CHARTER
CITY OF COVINGTON, GEORGIA
Sec. 1. Incorporation, name and style.
The City of Covington, in Newton County, Georgia, is hereby incorporated as a city under the name and style of the City of Covington, hereinafter referred to as "the city."
Sec. 2. Continuation of existing laws, rights and liabilities.
All ordinances and resolutions of said city not inconsistent with this charter shall remain in full force and effect for the city until altered, amended or repealed. All property and property rights held, owned or possessed by the city and all pending suits or claims by or against said city are preserved and unaltered.
Sec. 3. Corporate seal.
The city shall have a corporate seal which shall consist of a round metal stamp with the words "City of Covington, Newton County, Georgia, Corporate Seal" so fixed and arranged in such metal stamp that said seal can be impressed on documents and written instruments to which the city is a party. The city clerk shall have custody of the corporate seal and shall impress documents therewith when duly authorized.
* Editor's note--The Charter set out herein, consisting of §§ 1--84 inclusive, is derived from §§ 1--84 respectively, of Act. No. 531, approved January 30, 1962, as amended. The numbering and catchlines of all sections are set out as enacted in said Act as amended.
Immediately following each section of Act No. 531 which has been amended, is a history . note indicating the source of the amendatory provision, and an explanatory. note setting forth the effect of such amendment. All superseded and repealed provisions of said Act have been deleted.
Except for inclusion of §§ 82--84 of Act No. 531, severability, legal advertisement and repeal of prior Acts, only the substantive provisions of the Acts are set out, the editors having omitted Act titles and directory provisions, e.g., §§ 7 and 8 of Act No. 932, approved March 6, 1962, providing for an election on April 25, 1962, on the question of approval of said Act, and repealing inconsistent provisions.
Sec. 4. Territorial boundaries.
The corporate limits of the city shall extend for a radius of one and three-quarter (1 3/4) miles from the center of the Confederate Monument in the public square of the city, except that portion in said radius incorporated in the Town of Oxford. The corporate limits of the city shall also include all property contiguous to the corporate limits described in the preceding sentence and now or hereinafter annexed into the corporate limits by the mayor and council of the city pursuant to annexation ordinances duly adopted by the mayor and council pursuant to applicable laws of the State of Georgia.
(Ord. No. 1980-109, 4-7-80)
Sec. 5. Legal publication.
After being read in the council meeting all ordinances shall be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation within the city and, in addition, a copy shall be posted on the bulletin board in the lobby of the city hall for a period of at least five (5) days; the newspaper publication of such ordinances may be by title only, but in such event it shall give notice that a complete copy of such ordinances shall be posted as hereinabove provided; no ordinance shall come up for passage prior to the expiration of the aforementioned five-day period; provided however, that the changing of property located within the corporate limits of the City of Covington from one use district to another use district pursuant to the zoning regulations of the City of Covington shall be expressly exempt from the foregoing publication and posting requirements.
(Ord. No. 1976-71, 1-19-76)
Sec. 6. Fire limits.
The city council shall by ordinance establish fire limits, enlarge or reduce same as the safety of the city requires. When fire limits are established it shall be lawful to prohibit the erection of any structure therein of any substance except incombustible material, or such as may be allowed by ordinance.
Sec. 7. Real estate.
The city shall have power and authority to rent, lease, buy, sell or otherwise hold or dispose of any or all of its buildings, parks or other real estate for a fair and adequate consideration.
Sec. 8. Conveyance of franchise.
No franchise granted by said city may be sold, transferred, leased, or assigned to or used by anyone other than the grantee without adequate compensation and written consent of the city council.
Sec. 9. Specific powers enumerated.
The city shall have power and authority to:
(a) Buy and sell water, gas, electricity and other public utilities at cost or for a profit, both within and without the territorial boundaries of the city.
(b) Adopt ordinances binding on everyone within the city to protect the health, peace, safety, good order, dignity and general welfare of the city and the inhabitants thereof.
(c) Exercise complete control over all the public streets, roads, ways, drives, lanes, alleys, sidewalks, crossings, and parks of the city. They shall have full and complete power and authority to open, curb, locate, relocate, replace, work, straighten, abandon, close, drain, pave and repave the same or cause the same to be done.
(d) Establish a system of numbering houses in the city, and to assign appropriate street numbers to the various houses on the various streets, alleys, roads, lanes, drives and ways of the city, and to compel said houses to be properly numbered.
(e) Control by ordinance the time, manner, terms, conditions, and places of all sewer connections and how much surface or drainage water may flow into such sewers, and the terms and conditions on which it will be permitted, and at what points, and generally all matters relating to the construction, use, control, maintenance, repair, replacement, improvement and removal of sewers and sewer connections, and the cutting and replacing of pavement and other adjacent structures shall at all times be under the control and regulation of the city council in its fair and legal discretion.
(f) Control by ordinance the construction, maintenance and removal and replacement of all city culverts, pipes, sewers, drains, private drains, water closets, urinals, privies, toilets, and the like, and provide for their location, structure, size and use, and pass such ordinances concerning them and their use, in all particulars, as may be deemed best for the health, comfort and general welfare of the inhabitants of the city. The city council shall have power and authority to prescribe by ordinance the kind of water closets, urinals, privies and plumbing which shall be used in the corporate limits, and to condemn and compel the disuse of same when they do not conform to such requirements, or when they shall become and are declared a nuisance by a court having jurisdiction. The city council shall also have power and authority to compel the owner or owners of property within the city to connect water closets, sinks, commodes and urinals on their property with the sewers and sanitary system of said city when such property is located within a reasonable distance of such sewer, and under such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by ordinance. If any property owner shall fail or refuse to make connections as required by city ordinance or resolution, such owner shall be punished as provided by ordinance.
(g) Contract with other municipalities and political subdivisions, and to cooperate with other municipalities and political subdivisions, in acquiring, establishing, constructing, building, maintaining and/or operating such garbage disposal, water, sewage, electric and/or gas plants, lines and/or facilities, and streets, sidewalks and parks within and/or without the limit of the city, as well as library and other institutions, utilities and/or services, in addition to existing plants, systems, buildings, facilities, lines and services as the city council may at any time deem for the best interest of said city.
(h) Levy, assess and collect taxes to raise sufficient revenue to pay for the improvements, services, equipment and/or facilities provided for in any contract or agreement to which the city is or may become a party.
(i) Issue and sell bonds for the purpose of paying bonds of the city and interest thereon, and for any public or other purpose allowed by the Constitution and laws of this state, and to issue and sell revenue anticipation certificates as now or hereafter allowed by law.
(j) Provide by ordinance for reporting all property in the city subject to taxation by the city, whether such property be realty or personality, tangible or intangible, and to require all persons owning such property to file a written statement and description of such property with the fair market value thereof under oath.
(k) Prescribe by ordinance a penalty for failure to make such return or report within the time prescribed by ordinance; provided such penalty shall not exceed the sum of double the amount of tax levied against such person or taxpayer failing to make or file such return. Such penalty shall be a lien upon property of the defaulter and shall be collected in the same manner as the taxes of the city.
(Ga. L. 1966, H.B. No. 73, § 1)
Amendment note--H.B. No. 73, § 1, Ga. L. 1966, amended paragraph (k) by deleting from the end thereof a sentence which read: "Such penalty shall be established at the discretion of the mayor and council at the time taxes are levied."
(l) Assess the costs of sewers (storm sewers and sanitary sewers) against abutting lots of real estate and the owners thereof on each side of a street in which such sewers are laid or constructed, when laid or constructed in a street right-of-way, and the owners of such abutting real estate shall have the right to have their drains, water closets, commodes, urinals, sinks, and toilets connected with such sewers at their cost under such rules and regulations, as the mayor and council may prescribe by ordinance. (Ga. L. 1966, H.B. No. 73, § 2)
Amendment note--H.B. No. IS, § 2, Ga. L. 1986, amended paragraph (1) to read as set out above. The effect of the amendment was to add the words in parenthesis, the words "when laid or constructed in a street right-of-way," and the words "water closets, commodes, urinals, sinks and toilets."
(m) Control and/or prohibit the manufacture and/or sale of all alcoholic beverages, and to tax, license, regulate and control hotels, boardinghouses, apartments, restaurants, theaters, dance halls, athletic and sporting events and places, and all other entertainment activities and places, regulate the operation of all vehicles used for pleasure or business, and garages; mills, factories, ginneries, gas and water companies; regulate the use of its streets for all purposes, and prevent their use for business, or regulate business use by taxation and otherwise, including the right to impose a reasonable license tax for the use of streets for business purposes; to prevent stock and poultry from running at large, and to seize and impound any domestic or wild animal or fowl found at large within the city limits; and to provide by proper ordinance for the redemption or sale of the same; and to adopt such ordinances as may be considered necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.
