Title 11

All municipalities in the State of Alabama, whether now or hereafter operating under a municipal government consisting of a mayor and aldermen or of a commission, are hereby authorized at their discretion to employ a city manager with the authority, duties, and liabilities descri…

(a) A city manager employed under the provisions of this article shall have the authority and be charged with the duties, liabilities, and penalties and shall hold office and receive compensation as set forth in this section: The city manager shall be the administrative head of t…

This article shall be supplementary to other statutes relating to municipal government in Alabama and shall be cumulative, and the provisions of this article shall not be mandatory as to any municipality coming within its scope unless affirmative action to exercise the authoritie…

Any person holding an office or position in the civil service of the municipality under any civil service law or merit system applicable to the municipality when the council-manager form of government under this article shall be made effective shall continue to hold such office i…

If the powers and duties of any office, department, board, or agency of the municipality are by this article assigned to another office, department, board, or agency, then all records, property, and equipment relating exclusively thereto shall be transferred and delivered to the …

Any office, department, board, or agency provided for in this article with a name or with powers and duties which are the same or substantially the same as those of any office, department, board, or agency heretofore existing shall continue to exercise its powers and duties, unle…

All contracts and other obligations entered into by the municipality, or for its benefit, prior to the adoption by the municipality of the council-manager form of government under this article shall continue in full force and effect. Public improvements for which legislative step…

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

All laws relating to any school board, library board, hospital board, airport board, housing authority, plumbers or electricians board, planning board or commission, zoning board, board of adjustment, park or recreation board, industrial development board, medical clinic board, u…

All ordinances and resolutions of the municipality in effect at the time of the adoption of the council-manager form of government under this article shall continue in effect unless and until changed or repealed by the council. (Acts 1991, No. 91-545, p. 973, §37.)

No person shall be appointed to or removed from, or in any way favored or discriminated against with respect to, any municipal position or appointed municipal administrative office because of race, sex, political or religious opinions or affiliations. (Acts 1991, No. 91-545, p. 9…

The city manager, the directors of all departments, and such other officers of the municipality as may be designated by the council shall be entitled to attend meetings of the council, but they shall have no vote thereon. The city manager shall have the right to take part in the …

The council and the city manager, or any person or committee authorized by either of them, shall have the power to inquire into the conduct of any office, department, board, commission, agency, or officer of the municipality. Either of them may make investigations of municipal af…

No contract involving the payment of money out of the appropriation of more than one year shall be made for a period of more than five years, nor shall any such contract be valid unless made or approved by ordinance and signed in the name of the municipality by the mayor and coun…

The city manager, and other officers or employees whom the council may by ordinance require, shall give bond in such amount, for such matters and with such surety as may be approved by the council. The premiums on such bonds shall be paid by the municipality. (Acts 1991, No. 91-5…

The mayor and every councilman, officer, and employee of the municipality shall, before entering upon the duties of his office, take and subscribe to the following oath or affirmation, to be filed and kept in the office of the clerk: “I solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am eligib…

Between October 1, 1991, and March 31, 1992, any municipality adopting the council-manager form of government under this article, regardless of which effective date is chosen in the ordinance referenced in Section 11-43A-70, shall conduct a referendum for the purpose of determini…

At such referendum, the proposition to be submitted shall be printed in plain prominent type on ballots separate and distinct from ballots used for any other office or question and shall read as follows: “Check one of the following: ”(1) The City of _______ shall adopt and operat…

If the majority of votes are in favor of the council-manager form of government, then the council-manager form of government under this article shall, without further action, be adopted (or continued, if then currently in effect) by the municipality on the first Monday in October…

All laws and parts of laws, general, local, or special, relating to or affecting such municipality, its powers, functions, duties, corporate limits, or property, which are in force when this article shall take effect are hereby continued in effect; but all laws and parts of laws …

Within three months of the approval of this article by the Governor, the governing body of any Class 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 municipality in the State of Alabama operating under a council-manager or under a mayor-council-city manager form of government may, by a majority vote of t…

When such an ordinance is adopted within the time period specified in Section 11-43A-70, the council-manager form of government under this article shall become effective for such municipality either (i) immediately upon receipt of preclearance of such ordinance by the United Stat…

The form of government of any municipality proceeding under this article shall be known as the “council-manager form of government.” Pursuant to the provisions and limitations of this article, and subject to the limitations imposed by the constitution and laws of Alabama, all pow…

