established, the mayor shall appoint a person or persons to hold said position or positions. These posi…

Compensation. The mayor, at least once a year, shall appoint a certified public accountant or the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts to conduct an examination in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards of all books and accounts of the city since the precedin…

The salary of the first mayor and council elected hereunder shall be established by the commission at least six months prior to the mayor and council taking office. Such salary, and the manner in which it is to be paid, shall be established by ordinance of the governing body. The…

The council shall elect one of its members to serve as president of the council. The president shall preside at meetings of the council and have a vote on all matters coming before the council. The council shall also elect a president pro tem, who shall act as president of the co…