A mayor and a nine-member City Council oversee Knoxville. It employs the mayor-council system with a strong mayor. Six members are elected from single-member districts, while three are elected at-large to represent the entire city. The deputy mayor (now Gwen McKenzie), the Beer Board chairperson (currently Andrew Roberto), and a delegate to the Knoxville Transportation Authority are all chosen from among the council’s members (currently Amelia Parker). The City Council meets every other Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. at the City County Building’s Main Assembly Room.

Indya Kincannon, the city’s second female mayor, was sworn in as the city’s second female mayor on December 21, 2019, after Madeline Rogero, who was elected in 2011. Following the departure of Bill Haslam, who was elected Governor of Tennessee, Interim Mayor Daniel Brown, the first African-American to hold the position, was appointed in January 2011. Haslam’s predecessor, Victor Ashe (1987–2003), Kyle Testerman (1972–1975, 1984–1987), and Randy Tyree (1976–1983) are among the most recent mayors.

Knoxville Police Department Headquarters

Within the municipal borders, the Knoxville Fire Department (KFD) offers Class 2 ISO service. With 308 uniformed members, the fire service maintains 19 stations. Within the municipal borders, the KFD performs firefighting, first responder EMS, vehicle extrication, and HazMat response.
With 378 officers and 530 workers, the Knoxville Police Department serves the inhabitants of Knoxville.
AMR Ambulance is contracted by Knox County to provide 911 ambulance service inside Knoxville.
The East Tennessee Supreme Court’s courthouse is located in Knoxville.

City Council

Knoxville is controlled by a mayor and a nine-member City Council, with six members representing single-member districts and three at-large members. Members of the City Council are elected in a nonpartisan, district-wide primary in which the top two vote-getters progress to a November city-wide runoff election. Members of the council are elected for a four-year term and are allowed to run for reelection once.