(n) Grant franchises, easements and rights-of-way over, in, under and on public streets, lanes, alleys, sidewalks, parks and other property of said city on such terms and conditions and for such lengths of time as it may fix; provided, franchises shall not be granted without fair and adequate compensation provided for in the franchise ordinance; and provided further, that no such franchise shall be granted until notice has been published at least one time one week preceding the week in which the city council meets to consider such application, stating the nature of the franchise, the streets, lanes, alleys, sidewalks, parks or other property on or through which it is desired, the terms of such grant and the time at which the city council will act upon such application.
(o) Employ or cause to employed a certified public accountant to examine and audit all books of account and pertinent records of all officers, employees, and agencies of said city relative to the financial affairs of the city whenever and as often as the city council shall consider proper, and shall fix his compensation. The compensation of such accountant may be fixed on an hourly or other basis before, after, or at the time of his employment. It shall require at least one examination and report every year.
(p) Pave or otherwise improve the whole or any part of any street, sidewalk or alley of said city, without giving any railroad company, or other property holder or occupant on the street the option to pave or otherwise improve the same or any part thereof by themselves or by contract.
(q) Define a nuisance in the city and provide for its abatement. The recorder's court of the city shall have jurisdiction of all nuisance abatement proceedings in the city.
(r) Remove any building, stall, booth, tent, awning, steps, gate, fence, post, wire, stump, tree, structure, pole or other obstruction or nuisance in a public street, sidewalk or way or so near thereto as to constitute a defect or render the city liable in damages for not removing it, or cause the aforesaid to be removed at the owner's expense if the owner shall fail or refuse to remove the same within such reasonable time as may be fixed by order of the city recorder, or mayor when acting as recorder, and execution shall issue against said owner for the expense thereof as in case of executions for unpaid taxes, and said owner shall also be subject to punishment for maintaining a nuisance.
(s) Repealed by Ord. Dated 10/15/01 § 1.
(t) Regulate, lay out, open, relocate, straighten, improve, grade, and control old and new streets, lanes, alleys, street curbing, street crossing and sidewalks, and no person or corporation shall at any time hereafter lay out, locate, relocate, open, extend, or close any street, lane, road, alley, way, sidewalk, park or square contrary to the plan of the city nor without the consent of the city council and any application for this purpose shall, with an appropriate plat, first be filed with the city engineer or such officer as the city council may designate by ordinance, and notice thereof shall be given the public or parties in interest by publication of notice as required by law and the ordinances of the city. If such application is granted, the owner shall relinquish all rights and title to the area involved and the same shall pass to and become vested in the city, and all management and control over the same shall pass unequivocally to the city.
(u) Impose and collect a license and a tax on dogs within the city in such a manner and mode as it may deem best.
(v) License electricians, plumbers, contractors and others and to require examinations as conditions precedent to granting of such license; create examining boards and prescribe by ordinance the minimum requirements in such examinations, and to appoint the members of such boards.
(w) Condemn or cause worn out sewers (storm sewers and sanitary sewers), street pavement, street curbing or sidewalks within the city to be condemned, reconstructed, replaced or repaired, as the case may require, at the expense of owners of lots of real estate abutting thereon (or against the real estate and owner or owners thereof for whose sole benefit such improvement exists in case of sewers laid solely for the benefit of persons other than owners of real estate abutting thereon) and assess the cost thereof (or in case of street paving such part of the costs as the city council shall deem just and proper) against such abutting lots of real estate and the owners thereof (or cases of sewers constructed solely for the benefit of a person or persons other than abutting lot owners, against such real estate and the owners thereof for the sole benefit of which such sewer exists), as in the case of original construction of the same kind of improvements, and subject to the provisions of section 55 hereof, below.
(Ga. L. 1966, H.B. No. 73, §3)
Amendment note--H.B. No. 73, § 3, Ga. L. 1966, amended paragraph (w) to read as above set out. The principal effect was to add the words in parentheses in the first line and the reference to the provisions of § 55 at the end of the paragraph.
(x) Provide, by ordinance, a civil service system for city officers and employees and/or provide by ordinance for a system of retirement for city officers and employees, which retirement system may be that of old age and survivor's insurance.
(y) Regulate the subdivision of land in the city by requiring and regulating the preparation and presentation of preliminary plats, by establishing minimum improvements to be made or to be guaranteed to be made by the subdivider by setting forth the procedure to be followed by the planning commission in applying rules, regulations, and standards, and by providing for penalties for violation of aforesaid rules, regulations and standards.
Sec. 10. Regulating vehicular traffic; parking facilities.
The city shall have the power and authority to regulate vehicular traffic and relieve congestion of the same by use of devices commonly known as parking meters, which are coin-operated devices to measure the time a vehicle occupies a designated parking area on a public street, and to use the funds derived from such devices for such purposes as the mayor and council may deem advisable
(Ga. L. 1966, H.B. No. 73, § 4)
Amendment note--H.B. No 73 § 4 Ga. L. 1966 amended § 10 by changing the wording used to define parking meters. Also, prior to the amendment, the proceeds from parking meters could be used only to provide off-street parking facilities.
Sec. 11. Nuisances--Jurisdiction; powers; procedure; executions
(a) The recorder's court of the city shall have jurisdiction to hear nuisance proceedings and abate the same under the provisions of. Section 72-401 of the Code of Georgia of 1933, as amended (Act 1833, Cobb, 817; Acts, 1892, p. 64), notwithstanding any provision thereof to the contrary. In addition, as cumulative of such other laws of this state regarding the abatement of nuisances, the city may by ordinance provide for any building, structure or condition maintained in violation of any valid law of this state or any valid ordinance of the city to be adjudged a nuisance, and for the abatement of the same at the owner's expense upon the failure or refusal of the owner to abate the same after written notice from the city to do so; provided, however, that such written notice must specify the time in which such nuisance must be abated, and such time must be reasonable under the circumstances. All such abatement proceedings in the city shall be in the recorder's court.
(b) Where a nuisance is abated at the expense of the owner of the property where such nuisance exists, as hereinabove provided, the city clerk shall in such cases issue execution in the name of the city and against such property owner in the amount of such expenses, which execution shall issue and be levied in the same manner as executions for municipal taxes. Such execution shall constitute a lien against such property and all other property of such property owner. Such property owner shall have the right to contest such execution, or the amount thereof, or the levy thereof, in the same manner as provided by the laws of this state governing illegalities and claims where executions are levied.
(Ga. L. 1966, H.B. No. 73, § 5)
Amendment note--H.B. No. 73, §§ 5 and 6, Ga. L. 1966, amended §§11 and 12 to read as set out herein. The extent of the charges makes an analysis of the effect of the amendment impractical.
Sec. 12. Same--Notice, residents and nonresidents.
All notices to persons or corporations owning property in the city and on which a nuisance has been found to exist, or on which a complainant has stated that a nuisance exists, may be given in person or by mail. If given by mail, such notice shall be addressed to the last known address of such owner, and notice shall be deemed effective beginning one (1) day after the same is deposited in a receptacle maintained by the United States Post Office Department for the deposit of mail, bearing sufficient postage and the last known address of the person or persons or corporation to whom or which such notice is directed. This provision for notice shall apply equally to residents and nonresidents of the city.
(Ga. L. 1966, H.B. No. 73, § 6)
Note--See amendment note following § 11.
Sec. 13. Subpoena power generally.
The city council, recorder's court, all boards, commissions, committees or other agencies of the city charged with the administration of the affairs of the city (excluding individual officers, except in cases in which they are specially authorized by law or ordinance) shall have power and authority to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of relevant and admissible documents in proper cases, and any person failing or refusing to attend as a witness or to produce relevant and pertinent documentary evidence within his power, custody or control when duly notified or called upon to do so in a proper case shall be subject to punishment prescribed by ordinance of the city.
Sec. 14. Executions--Issuance; enforcement.
(a) All executions for taxes (including penalties) or license fees which are not paid when due shall be issued by the city clerk, acting in the capacity of ex officio tax collector.
(b) All executions for assessments, public improvement costs, forfeitures, fines, utilities, and all other such executions for whatever purpose, except those executions named in paragraph (a) hereof, immediately above, shall be issued by the city clerk and bear teste in the name of the mayor or mayor pro [tem] (or such other official as may be provided by the mayor and council).
