§ 1.12. Powers and construction.

(a)

This city shall have all powers possible for a city to have under the present or future Constitution and laws of this state as fully and completely as though they were specifically enumerated in this charter. This city shall have all the powers of self-government not otherwise prohibited by this charter or by general law.

(b)

The powers of this city shall be construed liberally in favor of the city. The specific mention or failure to mention particular powers shall not be construed as limiting in any way the powers of this city. These powers shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

(1)

Air and water pollution. To regulate the emission of smoke or other exhaust which pollutes the air and to prevent the pollution of natural streams or bodies of water within the corporate limits of the city;

(2)

Animal regulations. To regulate and license or to prohibit the keeping or running at-large of animals and fowl and to provide for the impoundment of same if in violation of any ordinance or lawful order; to provide for the disposition by sale, gift, or humane destruction of animals and fowl when not redeemed as provided by ordinance; and to provide punishment for violation of ordinances enacted hereunder;

(3)

Appropriations and expenditures. To make appropriations for the support of the government of the city; to authorize the expenditure of money for any purposes authorized by this charter and for any purpose for which a municipality is authorized by the laws of the State of Georgia; and to provide for the payment of expenses of the city;

(4)

Building regulation. To regulate and to license the erection and construction of buildings and all other structures; to adopt building, housing, plumbing, electrical, gas, fire, and heating and air condition codes; and to regulate all housing and building trades;

(5)

Business regulation and taxation. To levy and to provide for collection of license fees and taxes on privileges, occupations, trades, and professions; to license and regulate the same; to provide for the manner and method of payment of such licenses and taxes; and to revoke such licenses after due process for failure to pay any city taxes or fees;

(6)

Condemnation. To condemn property, inside or outside the corporate limits of the city, for present or future use and for any corporate purpose deemed necessary by the governing authority, utilizing procedures enumerated in O.C.G.A., tit. 22 (O.C.G.A. § 22-1-1 et seq.), or such other applicable laws as are or may hereafter be enacted;

(7)

Contracts. To enter into contracts and agreements with other governmental entities and with private persons, firms, and corporations;

(8)

Emergencies. To establish procedures for determining and proclaiming that an emergency situation exists inside or outside the city and to make and carry out all reasonable provisions deemed necessary to deal with or meet such an emergency for the protection, safety, health, or well-being of the citizens of the city;

(9)

Fire regulations. To fix and establish fire districts and from time to time to extend, enlarge, or restrict the same; to prescribe fire safety regulations not inconsistent with general law, relating to both fire prevention and detection and to firefighting; and to prescribe penalties and punishment for violations thereof;

(10)

Garbage fees. To levy, fix, assess, and collect a garbage, refuse, and trash collection and disposal, and other sanitary service charge, tax, or fee for such services as may be necessary in the operation of the city, from all individuals, firms, and corporations residing in or doing business therein benefiting from such services; to enforce the payment of such charges, taxes, or fees; and to provide for the manner and method of collecting such service charges;

(11)

General health, safety, and welfare. To define, regulate, and prohibit any act, practice, conduct, or use of property which is detrimental to health, sanitation, cleanliness, welfare, and safety of the inhabitants of the city and to provide for the enforcement of such standards;

(12)

Gifts. To accept or refuse gifts, donations, bequests, or grants from any source for any purpose related to powers and duties of the city and the general welfare of its citizens, on such terms and conditions as the donor or grantor may impose;

(13)

Health and sanitation. To prescribe standards of health and sanitation and to provide for the enforcement of such standards;

(14)

Jail sentences. To provide that persons given jail sentences in the municipal court may work out such sentences in any public works or on the streets, roads, drains, squares, or other public property in the city, to provide for commitment of such persons to any jail, or to provide for commitment of such persons to any county work camp or county jail by agreement with the appropriate county officials;

(15)

Motor vehicles. To regulate the operation of motor vehicles and exercise control over all traffic, including parking upon or across the streets, roads, alleys, and walkways of the city;

(16)

Municipal agencies and delegation of power. To create, alter, or abolish departments, boards, offices, commissions, and agencies of the city, and to confer upon such agencies the necessary and appropriate authority for carrying out all the powers conferred upon or delegated to the same;

(17)

Municipal debts. To appropriate and borrow money for the payment of debts of the city and to issue bonds for the purpose of raising revenue to carry out any project, program, or venture authorized by this charter or the laws of the State of Georgia;

(18)

Municipal property ownership. To acquire, dispose of, and hold in trust or otherwise any real, personal, or mixed property, in fee simple or lesser interest, inside or outside the property limits of the city;

(19)

Municipal property protection. To provide for the preservation and protection of property and equipment of the city and the administration and use of same by the public; and to prescribe penalties and punishment for violations thereof;

(20)

Municipal utilities. To acquire, lease, construct, operate, maintain, sell, and dispose of public utilities, including but not limited to a system of waterworks, sewers and drains, sewage disposal, gas works, electric light plants, transportation facilities, public airports, and any other public utility; and to fix the taxes, charges, rates, fares, fees, assessments, regulations, and penalties and to provide for the withdrawal of service for refusal or failure to pay the same; and to authorize the extension of water, sewerage, cable television, and electrical distribution systems, and all necessary appurtenances by which such utilities are distributed, inside and outside the corporate limits of the city as provided by ordinance;

(21)

Nuisance. To define a nuisance and provide for its abatement whether on public or private property;

(22)

Ordinances, rules, and regulations. To make, establish, and adopt such bylaws, ordinances, policies, and rules and regulations as shall appear necessary for the security, welfare, convenience, and interest of the city and the inhabitants thereof and for preserving the health, peace, order, and good government of the city;

(23)

