HB592: HB592 Cleveland, City of; provide new charter

Cleveland, Georgia operates under a city charter, the basic legal document that sets up its government. This bill repeals the city's 2013 charter and replaces it with a new one. The new charter reincorporates the city, restates its broad home-rule powers, and lays out a long list of specific powers such as taxation, zoning, utilities, condemnation and public safety. The charter keeps the existing structure of a mayor and four council members elected from four districts, with four-year terms, and spells out how the mayor, city manager, city clerk, city attorney and municipal court judges are appointed and removed. It sets procedures for council meetings, ordinances, budgeting, borrowing, contracting and selling city property. It creates rules on conflicts of interest, sets municipal court penalties up to a $1,000 fine or 180 days in jail, and repeals the prior 2013 charter and any conflicting laws.

• Repeals the City of Cleveland's 2013 charter (Ga. L. 2013, p. 4068) and all amendments to it, replacing it with an entirely new charter.
• Reincorporates the City of Cleveland as a body politic and lists dozens of specific city powers, from alcohol licensing to zoning to utility operation.
• Keeps the city government structure of a mayor and four council members, one elected from each of four described districts, serving four-year terms.
• Sets qualifications for the mayor and council, including 12 months' prior residency, being at least 21 years old, and no conviction for a crime involving moral turpitude.
• Caps municipal court penalties at a $1,000 fine or 180 days in jail, or both, and gives the court authority over city ordinance violations.
• Establishes procedures for budgeting, bonded debt, franchises (capped at 35 years), taxation, and sale or lease of city property.

Cleveland's mayor, city council members, city manager, city clerk, city attorney, municipal court judges and city employees; residents and business owners in the four council districts; and anyone doing business with the city, including utility franchise holders, contractors and taxpayers subject to city property and occupation taxes.

Because the charter is the city's foundational governing document, this rewrite determines who has authority over hiring, firing, budgeting, taxation and court penalties in Cleveland day to day. Residents and businesses would deal with the same basic structure but under updated rules for elections, contracts, and municipal court cases.

• Section 1-1002 keeps the city's existing corporate boundaries and requires them to be documented on an official map or description kept by the city clerk.
• Section 1-1004 lists 44 specific corporate powers, including taxation, zoning, utilities, condemnation, and regulation of businesses and public conduct.
• Section 2-1004 sets up a mayor elected citywide and four council members elected one each from four named districts.
• Section 2-1007 requires the city manager, if appointed, to post a $100,000 fidelity bond before taking office.
• Section 7-1004 caps municipal court penalties at a $1,000 fine, 180 days in jail, or both, and defines the court's jurisdiction over charter and ordinance violations.
• Section 8-1007 limits city utility and service franchises to a maximum term of 35 years and requires just and adequate compensation to the city.
• Section 8-1028 requires the council to adopt a final annual operating budget by June 30 each year, with month-to-month appropriations continuing if it misses that deadline.
• Section 9-1006 repeals the city's prior 2013 charter and all amendments to it in their entirety.

1. 2025-05-13Effective Date 2025-05-13
2. 2025-05-13Act 151
3. 2025-05-13House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2025-04-07House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2025-03-10Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2025-03-10Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
7. 2025-02-28Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
8. 2025-02-27House Passed/Adopted (House)

• Stan Gunter (R, HD-008)Primary sponsor
• Will Wade (R, HD-009)

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 27, 2025

   169 yea, 0 nay (5 not voting, 6 absent)

   Local Calendar : House Vote #99

2. PassedSenate voteMarch 10, 2025

   43 yea, 1 nay (3 not voting, 9 absent)

   Local Consent Calendar: Senate Vote #221

• city charter
• local government
• municipal court
• Cleveland Georgia
• White County