New Northport Council Votes to Move Interim City Administrator Tera Tubbs to Full-Time Role

Newly elected officials in Northport made their first significant leadership move on Monday, naming interim city administrator Tera Tubbs to the full-time role.

The high-stress position involves running the day-to-day operations of the city of Northport. By law, the mayor of Northport is a part-time position, and day-to-day municipal operations are overseen by the City Administrator, who works with department heads to implement the will of the five-member City Council. The administrator also serves as city clerk and treasurer.

Tubbs has been fulfilling the duties of the role since the retirement of Glenda Webb, who officially retired on October 1st after serving as city administrator since March 2021.

Webb was the first woman to serve in the role and was a stabilizing force after frequent turnover and some controversy in the years preceding her hire.

Both women were hired away from positions at Tuscaloosa City Hall in 2021. Webb was Tuscaloosa's City Attorney, and Tubbs was the director of Infrastructure and Public Services before they crossed the river to take on leadership roles in Northport.

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In the wake of Webb's retirement, Tubbs will leave her role as Northport's city engineer to assume the position of city administrator full-time.

Before she was the IPS Director in Tuscaloosa, Tubbs served as the director of the Tuscaloosa Department of Transportation for about a decade. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from the University of Alabama.

The newly inaugurated Northport City Council held its first full meeting on Monday, and its two returning incumbents and three newly elected council representatives voted to hire Tubbs.

The vote passed unanimously, with all five council members voting in favor of the hire.

"I've worked with Ms. Tubbs for five years, and while we may not always see eye to eye, she always tells me what the truth is," Council President Dykes said. "She never sugar coats anything, even if I don't like it."

Now, Councilors Jaime Conger and Danny Higdon will negotiate a contract with Tubbs, as the role is no longer a Civil Service position, as it was until Webb was hired.

For more coverage of news in Northport and across West Alabama, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.