(c) All such executions issued by the city shall be directed to the chief of police and all other policemen of said city, and shall state the purpose or purposes for which issued, and shall be made returnable to the city council ninety (90) days after the date of issue.
(d) It shall be and is hereby declared to be the duty of the chief of police, or other policeman of said city in whose hands any such execution is placed, to levy the same, to advertise the property so levied upon, and to sell the same at the time and place and in such manner as prescribed by the laws of this state for the sale of property by sheriffs to satisfy executions for unpaid state and county taxes, except that such sale may be conducted before the front door of the city hall.
(e) The chief of police or other policeman of said city conducting any such sale shall have the power and authority to execute a deed or bill of sale to such property in favor of the purchaser at such sale, and to place such purchaser in possession of such property, and the title acquired by such purchaser under such deed or bill of sale shall be just as perfect, valid and binding as if made by the sheriff under an ordinary execution issuing from the superior court.
(f) All such sales, and the title acquired by the purchaser at any such sale, shall be subject to the rights of redemption by the defendant in execution, as provided by the laws of this state.
(g) At any such sale, the city, acting by and through any designated officer, may bid and buy any property being sold at any such sale, as provided by the laws of this state, and subject to the terms and conditions prescribed by the laws of this state; and the right of redemption of the defendant in execution, and the rights of the city to convey such property, shall be as provided by the laws of this state.
(h) In any such case, the defendant in execution or any other person claiming any interest in any such property levied upon by the city may proceed by filing an affidavit of illegality or a claim against said property, as applicable, and all such issues shall thereupon be tried and determined in the Superior Court of Newton County as provided by the laws of this state, subject to all provisions of the laws of this state regarding such cases.
(Ga. L. 1966, H.B. No. 73, § 7)
Amendment note--H.B. No. 73, § 7, Ga. L. 1966, amended § 14 to read as set out above. The extent of the changes makes an analysis of the effect of the amendment impractical.
Sec. 15. Same--Forms.
The forms for all executions issued by the city shall be as may be prescribed by the mayor and council; and in the absence of any provision by the mayor and council, no prescribed form shall be required so long as the execution shows the following information, to wit:
(a) Name of issuing authority;
(b) Name of defendant in execution;
(c) Amount claimed to be due, and for what such amount is due;
(d) To whom directed;
(e) Description of property, where execution is against specific property;
(f) Date of issue; and
(g) Date of return.
(Ga. L. 1966, Act No. 147, p. 2437)
Sec. 16. Utilities--Furnishing services and facilities.
The city shall have the power and authority to operate, enlarge, expand, extend, improve, construct, lay, maintain, remove, repair and replace water, electric and natural gas lines, sewer and sanitary systems and facilities, within and without the city, and to charge, contract for and receive compensation for such service, and on such terms and conditions as may be prescribed by the city ordinance, and for such purposes the city shall have the power of eminent domain which it is hereby authorized to exercise to acquire by condemnation any lands, easements, rights-of-way and other properties or rights therein deemed needful or convenient for any purposes when necessary to acquire the same; provided, however, nothing contained herein shall prohibit the city from passing utility rate ordinances incidental to the operation of the city's electric and natural gas systems that automatically adjust the city's billings for natural gas and/or electricity sales for fluctuations in product costs charged to the city by its electricity and/or natural gas suppliers. The city is expressly authorized to establish from time to time, by ordinance, a procedure for imposing a product cost adjustment that will automatically adjust the city's billings for natural gas and/or electricity sales for fluctuations in the product cost charged to the city by its electricity and/or natural gas suppliers.
(Ord. No. 1980-115, § 1, 11-3-80)
Sec. 16A. [Same--] Owning, maintaining and operating cable television system.
The city is hereby authorized to purchase, construct, operate and maintain a system for reception, transmission and distribution of television impulses and television energy (including audio signals and video images by means of electrical impulses) within the city limits as they now exist or shall hereafter exist and throughout the current unincorporated areas of Newton County and in the other municipalities located in Newton County but subject, however, to the conditions hereinafter specified; and in connection therewith, the city is authorized to acquire by contract or purchase all equipment, towers, receivers, lines, related apparatus, all rights-of-way, easements and other property necessary to carry out these purposes including the hiring of engineering services and other consulting services incidental thereto and including the right to use all existing city rights-of-way easements and other property. The city is further authorized and empowered to furnish and supply the distribution of television impulses and television energy as aforesaid to any person, firm or corporation at the point of reception thereof by the city or at any point where the city may hereafter have means of distribution thereof. The city is further authorized and empowered to fix reasonable rules and regulations under which the same may be furnished and distributed and likewise to fix the terms upon which the same are to be furnished and the manner of payment therefor; and the charges to be paid therefor will be the rate of charges to be established from time to time by resolution of the mayor and council of the City of Covington. Anything contained herein to the contrary notwithstanding, as a condition precedent to the city's construction and operation of what is commonly called a cable television system in accordance with the foregoing provisions in the unincorporated areas of Newton County or within any other municipality located in Newton County, the city must have previously entered into a franchise agreement with the governing body of Newton County, Georgia (for the unincorporated areas of Newton County) and with the governing bodies of the respective municipalities in which such services are sought to be provided by the City of Covington. Nothing contained herein shall prohibit the City of Covington from granting franchises in accordance with Charter Section 9(n) for the private operation of such a system of reception, transmission, and distribution of television impulses and television energy aforesaid within the corporate limits of the city.
(Ga. L. 1980, Act No. 1173, p. 3896)
Sec. 16B. Telecommunications.
The City shall have the power and authority to acquire, own, hold, lease, sell, resell, build, maintain, operate and contract with respect to a telecommunications system network in order to provide telecommunications services and similar other services, to establish and charge rates, fees, tolls and charges for the services, facilities or commodities furnished or made available by such undertaking; to interconnect its system or services or both with the systems or services of consumers and other providers, to use telecommunications to respond to community needs, encourage the development of information-based organizations in the city, to finance from time to time any such telecommunications systems through the issuance of revenue bonds as then permitted by the Constitution and laws of the State of Georgia; and to make any contract with respect to and furnish the services of any such systems to consumers within or outside the corporate limits of the city.
(Ord. dated 10/16/00 § 1)
Sec. 17. Same--Owning, maintaining and operating electric plants, waterworks and gas system.
The city shall have the right, power and authority to own, maintain and operate a system of waterworks, a natural gas system, and an electric plant and distribution system and to purchase, generate and sell electric energy and to sell water and gas and to fix rates for all the aforementioned and to develop, maintain and operate parks and recreation facilities.
Sec. 18. Same--Contracting to furnish.
The city council shall have power and authority to make or cause to be made contracts to furnish customers with electric energy, lights, water and gas within and without the territorial limits of the city when this can be done without adversely affecting the inhabitants of the city.
Sec. 19. Same--Jurisdiction.
The city shall have complete power, authority and jurisdiction for all purposes over all of the lands on, over, or through which trunk or intercepting sewer, gas, water and/or electric transmission lines and/or facilities have heretofore been or may hereafter be constructed and maintained by the city or over which an easement is secured by the city and which it is the duty of the city to inspect, improve and maintain within or without the limits of the city; said power, authority and jurisdiction shall extend the full distance of said lines or facilities and a specified number of feet, to be determined by the mayor and council, in all directions from same as well as over the land purchased by said city for the location and maintenance of such facilities, and all such lands are hereby incorporated in and made a part of said city, except such as is located within the corporate limits of another municipality.
Sec. 20. Same--Lien for charges.
For electricity, water and gas furnished, and for all sewerage and sanitary services rendered, the city shall have a lien against all property of the consumer. Such lien shall run from the date the contract is made or the services commenced, up to and until all charges therefor shall have been paid in full. Executions issued on any such liens shall be issued and enforced as provided by section 14 hereof, above.
(Ga. L. 1966, Act No. 147, p. 2437)
Sec. 21. Same--Reference for sale of facilities.
No sale, conveyance or disposition by the city of its water, electric or gas properties and franchises, or of its sewer system, or of any interests therein shall ever be of any force or effect unless or until approved by the duly qualified voters of the city voting at an election specially called for this purpose; a notice of which election shall be published once a week in the official newspaper of the city for four weeks next preceding such election, which notice shall state the name of the proposed buyer, the terms and conditions of the proposed sale, the date of the election, the location of the voting precincts, and such other information as the city council may order.
(Ord. dated 7/10/06 § 1; Ga. L. 1982, Act No. 948, § 1)
Sec. 22. Form of government.
