Measure on Midterm Ballots Would Make Tuscaloosa Mayor Eligible for Coveted State Retirement
Tuscaloosa County voters are deciding whether to let the city's mayor enroll in Alabama's state pension system, a question that has been on absentee ballots since September 9 and reaches the polls November 3.
The proposed constitutional amendment would allow "full-time" mayors of municipalities in Tuscaloosa County to participate in the Employees' Retirement System of Alabama "under the same terms and conditions as other employees in the same retirement system."
Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox is the county's only full-time mayor, making him the sole official the measure would affect. Northport Mayor Dale Phillips and Brookwood Mayor Joe Barger, for two examples, are considered part-time mayors and would not be impacted.
State Rep. Bryan Brinyark, a Republican who represents House District 16, pre-filed the measure in December 2025. It became Act 2026-377 in April after passing both chambers of the Legislature without a single vote against it.
The consideration comes after Maddox led the effort to move all the city's police and firefighters from an outdated pension plan into the RSA - a years long and extremely expensive proposal that officially went into effect last week when Fiscal Year 2027 began on October 1st.
The proposal to make the mayor RSA-eligible is similar to a measure adopted by voters in 2004 which made all county officials, like the district attorney and all county commissioners - eligible for RSA. Voters adopted the measure after the Legislature pushed through bill that began as House Bill 514 and was signed as Alabama Act 2003-120.
Buying Back the Years
The amendment contains a provision allowing any mayor in office when it is ratified to purchase service credit in the retirement system for time already served in the current office. Maddox has been mayor of Tuscaloosa since 2005, meaning ratification would open the door to credit for roughly two decades of service.
The act also bars anyone from drawing on both a supernumerary program and the Employees' Retirement System based on the same years of service. Supernumerary programs are older pension arrangements that cover certain local officials in Alabama and operate separately from the state retirement system.
The act does not say who would pay the cost of purchased service credit or what the city's share of ongoing contributions would be.
Passed by Request
The measure drew no recorded opposition in Montgomery. The House passed it 61-0 on January 22, and the Senate followed 29-0 on April 8. Both chambers also adopted the local certification resolutions required of county legislation.
Legislators on both sides of the aisle, including Republican Ron Bolton and Democrat Curtis Travis, said they have gotten questions about the measure as some constituents are seeing it on absentee ballots and told the Thread that they passed it in Montgomery after City Hall asked.
“Like the previous bill on the Public Safety Director’s overtime, we carried this bill at the request of the city," State Rep. Ron Bolton told the Thread. "It is a public referendum applicable only to Tuscaloosa County and currently only covers the Tuscaloosa Mayor's position, since our other cities and towns don’t have full-time Mayors.”
Because it amends the Constitution of Alabama of 2022, the measure cannot take effect on legislative approval alone. It becomes part of the constitution only if a majority of Tuscaloosa County voters who cast a ballot on the question approve it.
Travis told the Thread he wants voters to know where the measure came from, and that legislators voting to put the matter on the ballot in November were not necessarily in favor of the proposal, but rather were OK with leaving it up to local voters.
The ballot language assigned by the act reads that the amendment would "authorize the full-time mayors of municipalities in the county to participate in the Employees' Retirement System of Alabama under the same terms and conditions as other employees in the same retirement system," followed by a yes-or-no choice.
"If the constitutional amendment is approved by voters, Mayor Maddox would join all other full‑time elected officials (Judges, Probate Judge, Sheriff, Circuit Clerk, Tax Assessor, and Tax Collector) as well as the County Commission in participating in state retirement," a spokesperson for City Hall told the Thread Wednesday. "Under the amendment, RSA would replace the Mayor’s current 403(b) plan, to which the City contributes. Mayor Maddox would be solely responsible for purchasing any eligible years of prior service, and the City would not contribute toward that buyback. Mayor Maddox chose not to seek enrollment in the state pension system until every City employee was eligible for RSA. That milestone occurred on October 1, when all public safety employees became eligible."
Dates and Deadlines
Absentee voting for the general election opened Wednesday, September 9, meaning those Tuscaloosa County residents who have already requested and returned a ballot have voted on this amendment. Here is the rest of the calendar:
Monday, October 19: Deadline to register to vote.
Tuesday, October 27: Last day to apply for an absentee ballot by mail.
Thursday, October 29: Last day to apply for an absentee ballot in person.
Monday, November 2: Last day for voters to hand deliver an absentee ballot.
Tuesday, November 3 at noon: Deadline for absentee ballots returned by mail to be received.
Tuesday, November 3: General Election Day.
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