Tuscaloosa, Alabama - Government

Government

Tuscaloosa has a strong-mayor variant mayor-council form of government, led by a mayor and a seven-member city council. The mayor and council members are elected concurrently for four-year terms. The mayor is elected by the city at-large while council members are elected to single-member districts. Neither the mayor nor the members of the city council is term-limited. All elected offices are nonpartisan. Elections take place on the fourth Tuesday of August in years following presidential election years, with run-off elections taking place six weeks later if necessary. Terms begin immediately after election. The most recent municipal elections were held in 2009.

The mayor is the chief executive and administrative officer of the city. His main duty is to oversee the day-to-day operation of city departments pursuant to executing policy enacted by the city council or, in the absence of any council policy, his own discretion. His other duties include preparing an operating budget each year for approval by the city council and acting as ambassador of the city. The mayor also presides over city council meetings but votes only in case of ties. The current Mayor of Tuscaloosa is Walter Maddox, who was elected to office in September 2005. Prior to Maddox, Alvin A. DuPont had served as mayor for 24 years.

The city council act as the legislative body of the city. It is powered by state law to consider policy and enact law and to make appoints to city boards. The council also considers the budget proposed by the mayor for approval. The majority of work in the council is done by committee. These committees usually consisting three council members, one of whom will be chairman, and relevant non-voting city employees.

Tuscaloosa, as the largest county seat in western Alabama, serves a hub of state and federal government agencies. In addition to the customary offices associated with the county courthouse, namely two District Court Judges, six Circuit Court Judges, the District Attorney and the Public Defender, several Alabama state government agencies have regional offices in Tuscaloosa, such as the Alabama Department of Transportation and the Alabama State Troopers (the state police).

Tuscaloosa is in the federal jurisdiction of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. There is a courthouse in Tuscaloosa simply called the Federal Courthouse. Several federal agencies operate bureaus out of the courthouse.

Federally, Tuscaloosa is split between the 6th and 7th Congressional Districts, which are represented by Spencer Bachus (R) and Terri Sewell (D), respectively. In addition, Alabama's senior senator, Richard Shelby (R), is a resident of Tuscaloosa. Starting in 2013, the part of Tuscaloosa in the 6th Congressional District will shift to the 4th Congressional District, which is currently represented by Robert Aderholt (R).

On the state level, the city is split among the 5th, 21st, and 24th Senate districts and 62nd, 63rd, and 70th House districts in the Alabama State Legislature.

In December 2009, construction on the new federal courthouse of Tuscaloosa began. The $67 million building was the centerpiece of a major downtown urban renewal project. According to information released by the General Services Administration, the building will be 129,000 square feet (12,000 m2) with parking. It will house the U.S. District Court, U.S. Bankruptcy Court and Social Security Administration office.

The Northern District of Alabama has only one facility suitable for holding a major criminal trial in Huntsville. However, Huntsville's lacks the facilities for safely moving criminal suspects in and out of the building safely. Tuscaloosa's new federal courthouse will anchor the federal structure for the whole Northern District of Alabama.