The City of Jasper has a mayor-council form of government. The council is the local legislative body upon which rests the responsibility of determining the policies to be followed in the administration of the municipal government. In almost every instance where state law grants authority to cities and towns under the mayor-council form of government, such authority must be exercised through the council. The council is the ultimate source of power in the mayor-council city or town, and in its exercise of this power, the council determines the extent to which the governmental and corporate functions of the municipality are exercised.
Councilmembers must be qualified electors of the municipality at the same time of their election and remain qualified electors throughout their terms of office. They must be residents of the municipality and of the district from which they are elected, and they must remain residents of the municipality and of the district from which they were elected throughout their terms of office.
Jasper is a Class 7 municipality (cities of not less than 6,000 and not more than 11,999 inhabitants), and the authority and power of the mayor and council are dictated by state law in the sections of Chapter 11, of the Code of Alabama which applies to Class 7 municipalities. Despite Jasper's population exceeding 14,000, the class of a municipality will not change if its population increases or decreases since the population figures refer to the 1970 federal census. (Sections 11-40-12 and 11-40-13 of the Code of Alabama, established the eight classes of municipalities based on the populations in the 1970 federal decennial census.)
All council meetings are held at the Jasper City Hall Council Chambers, 400 West 19th Street, Jasper, AL, on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 10:00 a.m. unless notice of change is given.