The government of said city shall be vested in a mayor and six (6) council members who shall hold their respective offices in accordance with the provisions of the Georgia Municipal Election Code, Chapter 3 of Title 21, Official Code of Georgia Annotated. For the purpose of electing council members, the City of Covington is hereby divided into two (2) wards, the West Ward and the East Ward. The division line between the two (2) wards shall be as follows: Commence at the point of intersection of the northwestern boundary of the corporate limits of the City of Covington and the center line of the Georgia Railroad right-of-way and run thence in a southeasterly direction along the center line of the said Georgia Railroad right-of-way to the point of intersection thereof with the center line of Emory Street; running thence in a southerly direction along the center line of Emory Street to the point of intersection thereof with the center line of Clark Street; running thence in an easterly direction along the center line of Clark Street to the intersection thereof with the center line of Monticello Street; thence in a southerly and southeasterly direction along the center line of Monticello Street which is also known as Georgia Highway Number 36 and/or the Jackson Highway, to the point of intersection thereof with the southern boundary of the corporate limits of the City of Covington. The West Ward shall be those portions of the City of Covington lying southerly and westerly of the aforedescribed division line. The East Ward shall be those portions of the City of Covington lying northerly and easterly of the aforedescribed division line. The six (6) council seats shall be designated by six (6) numbered council posts as follows: Post 1 West, Post 2 West, Post 3 West, Post 1 East, Post 2 East and Post 3 East. The council members for Council Post 1 West, Post 2 West, and Post 3 West shall be elected by the qualified electors of the West Ward only; the council members for Council Post 1 East, Post 2 East, and Post 3 East shall be elected by the qualified electors of the East Ward only; and the mayor shall be elected at large by all of the qualified electors of the City of Covington.
(Ga. L. 1978, Act No. 900, § 1; Ord. No. 1994-239, § 1, 3-14-94; Res. of 3-16-98, §§ 1--3)
Sec. 23. Vacancy in office of mayor or council.
In the event there shall occur a vacancy in the office of mayor or any council post caused by death, resignation or removal of the incumbent, the city council shall immediately call a special election to fill such vacancy, to be held in accordance with the special election provisions of the Georgia Municipal Election Code, Chapter 3 of Title 21, Official Code of Georgia Annotated.
(Ga. L. 1978, Act No. 900, § 2; Res. of 3-16-98, § 4)
(a) No person shall be eligible to qualify or hold the office of mayor or councilman of the City of Covington unless he shall have the following qualifications:
(1) He shall be at least twenty-one (21) years of age on the day the term of office for which he is a candidate begins.
(2) A candidate shall have been a resident of the City of Covington for a period of not less than one year immediately preceding the election in which he is to be a candidate and, further, candidates for council posts 1 West, 2 West, and 3 West must be residents of the city's West Ward as of the date of qualification for election and candidates for council posts 1 East, 2 East, and 3 East must be residents of the city's East Ward as of the date of qualification for election.
(3) He shall not have been convicted of any felony.
(4) He shall be qualified to vote in the municipal elections of the city.
(5) A candidate shall not be indebted for any tax to the city which is more than twelve (12) months past due; provided, however, if the reason for the nonpayment of city taxes is the poverty of the candidate and the candidate executes an affidavit to that effect and, further, the candidate executes the pauper's affidavit provided for in subsection (d) of section 47 of this Charter in lieu of paying the qualifying fee specified in said section, then in such event such indebtedness for taxes to the city shall not disqualify a candidate from seeking office.
(6) He shall qualify as a candidate by filing his name with the city clerk and by giving to the city clerk, in writing, the oath prescribed in subsection (b) of this section.
(b) Any person desiring to qualify as a candidate for mayor or councilman shall take the following written oath setting forth the information called for therein, which oath shall be kept on file in the city clerk's office:
"I do solemnly swear or affirm that I am twenty-one (21) years of age, or will be on the date of taking office; that I have resided in the City of Covington for a period of not less than one year immediately preceding the election in which I am a candidate; that I am a resident of the West Ward/East Ward (strike through the incorrect ward); that I have never been convicted of a felony; that I am a qualified voter for municipal elections in the City of Covington; and that (1) I am not indebted to the City of Covington for any tax which is more than twelve (12) months past due, or (2) the reason for my indebtedness to the City of Covington for any tax which is more than twelve (12) months past due is my poverty and financial inability to pay such taxes."
(c) Continued residency in the City of Covington shall be a condition of the mayor and each council member remaining qualified to continue in their respective offices; and upon any such elected official removing his residency from the City of Covington, the council shall declare the office of each such elected official who has removed his residency from the City of Covington as vacated. Continued residency in the ward represented by council members holding council posts 1 West, 2 West, 3 West, 1 East, 2 East, and 3 East shall be a condition of each such council member remaining qualified to continue in his respective office; and upon any such council member moving from his respective ward, the council shall declare that council member's council post vacated. Any vacancy in council seats or in the office of mayor under the foregoing provisions shall be filled in accordance with the provisions of section 23 of this Charter.
(Ga. L. 1978, Act. No. 900, § 3)
Sec. 25. Oath of office.
Within ten days after the election of said mayor and councilmen, and before they enter upon the discharge of their official duties, the mayor shall, before some officer authorized to administer oaths, take and subscribe the following oath:
"I do solemnly swear that I will, to the best of my ability, discharge the duties of the mayor of the City of Covington during my continuance of office, so help me God,"
and the mayor, after being so qualified, shall have full power and authority to administer a like oath to each member of the council.
Sec. 26. Mayor's duties and powers.
The mayor shall have the same power as a justice of the peace to witness and attest papers, to administer oaths, to issue criminal warrants and hold courts of inquiry; and the mayor may commit offenders tried before him as a court of inquiry or may admit them to bail in cases where a justice of the peace has powers of bail. The mayor shall have the right to remit or reduce the fines imposed by the recorder's court upon defendants charged with violating any of the city laws or ordinances, and he shall have authority to pardon all offenders convicted before the recorder's court. The mayor shall be vested with the power of veto and it shall be the mayor's right to veto any and all ordinances, resolutions, permits, and privileges passed on or granted by the city council if the mayor sees fit to do so; and the mayor's veto may be overridden by a vote of at least a majority of the members of the city council then in office.
(Ga. L. 1962, Act No. 932, § 1; Ga. L. 1978, Act No. 900, § 4)
Sec. 27. Salaries.
The mayor of the City of Covington shall receive an annual salary of twelve thousand dollars ($12,000.00) per annum payable in equal monthly installments from the funds of the City of Covington. Council members of the City of Covington shall receive an annual salary of six thousand dollars ($6,000.00) payable in equal monthly installments from the funds of the City of Covington. The recorder of the City of Covington shall receive an annual salary payable in equal monthly installments from the funds of the City of Covington and such expense allowances as may be approved by the mayor and council from time to time.
(Ga. L. 1967, Act No. 514, § 2; Ord. No. 1977-81, 2-21-77; Ord. No. 1984-152, 10-1-84)
Sec. 28. Personal liability of mayor and councilmen; method of relieving.
As provided by section 60 hereof, below, the city budget shall not include, in its anticipated revenue for the year, a sum in excess of the normal revenue collections by the city from all sources during the preceding year. If this provision should be violated in the adoption of any budget, the mayor and councilmen shall be personally liable for any deficiency resulting therefrom, except: any member of the council may relieve himself of such personal liability by voting against any budget violating such limitation, and the mayor may relieve himself of such personal liability by vetoing any such budget before passage.
(Ga. L. 1966, Act. No. 147, § 10)
Sec. 29. Officers; election; bonds; duties; oaths.
The mayor and council at their first meeting in January of each year, or as soon thereafter as practicable, shall elect the following officers, a majority of the votes cast being in the every case sufficient to elect, to wit: a municipal court judge, a city physician and a city attorney, and the mayor and council shall by ordinance prescribe the duties, fix any bonds to be required, and fix the compensation of said officers; and each of said officers, before entering upon the discharge of his duties, shall give such bond as may be required of him and take and subscribe any oath required of him for the faithful discharge of the duties of the office to which he was been this elected.
(Ga. L. 1962, Act. No. 932, § 2; Ga. L. 1966, Act No. 147, § 11; Ord. No. 1994-239, § 2, 3-14-94)
Sec. 30. City manager.
The city council after the passage of this Act shall select and appoint a city manager whose salary shall be fixed by council and whose term of office shall be indefinite and whose duties, powers and qualifications shall be as hereafter provided. The mayor and members of city council shall be ineligible for the office of city manager for the period of two years from the time of the expiration of their term of office, nor shall they be eligible for employment in any capacity by the city within such period.
