§ 1.12. Municipal powers.

(a)

The 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. The city shall have all the powers of self-government not otherwise prohibited by this Charter or by general law.

(b)

The powers of the 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 the city. Such powers shall include, but are not limited to, the following, and also include the power to provide punishment for violation of ordinances enacted under this subsection:

(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 which flow 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 their impoundment if in violation of any ordinance or lawful order, and to provide for the disposition by sale, gift, or humane destruction of animals and fowl when not redeemed as provided by ordinance;

(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 this city. Such appropriations and expenditures shall not exceed the annual income and other money of the city after paying interest on bonds and providing a sinking fund for the final payment on the principal of such bonds;

(4)

Building regulations. To regulate and to license the erection and construction of buildings and all other structures as provided by law and this Charter, and to regulate all housing and building trades except as prohibited by general law;

(5)

Business regulation and taxation. To regulate, license, levy, and provide for the collection of regulatory fees, occupation taxes, and license fees and taxes on privileges, occupations, trades, and professions as provided by this Charter or by general state law;

(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, or such other laws as are or may hereafter be enacted;

(7)

Contracts. To enter into contracts and agreements with other governments and/or 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 inhabitants of the city;

(9)

Fire regulations. To fix and establish fire limits and from time to time extend, enlarge, or restrict such limits; 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 collection and 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; to levy, fix, assess, and collect a garbage, rubbish, refuse 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 within the city and 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, taxes or fees;

(11)

General health, safety and welfare. To define, regulate, or prohibit any act, practice, conduct, or use of property which is detrimental to the health, sanitation, cleanliness, welfare or 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 the powers and duties of the city and the general welfare of its inhabitants on such terms and conditions as the donor or grantor may impose;

(13)

Health and sanitation. To prescribe standards of health and sanitation within the city 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, and other public property in the city; to provide for the commitment of such persons to any jail; to provide for the use of pretrial diversion and any alternative sentencing allowed by law; and to provide for the commitment of such persons to any county correctional institutions or county jail or county detention center 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 in accordance with general state law and any duly authorized ordinance of the city;

(16)

Municipal agencies and delegation of power. To create, alter, or abolish departments, boards, offices, commissions, and other 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 them, including, but not limited to, a municipal planning board and board of adjustment;

(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. The city commission shall set aside annually a sum sufficient as a sinking fund to retire any bonded indebtedness of the city as it becomes due;

(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 corporate 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 such property and equipment by the public;

(20)

Municipal utilities. To acquire, lease, construct, operate, maintain, sell, or otherwise dispose of public utilities, including, but not limited to, a system of waterworks, sewers and drains, wastewater and sewage treatment and disposal, gas works, electric plants, transportation facilities, public airports, telecommunications systems, and any other public utility; to fix the taxes, charges, rates, fares, fees, assessments, regulations, and penalties therefor; to provide for the withdrawal of service for failure to pay the same; to authorize the extension of water, sewerage, electrical distribution systems, and other utility services, and all necessary appurtenances by which such utilities are distributed, inside and outside the corporate limits of the city; and to provide utility services to persons, firms, and corporations inside and outside the corporate limits of the city. The city commission may fix a higher rate for public utility services furnished by the city to any person, firm, or corporation residing or located outside the corporate limits of the city. All fire hydrants connected to city water mains and used by any person, firm, or corporation outside the corporate limits of the city shall be paid for at a rate to be prescribed by the city commission;

(21)

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

(22)

Penalties. To provide penalties for violations of any ordinances adopted pursuant to the authority of this Charter and the laws of the State of Georgia. Such penalties shall not exceed the maximum as provided by state law or as provided in the respective ordinance, if applicable;

(23)

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

(24)

Fire, police protection, and code enforcement. To exercise the power of arrest through duly appointed police officers; to establish, operate, or contract for a police agency; to establish, operate, or contract for a firefighting agency; to establish, operate, or contract for a city marshal, if necessary, to enforce the code of ordinances of the city;

(25)

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;

(26)

Public improvements. To provide for the acquisition, construction, building, operation, and maintenance of public ways, parks, playgrounds, recreational facilities, cemeteries, markets, 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; 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, or such other applicable laws as are or may hereafter be enacted;

(27)

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

(28)

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

(29)

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

(30)

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, inside or abutting the corporate limits of the city;

(31)

Retirement. To allow, provide, and maintain a retirement plan and other employee benefit plans and programs for officers and employees of the city when deemed necessary;

(32)

Roadways. To lay out, open, extend, widen, narrow, establish, 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, or 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; 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 as provided in this Charter or by law;

(33)

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

(34)

Special areas of public regulation. To license, tax, regulate, prohibit, or control by taxing or otherwise: junk dealers; pawnshops, including title pawn businesses; internet/sweepstakes cafes; the sale, manufacture, or transportation of alcoholic beverages and/or intoxicating liquors; the use and sale of firearms; the transportation, storage, and use of combustible, explosive, and inflammable materials; the use of lighting and heating equipment; any business or situation which may be dangerous to persons or property; the conduct of peddlers and itinerant traders; theatrical performances, exhibitions, and shows of any kind; professional fortunetelling; palmistry; adult entertainment, adult bookstores, and adult movie houses; massage parlors; and tattoo parlors;

(35)

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

(36)

Taxation of property. To levy and provide for the assessment, valuation, revaluation, and collection of taxes on all property subject to taxation;

(37)

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

(38)

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;

(39)

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

(40)

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; to exercise all implied powers necessary to carry into execution all powers granted in this Charter as fully and completely as if such powers were fully stated in this Charter; 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. 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.

(Act. No. 94 (H.B. 466), approved 4-30-2013)