Mayor says state code allows assignment of Dr. Rush to government relations role; move tied to budget changes

The mayor of Tuscaloosa said he will assign Dr. Rush, the city’s executive director of strategic communications, to handle government relations, external affairs and crisis communications and cited state authority for the move.

The mayor told the City Council the authority for such assignments “is derived from Alabama code 11 dash 44 b dash 7 in parenthesis 1,” and that the assignment is lawful so long as duties fall within an employee’s existing job description and funding is budgeted. He said the Fiscal 2026 budget recommendation would remove the deputy director of strategic communications and the executive secretary positions, producing a net perpetual savings of $44,000 if the council agrees to those budget changes.

Why it matters: the mayor said putting a point person on legislative issues is meant to address what he described as the city’s largest…