(Ga. L. 1962, Act No. 932, § 3)
It shall be the duty of the city manager to execute and administer the policies of the city government fixed by the mayor and council and the city manager shall be vested with sole authority over all administrative matters of the city, and he shall be accountable only to the city council. The city manager first appointed under the provisions of this Act and all persons subsequently appointed to such office shall be selected by the council on the basis of ability, experience, training and character, with special reference to his actual experience in, or his knowledge of acknowledged practice in respect to the duties of his office. During his tenure of office he shall reside within the City of Covington and shall devote his entire time to the duties of his office and shall not engage in any other business or profession.
(Ga. L. 1962, Act No. 932, § 3)
Amendment note--Ga. L. 1962, Act No. 932, § 3, amended the Charter by adding §§ 30-A through 30-D.
Sec. 30-B. Administrative duties and powers.
The city manager shall have the power to appoint, prescribe the duties or supervise and remove all administrative employees, except the city recorder, city physician, city attorney and the board of tax assessors. The affairs of each department of the city, including the collection and disbursement of revenue, are to be administered under his supervision and control, and he is to be responsible therefor. Neither the council nor any of its committees shall direct or request the appointment of any person to, or his removal from office by the city manager, or in any manner take part in the administrative service of the city. Except for the purpose of inquiry, the council and its members shall deal with the administrative service solely through the city manager, and neither the council nor any member thereof shall give orders to any subordinate of the city manager, either publicly or privately. The city manager shall give bond for the faithful administration of his office in such amount as council may determine, but in no event in the sum less than fifty thousand dollars, the premium for which is to be paid by the city. The city manager may require subordinate employees to likewise give bond in an amount to be determined by him, but subject to the approval of the council, the premiums of such bond as may be required to be paid by the city.
It shall also be the duty of the city manager to act as chief conservator of the peace within the city; to supervise the administration of the city; to see that the ordinances of the city and the laws of the state are enforced therein; to make such recommendations to the council concerning the affairs of the city as may seem to him desirable; to keep the council currently advised of the financial condition and future needs of the city; to prepare and submit to the council regular quarterly reports of the affairs and finances of the city, these reports to be in such form as to be readily understood by the public, and cause the same to be published in some local newspaper of general circulation; to act in an advisory capacity to the city council in the formulation of policies of the city government; it shall be the duty and the responsibility of the city manager to do all the buying for the different departments of the City of Covington; said department heads shall make written requisition for the needs of their department and present the same to the city manager; the city manager shall then make such purchases not exceeding amounts prescribed by ordinance and for which funds are provided in the budget; to perform such other duties and exercise such other authority as city council may fix by resolution or ordinance. All formal contracts on behalf of the city, the stated consideration for which is in excess of twenty thousand dollars, shall be executed by the mayor and attested by the city clerk after an approving resolution of the city council.
(Ga. L. 1962, Act. No. 932, § 3; Ga. L. 1966, H.B. No. 73, § 12)
(Ord. dated 12/8/08, § 1)
Amendment note--Section 30-B was added to the Charter by Ga. L. 1962, Act No. 932, § 3. H.B. No. 73, § 12, Ga. L. 1966, amended the section by deleting the words "the appointment or removal of officers and employees in", which formerly appeared in the third sentence between the words "in" and "the administrative service." The same amendment reduced the minimum amount of the manager's bond from $100,000.00 to $50,000.00, and changed "city manager" to "mayor" in the last sentence.
Sec. 30-C. Compensation of employees.
The salary or compensation of heads of departments and other administrative employees shall be fixed by ordinance or resolution of council upon the recommendation of the city manager, such ordinance or resolution of council to provide uniform compensation for like services except that an increase in compensation of any department head or employee may be granted upon the basis of seniority and efficiency.
(Ga. L. 1962, Act No. 932, § 3)
Sec. 30-D. Removal of city manager.
While council has the right to remove the city manager at any time, at least thirty days before such removal becomes effective, the manager shall be furnished with a formal statement in the form of a resolution passed by a majority vote of the members of council, stating council's intention of removing him and the reason therefor. If requested in writing by city manager so to do the council shall fix a time for a public hearing upon the question of his removal, giving a notice of the time and place of same by publishing said notice in some local newspaper of general circulation, and the final resolution, removing the city manager shall not be adopted until such public hearing shall be had. The action of council removing the city manager shall be final. In the case of the absence or disability of the city manager, council may designate a qualified administrative officer of the city to perform the duties of the city manager during such absence or disability.
(Ord. dated 10/15/01 § 2; Ga. L. 1962, Act. No. 932, § 3)
Sec. 31. Combination of officers, authorized.
The city manager is authorized at his discretion to combine two or more of the city offices so that one person may hold and discharge the duties of more than one office, provided, however, that no member of the city council shall be eligible to hold any other municipal office during the term for which he was elected.
(Ga L. 1962, Act No 932, § 4)
Sec. 32. Contract, etc., interest prohibited.
No member of the council, the mayor, nor any official or employee of the city shall be interested directly or indirectly in any contract, sale of merchandise, service with or for the city, or in the profits or emoluments therefrom; and any contract on the part of the city which violates this section shall be null and void. Provided, however, the aforesaid prohibition shall not apply to:
(a) Sales of personal property of less than $200.00 per calendar quarter;
(b) Sales of personal property made pursuant to sealed competitive bids made by the council member, mayor, official or employee of the city, either for himself or herself or on behalf of any business entity; or
(c) Sales of real property in which disclosure has been made:
(1) To the judge of the probate court of Newton County, provided that if the sale is made by the judge of the probate court, then to any judge of the superior court of Newton County;
(2) Not less than 15 days prior to the date such sale will become final and binding on the parties thereto; and
(3) Which shows that the council member, mayor official or employee of the city has a personal interest in such sale, which interest includes, but is not limited to, any commission, fee, profit or similar benefit and which gives the name of such person, his or her position in the city, the purchase price and location of the property.
No member of the council, the mayor, nor any officer or employee of the city shall accept any gift, frank, pass, or other emolument from any person, firm or corporation operating any public utility, or engaged in any business of a public nature within the city, or from any person, firm or corporation seeking to sell or which may desire to sell supplies to the city, perform service for or make a contract with the city, other than a gift of nominal value; nominal value being defined in this instance as less than twenty-five dollars ($25.00).
(Ord. dated 8/16/10, § 1; Ord. dated 10/19/09, § 1)
Sec. 33. Council meetings, time and place; presiding officer and quorum.
The mayor and council shall meet for the transaction of business at such times and places as they may prescribe. At all meetings of the mayor and council, the mayor, if present, shall preside and, except as hereinafter provided, he may vote only in cases of a tie. The mayor may also vote in all elections for officers who are elected by the council, whether there be a tie or not, and as otherwise provided in this charter. The mayor and at least two-thirds of the duly qualified and acting council members shall constitute a quorum for transaction of business; however, a lesser number in the absence of a quorum may adjourn a regular meeting to a future time.
(Ga. L. 1978, Act. No. 900, § 5; Ord. No. 1998-292, 2-2-98)
Sec. 34. Power to enact ordinances; maximum penalty.
Said mayor and council shall have full power to pass all ordinances, bylaws and regulations which they may deem necessary to the good government of said city, the protection of property, peace, good order, health, comfort and convenience of the citizens thereof, and to fix suitable penalties for the violation of the same.
They may provide for punishing violators of city ordinances or resolutions by fine, confinement or confinement at labor; the fines in no case to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) and the confinement or confinement at labor in no case to exceed a period of 30 days, and either one or all of said penalties may be imposed at the discretion of the municipal judge.
Sec. 35. Committees of council.
The mayor and city council may provide by ordinance for such committees as they may deem fit for the best interest of said city, prescribing the duties of such committees, and define their authority.
(Ga. L. 1962, No. 932, § 5)
Sec. 36. Impeachment--Causes.
If the mayor or any member of the city council of said city shall be guilty of malpractice, wilful neglect of their duties, abuse of their powers, or any other unbecoming conduct, they shall be subject to impeachment by the city council, and upon conviction, shall be removed from office.
Sec. 37. Same--Trial.
In impeachment trials before the city council, the affirmative vote of at least four members shall be required to convict, and the mayor shall be entitled to vote, except in case he is on trial, in which case he may not vote. The city recorder shall preside in all impeachment trials unless he is disqualified, in which case the presiding judge of the Superior Court of Newton County shall designate some qualified lawyer to preside over such trial, but such officer presiding over said impeachment trial shall not vote, even in case of a tie. The city recorder shall not be qualified to preside over such impeachment trial unless he shall have been engaged actively in the practice of law for at least five years next preceding such trial. On an impeachment trial, a tie-vote shall acquit the accused. An impeachment resolution against the mayor shall not be subject to his veto. A judgment of conviction in an impeachment proceeding shall vacate the office of the convicted mayor or councilman.