Any municipality which adopts the council-manager form of government under this article shall continue its existence as a body corporate without change in the municipal corporation. The word “municipality” as herein used shall mean and refer to any municipal corporation which ele…

The municipality shall have all the powers granted to municipal corporations by the constitution and the laws of this state together with all the implied powers necessary to carry into execution all the powers granted. The municipality may acquire property within or without its c…

The mayor and council members, and all officers of the council, who are holding office on the date of the preclearance by the United States Department of Justice of the ordinance referenced in Section 11-43A-70 shall continue in office until the expiration of their current terms,…

The council shall consist of seven council members who shall be elected by single-member districts. There shall be one mayor, and he shall be elected at large. An election for mayor and members of the council shall be held at the next regularly scheduled municipal election after …

The seven council districts shall have, as nearly as is reasonable, the same population according to the last federal decennial census. The designation and boundaries of the districts shall be specifically described and set forth. With respect to municipalities already having sev…

With respect to municipal elections, each candidate shall announce that he is to become a candidate for either mayor or for councilman of District 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or 7. A candidate may not run for both mayor and councilman in the same election. A candidate for mayor shall have …

The mayor and councilmen shall receive as compensation for their services the respective sums established by the council by ordinance at least six months prior to the date of their election. (Acts 1991, No. 91-545, p. 973, §10.)

Any person desiring to become a candidate at any election for the office of mayor or councilman may become a candidate by filing a statement of candidacy as required and authorized by the applicable general municipal election laws. The candidate shall state the office to which he…

At every such election all ballots to be used by the voters shall be printed and prepared by the municipality and shall contain the names of all candidates seeking election to the office of mayor and to the office of councilman for each of the seven council districts. The ballot …

The mayor shall preside at the meetings of the council and shall be recognized as the head of the municipal government for all ceremonial purposes. The mayor shall have the power to veto all ordinances and resolutions of a general and permanent nature, but shall otherwise have no…

The council shall be the governing body of the municipality and shall exercise all legislative functions of the municipality. All powers of the municipality, including all powers vested by this article, by the constitution and by the general and local laws of this state, and the …

(a) The council, by a majority vote of the whole qualified membership of the council, shall appoint a city manager who shall be an officer of the city and shall have the powers to perform the duties provided in this article. No councilman shall receive such appointment during the…

(a) The city manager shall be chosen by the council solely on the basis of his executive and administrative qualifications with special reference to his actual experience in, or his knowledge of, accepted practice with respect to the duties of his office as hereinafter set forth.…

If the clerk of any municipality which adopts the council-manager form of government under this article holds office subject to any civil service law or merit system, such clerk shall continue to be the clerk under the council-manager form of government hereunder, and his success…

The council shall meet regularly at such times as may be prescribed by its rules, but not less frequently than twice each month. All meetings of the council shall be open to the public to the extent required by law. (Acts 1991, No. 91-545, p. 973, §18.)

The council shall be the judge of the election and qualifications of its members and, for the purpose of investigating such election and qualifications, shall have the power to subpoena witnesses and to require the production of records, but the decision of the council in any suc…

The council shall determine its own rules and order of business, and such rules shall be established by ordinance. (Acts 1991, No. 91-545, p. 973, §20.)

The council shall hold regular public meetings as may be prescribed by its own rules, provided that a regular hour and day shall be fixed by the order of the council and publicly announced. It may also hold adjourned, called, special, or other meetings as the business of the muni…

No ordinance granting to any person, firm, or corporation any franchise, lease, or right to use the streets, public highways, thoroughfares, or public property of the municipality shall take effect or be enforced until 30 days after final enactment of same by the council and publ…

The council may provide for the codification of its ordinances and permanent resolutions and any revisions thereof. (Acts 1991, No. 91-545, p. 973, §23.)

The city manager shall each month make available to the council a detailed statement of all receipts and expenses of the municipality, and the council shall make available to the city manager a summary of its proceedings during the preceding month and at the end of each year. At …

(a) The fiscal year of the municipality shall begin on the first day of each October in each year and shall end on the last day of September. Such fiscal year shall also constitute the budget and accounting year. As used in this article, the term “budget year” shall mean the fisc…

(a) The council may establish, by ordinance, the office of municipal treasurer and shall assign to such office the duties and responsibilities which it deems necessary. The treasurer shall be the custodian of the funds of the municipality, shall keep an accurate record of the fun…