Penalties. To provide penalties for violation of any ordinances adopted pursuant to the authority of this charter and the laws of the State of Georgia;

(24)

Planning and zoning. To provide comprehensive city planning for development by zoning; and to provide subdivision regulation and the like as the board of commissioners deems necessary and reasonable to ensure a safe, healthy, and aesthetically pleasing community;

(25)

Police and fire protection. To exercise the power of arrest through duly appointed police officers and to establish, operate, or contract for a police and a firefighting agency;

(26)

Public hazards: removal. To provide for the destruction and removal of any building or other structure which is or may become dangerous or detrimental to the public;

(27)

Public improvements. To provide for the acquisition, construction, building, operation, and maintenance of public ways, parks and playgrounds, recreational facilities, cemeteries, markets and market houses, public buildings, libraries, public housing, airports, hospitals, terminals, docks, parking facilities, or charitable, cultural, educational, recreational, conservation, sport, curative, corrective, detentional, penal, and medical institutions, agencies, and facilities; and to provide any other public improvements, inside or outside the corporate limits of the city; to regulate the use of public improvements; and for such purposes, property may be acquired by condemnation under O.C.G.A. tit 22 (O.C.G.A. § 22-1-1 et seq.) or such other applicable laws as are or may hereafter be enacted;

(28)

Public peace. To provide for the prevention and punishment of drunkenness, riots, and public disturbances;

(29)

Public transportation. To organize and operate such public transportation systems as are deemed beneficial;

(30)

Public utilities and services. To grant franchises or make contracts for public utilities and public services; and to prescribe the rates, fares, regulations, standards, and conditions of service applicable to the service to be provided by the franchise grantee or contractor, insofar as not in conflict with valid regulations of the Georgia Public Service Commission;

(31)

Regulation of roadside areas. To prohibit or regulate and control the erection, removal, and maintenance of signs, billboards, trees, shrubs, fences, buildings, and any and all other structures or obstructions upon or adjacent to the rights-of-way of streets and roads or within view thereof, within or abutting the corporate limits of the city; and to prescribe penalties and punishment for violation of such ordinances;

(32)

Retirement. To provide and maintain a retirement plan for officers and employees of the city;

(33)

Roadways. To lay out, open, extend, widen, narrow, establish or change the grade of, abandon or close, construct, pave, curb, gutter, adorn with shade trees, or otherwise improve, maintain, repair, clean, prevent erosion of, and light the roads, alleys, and walkways within the corporate limits of the city; and to negotiate and execute leases over, through, under or across any city property or the right-of-way of any street, road, alley, and walkway or portion thereof within the corporate limits of the city, for bridges, passageways, or any other purpose or use between buildings on opposite sides of the street and for other bridges, overpasses, and underpasses for private use at such location, and to charge a rental therefor in such manner as may be provided by ordinance; and to authorize and control the construction of bridges, overpasses, and underpasses within the corporate limits of the city; and to grant franchises and rights-of-way throughout the streets and roads and over the bridges and viaducts for the use of public utilities and for private use; and to require real estate owners to repair and maintain in a safe condition the sidewalks adjoining their lots or lands and to impose penalties for failure to do so;

(34)

Sewer fees. To levy a fee, charge, or sewer tax as necessary to assure the acquiring, constructing, equipping, operating, maintaining, and extending of a sewage disposal plant and sewerage system and to levy on those to whom sewers and sewerage systems are made available a sewer service fee, charge, or sewer tax for the availability or use of the sewers; to provide for manner and method of collecting such service charges and for enforcing payment of the same; and to charge, impose, and collect a sewer connection fee or fees to those connected with the system;

(35)

Solid waste disposal. To provide for the collection and disposal of garbage, rubbish, and refuse and to regulate the collection and disposal of garbage, rubbish, and refuse by others;

(36)

Special areas of public regulation. To regulate or prohibit junk dealers, pawnshops, the manufacture, sale, or transportation of any intoxicating liquors, and the use and sale of firearms; to regulate the transportation, storage, and use of combustible, explosive, and inflammable materials, the use of lighting and heating equipment, and any other business or situation which may be dangerous to persons or property; to regulate and control the conduct of peddlers and itinerant traders, theatrical performances, exhibitions, and shows of any kind, by taxation or otherwise; and to license, tax, regulate, or prohibit professional fortunetelling, palmistry, adult bookstores, and massage parlors;

(37)

Special assessments. To levy and provide for the collection of special assessments to cover the costs for any public improvements;

(38)

Taxes: ad valorem. To levy and provide for assessment, valuation, revaluation, and collection of taxes on all property subject to taxation;

(39)

Taxes: other. To levy and collect such other taxes as may be allowed now or in the future by law;

(40)

Taxicabs. To regulate and license vehicles operated for hire in the city; to limit the number of such vehicles; to require the operators thereof to be licensed; to require public liability insurance on such vehicles in the amounts to be prescribed by ordinance; and to regulate the parking of such vehicles;

(41)

Urban redevelopment. To organize and operate an urban redevelopment program;

(42)

Other powers. To exercise and enjoy all other powers, functions, rights, privileges, and immunities necessary or desirable to promote or protect the safety, health, peace, security, good order, comfort, convenience, or general welfare of the city and its inhabitants; and to exercise all implied powers necessary to execute all powers granted in this charter as fully and completely as if such powers were fully stated herein; and to exercise all powers now or in the future authorized to be exercised by other municipal governments under other laws of the State of Georgia; and no listing of particular powers in this charter shall be held to be exclusive of others, nor restrictive of general words and phrases granting powers, but shall be held to be in addition to such powers unless expressly prohibited to municipalities under the Constitution or applicable laws of the State of Georgia.

State law reference

Home rule powers, Ga. Const. art. IX, § II, ¶¶ II, III.