Sec. 38. Failure or refusal to vote on measure.
The failure or refusal of a member of the city council or of any commission, committee, board, bureau or agency of the city to vote when the proper time comes to vote, on a question pending before such city council, commission, committee, board, bureau, or agency, at a meeting legally held and at which such member is in attendance, shall be construed as a vote in favor of the pending proposal. The failure or refusal of a majority of the members of any body duly convened shall be counted as votes in favor of the measure under consideration and amounts to its adoption.
Sec. 39. Regulating use of streets.
The city council shall have power and authority by ordinance, to tax, license and regulate the operation of automobiles, railroad trains, steam engines, locomotives, street cars, buses, trolley cars, bicycles, motorcycles and other vehicles within the city limits and fix maximum and minimum speed limits for them and to prescribe both minimum qualifications of operators of such vehicles and the manner in which the same may be operated, and to require such machines and their owners to be registered, and said council may make such other provisions as may seem prudent for the safety of the driver, passengers and the public.
Sec. 40. Regulating charitable solicitations; inflammables and explosives.
Soliciting charity or relief campaigns within the city shall be subject to ordinance regulation by the city council, which shall likewise regulate the storage and keeping of gasoline, kerosene, gunpowder, dynamite, nitroglycerine and other inflammable or explosive materials within the city limits.
Sec. 41. Providing off-street parking facilities, authority.
The city council shall have the power and authority to construct, maintain and operate off-street parking facilities, and to acquire land and other necessary property for such purposes and to charge, contract for and receive rentals and parking fees for the use of such facilities and parking spaces therein.
Sec. 42. City clerk--Secretary to agencies.
The city clerk may be required to act as clerk or secretary to any board, commission, committee, agency or authority of said city.
Sec. 43. Same--Consolidating office of clerk with other offices.
(Repealed by Ga. L. 1962, Act No. 932, § 6)
Sec. 44. Recorder's court.
There shall be a recorder's court in said city for the trial of all offenders of the laws and ordinances of said city to be held by the recorder in the courtroom in the city hall of said city as often as necessary. The mayor and council shall designate a recorder and an alternate recorder to serve in the absence or disqualification of the recorder, each of whom shall serve at the pleasure of the mayor and council and may be removed with or without cause. The compensation to be paid to the recorder and alternate recorder shall be as specified from time to time by the mayor and council. The recorder (and the alternate recorder) shall have the power to preserve order and compel the attendance of witnesses and punish for contempt by imprisonment not exceeding fifteen (15) days or a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), either or both. The recorder (and the alternate recorder) shall have full power and authority upon conviction to sentence any offender to labor upon the streets or other public works in said city for a period not exceeding six (6) months or to impose a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), or to sentence said offender to be confined and imprisoned in the city prison, or other place of confinement in said city, for a period not to exceed six (6) months; either one or more of said penalties may be imposed in the discretion of the recorder and/or the alternate recorder. The recorder and, in the absence of the recorder, the alternate recorder, shall have the right to issue criminal warrants, to hold preliminary trials and to fix bonds of all persons tried before him, to answer for their appearance at Newton Superior Court for a violation of the criminal laws of this state, or in default of such bond, commit such offenders to jail for safekeeping. The recorder and, in the recorder's absence, the alternate recorder shall also have the right to issue inspection warrants or search warrants as may be necessary to ascertain violations of city ordinances, rules and regulations.
(Ord. No. 1984-146, § 2, 1-16-84)
Sec. 45. Police arrests without warrants, authorized.
It shall be lawful for the chief of police or any special policeman lawfully appointed to arrest, without warrant, any and all persons violating the ordinances and laws of said state and city, in the city limits, and to confine such person or persons so arrested in the city prison, until a hearing can be had before the proper officer; said chief of police or policeman shall have power and authority to call his assistance to arrest and detain such offenders any bystander, and such person when summoned shall be bound to aid and assist said officers; should such person fail to do so, he shall be liable to prosecution pursuant to section 44. The chief of police or policeman may call sheriffs and their deputies, constables, and other state or counties' officers for assistance, in the arrest, detention, investigation and conviction of offenders.
Sec. 46. Appearance bonds; forfeitures; fines; enforcement by execution.
The mayor and city council of Covington may provide by ordinance for the taking of appearance bends, to be made by persons charged with the violation of any of the laws or ordinances of the city. They may prescribe by ordinance for the taking of cash collateral bond or have bonds issued by personal, solvent sureties, and they may provide for the summary forfeiture of all cash bonds and for the summary forfeiture of all other appearance bonds by order of the recorder's court. All forfeitures and unpaid fines shall constitute liens against all property of the person or persons obligated to pay the same, which liens shall issue and be enforced as provided by section 14 hereof, above.
(Ga. L. 1966, Act No. 147, § 13)
Sec. 47. Election for mayor and council members.
Any person desiring to run for city council shall designate the council post for which he is offering. As specified under the Charter, section 24(a)(2), candidates for council posts 1 West, 2 West, and 3 West must be residents of the West Ward and candidates for council posts 1 East, 2 East, and 3 East must be residents of the East Ward. All council members shall be elected by a majority of the qualified electors voting in the elections for the respective officials. As specified in Charter section 22, the council members holding council posts 1 West, 2 West and 3 West shall be elected by the qualified electors of the West Ward only; the council members holding council post 1 East 2, East and 3 East shall be elected by qualified electors of the East Ward only; and the mayor and council members holding council post 1 At Large and 2 At Large shall be elected by all of the qualified electors of the City of Covington. The qualification of candidates, terms of office for the mayor and council members and the dates and procedures for the conduct of elections and runoff elections for mayor and council posts shall be governed by the provisions of the Georgia Municipal Election Code, Chapter 3 of Title 21, Official Code of Georgia Annotated.
(Ga. L. 1967, Act No. 514, § 3; Ga. L. 1978, Act No. 900, § 6; Ord. No. 1994-239, § 3, 3-14-94)
State Law References: General municipal elections, O.C.G.A. Sec. 21-3-51.
Sec. 48. Voter registration.
(Repealed by Ord. dated 10/15/01 § 4 (part))
Sec. 49. Preservation of election ballots.
(Repealed by Ord. dated 10/15/01 § 4 (part))
Sec. 50. Distribution of literature near polling place.
On the day any election is held it shall be the duty of the chief of police to establish and mark a line outside the city hall and it shall be unlawful for any person to distribute cards or other political literature or to solicit votes within said lines next to the city hall, which is the voting or polling place.
Any person guilty of violating the provisions of this section shall, upon conviction in the recorder's court, be fined in a sum of not more than fifty dollars ($50.00) or sentenced to the public works of the city for a term not exceeding twenty (20) days, either or both penalties to be imposed in the discretion of the recorder.
Sec. 51. Power of eminent domain; procedure.
(a) The city shall have full power and authority to acquire, by exercise of the power of eminent domain, property for use as streets, alleys, sidewalks, ditches, playgrounds, parks, libraries, waterworks, sanitary systems, storm sewers, electric lines, gas lines, cemeteries, jails, or for any other such public facility, utility or use, all as provided by the laws of this state.
(b) The procedure to be followed by the city in acquiring property by exercise of the power of eminent domain shall be as provided by the laws of this state.
(Ga. L. 1966, H.B. No. 73, § 14)
Amendment note--H.B. No. 73, § 14, Ga. L. 1966, amended § 51 to read as set out above. Prior to the amendment the section simply granted the power of eminent domain for "any corporate purpose."
Sec. 52. Power to condemn land and property for public use.
(Repealed by Ga. L. 1966, H.B. No. 73, § 15)
Sec. 53. Streets, etc., powers conferred.
(Repealed by Ga. L. 1966, H.B. No. 73, § 15)
Sec. 54. Control of streets, sidewalks and bridges.
The mayor and council shall have exclusive control of the streets, sidewalks and bridges of the city; they may enact such ordinances as they may deem best for the regulation of traffic upon said streets, sidewalks and bridges, and provide suitable punishment for the violation of these ordinances.
Sec. 55. Streets and public utilities; powers generally; assessments.
