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Mayor says Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts will stay open; proposes city-appointed board after lawsuit
Summary
The mayor told reporters the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts is not closing and that the city will move to a legally compliant governance model after being named in a lawsuit; the city council will consider an ordinance to reestablish a city‑appointed museum board.
The Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts will remain open, and the city is proposing a new city‑appointed governance structure after the museum and its management raised legal concerns, Mayor, Montgomery City, said at a press conference.
The mayor said the museum occupies city‑owned land and a city‑owned building but for years was managed under arrangements that now may conflict with Section 94 of the Alabama Constitution. “The museum is not closing,” the mayor said. “The city is not looking to take over, the Montgomery Museum. We’re preserving and strengthening this institution for future generations.”
City officials say a lawsuit naming the city revealed risks in existing memorandums of understanding and contracting practices that lacked clear public oversight. The mayor said insurance and contract language created complications because contracts and an insurance policy in question referenced the museum association rather than the city. That discrepancy, he said, highlighted the need to align governance with current state law.
Under the proposal the mayor described, the city council would consider an ordinance to reestablish a 15‑member city‑appointed museum board; the draft the mayor described would reserve six seats for members recommended by the museum association while making the museum director a city employee accountable to the board. The mayor said the association would remain a supporting partner responsible for fundraising, events, and advisory work, not for day‑to‑day governance.
The mayor framed the changes as corrective and protective: to reduce legal risk, clarify employee reporting and contracts, and ensure the city can accept and manage donated art in a standard public‑museum model. He said the city attorney and city council leadership are working with his office to craft the ordinance and that officials welcome public input as the process moves forward. “Montgomery deserves a museum that’s legally sound, publicly accountable, and built for sustainability,” he said.
No formal council vote or board appointment had been reported at the press conference. The mayor said the city was acting after being named in litigation and reviewing long‑standing agreements; he urged patience as officials update governance to comply with state law.
More detailed steps — including the exact ordinance language, schedule for council consideration, and whether the museum association will formally accept the new role — were not specified at the press conference.