The city shall have the power and authority to lay out, open, grade, construct, pave, curb, gutter, drain, widen, repave, repair, relocate, extend, replace, remove and maintain all streets, alleys, sidewalks and all other public ways, and shall have the power and authority to lay out, construct, maintain, extend, repair and replace all storm sewers, curbs, gutters, drains and other accessory features of such ways, including water mains and sanitary sewer mains when laid in the right-of-way of such streets or other ways; and to provide funds for these purposes, the city may assess the costs of all such public improvements against the abutting real estate and the owners thereof, provided:
(a) Each assessment shall be fairly determined, in proportion to the number of feet fronting on the public way where any such improvements are made;
(b) If any such improvements are made only on one side of any such public way, the costs of such improvements shall be assessed only against the abutting real estate and the owners thereof on that side;
(c) Where any such improvements, such as storm sewers or culverts, are made for the sole benefit of a person or persons other than the abutting property owners, the cost of such improvements shall not be assessed against the abutting property owners;
(d) As to the costs of the construction, paving, widening, repaving, or repairing of streets only (excluding sidewalks, curbs, gutters, storm sewers, sanitary sewers, water lines, and all other such improvements in the street right-of-way), only one-third of such costs may be assessed against the abutting real estate and the owner thereof on each side, with the remaining one-third to be paid from the city treasury;
(e) As to the costs of the construction, paving, installing, repairing or replacing of curbs, gutters, sidewalks, storm sewers, sanitary sewers, and water lines in the right-of-way of any street, only one-half of such costs may be assessed against the abutting real estate and the owners thereof, with the remaining one-half to be paid from the city treasury; and
(f) All such assessments shall constitute liens against the abutting real estate thus assessed and against all other property of the owner thereof, such liens to run from the time of the assessment until paid in full, and all such executions to issue and be enforced as provided by section 14 hereof, above.
(Ga. L. 1966, H.B. No. 73, § 16)
Amendment note--H.B. No. 73, § 16, Ga. L. 1966, amended § 55 to read as set out above. The extent of the changes makes an analysis of the effect of the amendment impractical.
Sec. 56. Bond issues authorized for street improvements.
The city may, in the manner prescribed by law, provide by ordinance for the issuing of bonds for enlarging or extending the public utilities of the city, including waterworks, sewerage, electric lights, natural gas, street and/or other public improvements.
Sec. 57. Franchises.
The mayor and council is hereby vested with the right to exercise and control franchise rights within the corporate limits of the city over all public utility corporations, to charge for the use of streets and alleys, and to control the use of poles, wires and other equipment used by the grantee of the franchise right.
Sec. 58. Utilities, referendum required for sale of; rights-of-way, easements, etc.
(a) The city shall continue to supply all the public utilities of said city, to-wit: waterworks, sewerage, electric lights; and for such purposes the mayor and city council shall be invested with all the authority to enlarge such systems of public utilities as they may deem necessary, and they may have authority to prescribe by ordinances for the government and regulation of all public utilities. Provided, that before said mayor and council shall dispose of any one or all of the herein named public utilities by absolute sale in fee simple, an election shall be called submitting the matter to the qualified voters of said city for their approval or disapproval, said election to be called, held, and the result determined under the election laws now in force, or that may be hereafter prescribed for creating a bonded indebtedness against said city.
(b) The city shall have the power and authority to extend, construct, maintain and operate its water, sewerage, electric light and power lines and systems for a distance of not over twelve miles in all directions beyond the corporate limits of said city, as the same now exist or may hereafter be established; and the city shall have authority to furnish water, lights, power and sewerage connections to person, firms, and corporations within and without the corporate limits of said city, and, to charge for the same; to purchase electrical current from any source, either within or without the city limits; to make reasonable rules and regulations; and the city may make different charges for the use of such utilities within and without the corporate limits of said city. Provided, that nothing shall permit the city to erect any new power lines that will parallel the power lines of Snapping Shoals Electric Membership Corporation, or serve members of said corporation within said area.
(c) The city is hereby authorized and empowered to acquire, by contract, purchase or condemnation, rights-of-way, easements and privileges for water, sewerage, electric lights and power lines and systems within the corporate limits of the city, and without the corporate limits of the city within a distance of twelve miles in any direction beyond the corporate limits of the city as the same now exist or may be hereafter established.
(d) The city is hereby authorized and empowered to furnish and supply electric power to any person, firm or corporation, at its distribution plant in the city, or at the point from which said city acquires its electric power, for serving non-residents of said city, and to fix the rules and regulations on which the same may be furnished, and likewise to fix the terms on which the same are to be furnished, the manner of payment therefor, and the charges to be paid therefor.
(e) The city is hereby authorized to purchase, construct, operate and maintain a system for the sale and distribution of natural or other gas within the city limits and for a distance of twelve miles in any direction beyond such corporate limits as now exist or as shall hereafter exist, and in connection therewith the city is authorized to acquire, by contract, purchase or condemnation, all rights-of-way, easements and property necessary to carry out these purposes; provided, that the power of condemnation granted in this section shall not apply to property within the limits of any other municipality, except with the prior approval of the mayor and council of said municipality. The city is hereby authorized and empowered to furnish and supply gas and gas services to any person, firm or corporation at its distribution plant in the city or at the point from which said city acquires its supply of gas for serving nonresidents of said city, and to fix the rules and regulations under which the same may be furnished, and likewise fix the terms on which the same are to be furnished, and the manner of payment therefor, and the charges to be paid therefor.
(f) Nothing heretofore shall give the city the right to operate, maintain or construct any of the systems or services enumerated herein within the limits of Rockdale County.
(g) The city is hereby authorized to purchase, construct, operate and maintain a system for reception, transmission and distribution of television impulses and television energy (including audio signals and visual images by means of electrical impulses) within the city limits as it now exists or shall hereafter exist; and in connection therewith, the city is authorized to acquire, by contract or purchase, all equipment, towers, receivers, lines and related apparatus, all rights-of-way, easements and other property necessary to carry out these purposes, including the use of all existing city rights-of-way, easements and other property. The city is further authorized and empowered to furnish and supply the distribution of television impulses and television energy as aforesaid to any person, firm or corporation at the point of reception thereof by the city or at any point where the city may hereafter have means of distribution thereof and to fix rules and regulations under which the same may be furnished and distributed and likewise, to fix the terms upon which the same are to be furnished and the manner of payment therefor and the charges to be paid therefor will be the rate of charges to be established from time to time by resolution of the mayor and council. Nothing contained herein shall prohibit the city from granting franchises in accordance with Charter section 9(n) for the private operation of such a system of reception, transmission and distribution of television impulses and television energy aforesaid.
(Ord. No. 1979-102, § 1, 8-20-79)
Sec. 59. Fiscal year.
Beginning on July 1, 2008, the fiscal year for the City shall be from the first day of July through the thirtieth day of June of the next succeeding calendar year.
(Ga. L. 1966, Act No. 147, § 17)
(Ord. dated 11/3/08, § 1; Ord. dated 2/2/09, § 1)
Sec. 60. Budget.
No money shall be expended by the mayor and council during any year until a budget has been prepared and adopted, as herein provided. The budget shall include in its anticipations for the year a sum not to exceed the normal revenue collections by the city from all sources during the preceding year. The council shall appropriate a sum sufficient to cover the debt service, including the sinking fund and interest on bonded indebtedness, which sum shall not be diverted to any other department or departments by the mayor and council during the year. Should the income of the city be decreased by law or otherwise, it shall be the duty of the mayor and council to immediately adjust its budget so as to comply with such decreased revenue. In the event of an increase in revenue, which increase has become definite and reasonably certain by an increase in tax rate or the schedule of changes for city services, the mayor and council may revise the budget accordingly and take such anticipated receipts into consideration in the budget.
Sec. 61. Transfer of funds.
After the budget has been adopted, the mayor and council may transfer or reallocate funds, with the exception of appropriations for debt services.
Sec. 62. Deficit.
Should at any time during any year the expenditures exceed the revenue collected, and a deficit be created, it shall be the duty of the mayor and council, before appropriating any other sum for any other purpose, to appropriate a sufficient sum to immediately discharge any such deficit which has accrued during the preceding year.
Sec. 63. Borrowing money authorized; when.
The mayor and council shall have the power and authority, on the terms and conditions as provided by the Constitution and laws of this state, to borrow money to meet casual deficiencies in the revenues of said city.
(Ga. L. 1966, H.B. No. 73, § 18)
Sec. 64. Audit of finances.
The mayor and council are hereby required, at the end of each fiscal year, to have an annual audit made covering all of the financial transactions made and entered into by said mayor and council for that year. When said audit is completed, it shall be published by the mayor and the council, either in the official newspaper or by posting upon the public bulletin board at the city hall, the method of publication being made within the discretion of the mayor and council.
Sec. 65. Taxes; powers to levy and collect; liens; enforcement.
The mayor and council may levy and collect for city purposes a tax on the taxable value of real estate, stock in trade and all other property within the City of Covington that may at the time be taxable under the laws of the State of Georgia. The mayor and council shall also have the power to levy and collect out of the property aforesaid such additional tax as may be necessary to provide for the payment of principal and interest of any bonded debt of the city now existing or hereafter to be created by the city. In all cases, the order levying taxes shall specify for which of the purposes aforesaid it is levied, and how much for each purpose. The lien of such taxes, the rank of such lien, and the enforcement and collection thereof by execution and sale shall be as provided by the laws of the state and section 14 hereof, above.
(Ga. L. 1966, H.B. No. 73, § 19; Ord. No. 1978-90, 2-6-78)
Sec. 66. License tax, authority to levy, etc.
The mayor and council shall have full power and authority to license, regulate and control theatrical exhibitions, merry-go-rounds, circuses, dance halls, skating rinks, shows and exhibitions of all kinds, drays, automobiles jitneys, trucks, taxis and public or private vehicles of all kinds, traveling vendors of patent medicines, soaps, notions and all other articles; also hotels, boardinghouses, restaurants, lunch stands, fish stands or markets, meat markets, mercantile establishments, chain stores, laundries, billiard, pool and other kinds of tables, tenpins, shooting galleries, and bowling alleys, slot machines or any games operated by "coin-in-slot" devices for carrying on games, as well as vending machines, generally; also bakeries, dairies, barbershops, livery stables, sale stables, slaughterhouses, tanyards, garage or motor vehicle repair shops, blacksmith shops, gins, sawmills, planing mills; also auctioneers, peddlers and pawnbrokers; all agents of fire, health, accident, indemnity, casualty and life insurance companies; the sale of all kind of beverages, cigars, cigarettes and tobacco products of all kinds; also retailers of malt, vinous and spirituous liquors; also dealers in and/or dispensers of gasoline, either at wholesale or retail, from tanks or otherwise; and all businesses, occupations, professions, callings, trades or avocations which, under the laws of the state, are subject to license. The city shall have the power to require registration of, to assess and to collect a license tax on, all such businesses, etc., and all other businesses, trades, professions, occupations or callings conducted or engaged in within the corporate limits of the city, and such occupation tax or license tax shall constitute a lien upon all the property of the taxpayer or person liable and shall take rank and be enforceable in the same manner as ad valorem taxes due the city; and the city may require the registration of, and payment of license tax on, all such businesses, etc., as a prerequisite to the right to operate or engage in said business in the city; and the city shall have power to punish anyone conducting or engaging in any such business, etc., without first registering and paying said license taxes. The city shall have full and complete power to provide by ordinance for classification of all classes and businesses, and all other rules and regulations necessary and proper in the premises.
(Ga. L. 1966, H.B. No. 73, § 20)
Sec. 67. Executions; Fi. Fas.
(Repealed by Ga. L. 1966, H.B. No. 73, § 21)
Sec. 68. Zoning powers.
The mayor and council shall have power and authority to establish zoning regulations and to provide the use, height, and construction of buildings or structures within said city; to provide plans for the future growth, development and improvement of the municipality, especially with regard to its public and private buildings, works, streets, parks, grounds and vacant lots, looking toward the proper sanitation and proper service by utilities; to make and adopt a master plan which shall provide for the comprehensive zoning of the city. The city shall have all other zoning powers granted by the laws of this state.
(Ga. L. 1966, H.B. No. 73, § 22)
Secs. 69--74. Repealed.
Editor's note--Sections 69--74, which related to zoning, were repealed by Ga. L. 1966, H.B. No. 73, § 23.
Sec. 75. Contracts for supplies.
The city shall have the authority to make contracts for supplies, including electric current for electric lights and power for all of the public utilities of said city, which contracts may be for a term of years from the date thereof; provided only, that the compensation for such supplies to be paid by said city shall be paid by the city monthly or annually and the amount of such compensation for any one year shall not exceed the amount which may be lawfully levied therefor as prescribed by law.
Sec. 76. Donations for public institutions.
The mayor and city council shall have authority to make donations out of the funds in the city treasury, not otherwise appropriated, for the support of the poor, for public libraries, and for public hospitals, public restrooms and other institutions of like character.
Sec. 77. Group insurance for city officers and employees, authorized; deductions, etc.
The mayor and council of said city are hereby authorized and empowered to make deductions periodically from the wages and salaries of its employees and officers, with which to pay the premium for life, health, accident, hospitalization or annuity of such officers or employees, upon a group insurance plan, and to that end to enter into agreements with insurance companies whereby the kind of group insurance desired by the employees may be furnished to them and the premiums therefor remitted periodically by said city.
The participation in such group insurance by such officers or employees shall be entirely voluntary on the part of such persons at all times. Any officer or employee, upon any payday, may withdraw or retire from such group plan upon giving notice in writing to his employer directing the discontinuance of deductions from his wages or salary in payment of such plan.
The mayor and council of said city, in carrying out any provision of this section, shall have the right to pay out of the general funds of the city one hundred percent (100%) of the premium due for such health insurance coverage afforded the mayor and seventy-five percent (75%) of the premium due for such group health insurance coverage afforded its other officers and employees.
Sec. 78. Building regulations.
The mayor and council may prescribe by ordinance such rules and regulations as they see fit for the regulation of all buildings erected within the corporate limits of said city, or for the repair of such buildings, they may prescribe the materials to be used and the manner of erecting or repairing the same.
Sec. 79. Regulation of public entertainment; shows, etc.
The mayor and city council may prescribe by ordinance for the regulation of all public entertainments, shows, circuses, parades, may prescribe when such entertainments, etc., may be held, as well as the manner in which the same may be conducted.
Sec. 80. Fire department.
The city shall provide by ordinance for the establishment and maintenance of a fire department for said city, and for this purpose they may acquire property and equipment therefor to be paid out of the revenues of said city or by municipal bonds properly voted and validated therefor, as now prescribed by law. They may provide either for a voluntary service or for a paid service if the revenues of said city authorize such payment, and they may provide by ordinance such rules and regulations as they may deem necessary for the government and control of said fire department, which ordinance shall provide officers therefor and prescribe their duties, authority terms of office, manner of election and compensation.
Sec. 81. Board of health, authorized.
The mayor and city council shall also have authority to provide by ordinance for a board of health to be composed of such members as may be provided for in said ordinance; to prescribe their terms of office and define their powers, authority and compensation. The mayor and council in their discretion may provide for a joint city-county board of health.
Sec. 82. Severability.
If any provision of this Act shall be held to be unconstitutional, such provision alone shall be invalid, and the other parts of this Act shall be unaffected thereby and shall remain in full force and effect.
Sec. 83. Legal advertisement.
A copy of notice of intention to apply for this local legislation and the certificate of the publisher showing the publication of such notice as required by law are attached hereto and made a part of this bill, and it is hereby declared that all the requirements of the Constitution of the State of Georgia relating to publication of notice of intention to apply for the passage of this local legislation have been complied with for the enactment of this law.
Sec. 84. Prior acts repealed.
An act granting a new charter to the City of Covington, approved August 16, 1918 (Ga. L. 1918, Act No. 349, p. 630), as amended, particularly by an Act approved August 15, 1922 (Ga. L. 1922, Act No. 445, p. 720), an Act approved August 6, 1927 (Ga. L. 1927, Act No. 147, p. 1014), an Act approved March 29, 1937 (Ga. L. 1937, Act No. 365, p. 1707), an Act approved March 31, 1937 (Ga. L. 1937, Act No. 506, p. 1718), an Act approved March 27, 1941 (Ga. L. 1941, Act No. 276, p. 1289), an Act approved March 27, 1941 (Ga. L. 1941, Act No. 281, p. 1295), an Act approved December 10, 1953 (Ga. L. 1953 November-December Session Act No. 528, p. 2156), an Act approved February 23, 1956 (Ga. L. 1956, Act No. 146, p. 2507), an Act approved February 14, 1957 (Ga. L. 1957, Act No. 28, p. 2083), an Act approved March 17, 1958 (Ga. L. 1958, Act No. 76, p. 2269), an Act approved March 17, 1959 (Ga. L. 1959, Act No. 395, p. 3126) and an Act approved March 17 1960 (Ga. L. 1960, Act No. 713, p. 2617) is hereby repealed in its entirety. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are hereby repealed.