HB877: HB877 Fayetteville, City of; provide new charter

The City of Fayetteville currently operates under a charter dating to a 1997 restatement of its 1970 incorporation. This bill repeals that older charter entirely and replaces it with a comprehensive new one covering nearly every aspect of city government: incorporation and boundaries, the powers the city may exercise, the structure of the mayor and five-member city council, the city manager's role, boards and commissions, the municipal court, elections, and finance. Among its specifics, the mayor and council members serve four-year terms, elected at large, with staggered election years (2025 for three posts, 2027 for mayor and two posts). The mayor is paid $25,000 a year and council members $20,000, plus expenses. The municipal court can fine up to $1,000 or jail someone up to 180 days. The city keeps broad taxing, zoning, franchise, and bonding powers. The new charter takes effect July 1, 2025, and repeals the 1970 and 1997 Fayetteville charter acts in full.

• Repeals the City of Fayetteville's 1970 incorporation act and 1997 restated charter and replaces them with an entirely new charter effective July 1, 2025.
• Sets up a city council of a mayor and five council members elected at large to four-year terms, with staggered election cycles starting in 2025 and 2027.
• Fixes mayor pay at $25,000 per year and council member pay at $20,000 per year, plus reimbursement for actual expenses.
• Creates or continues a municipal court that can fine violators up to $1,000 or jail them up to 180 days, or both.
• Grants the city broad authority to tax property and businesses, issue bonds, grant franchises up to 35 years, condemn property, and regulate zoning, utilities, and public health.
• Establishes a city manager as chief administrative officer, appointed by the council, who runs day-to-day departments and prepares the budget.

Fayetteville residents and voters, the mayor and city council members, city employees and department heads, the city manager, municipal court judges and defendants, local businesses subject to city taxes and permits, and utility and franchise holders operating within city limits.

Because this replaces the entire governing document of the city, it resets how Fayetteville elects leaders, runs its court, sets taxes and fees, and manages public services. Residents and businesses would deal with a fully updated set of local rules rather than the older 1997 charter.

• Section 1.1 through 1.5 reincorporate the city, define its boundaries, and grant broad home-rule powers construed liberally in the city's favor.
• Section 2.1 through 2.3 establish a mayor and five council posts elected at large to four-year terms, with staggered elections beginning in 2025 and 2027.
• Section 2.5 sets mayor pay at $25,000 per year and council pay at $20,000 per year plus reimbursed expenses.
• Section 2.19 gives the mayor veto power over ordinances and resolutions, which the council can override with four affirmative votes.
• Article III creates a council-appointed city manager who directs departments, prepares budgets, and can be removed by the council through a formal hearing process.
• Article IV establishes the Municipal Court of the City of Fayetteville, with judges appointed by the council, authorized to fine up to $1,000 or jail up to 180 days.
• Article VI grants taxing, bonding, franchise (up to 35 years), and budgeting powers, including an annual independent audit requirement.
• Section 7.5 sets the effective date as July 1, 2025, and Section 7.6 repeals the city's 1970 and 1997 charter acts in their entirety.

1. 2026-05-12Effective Date 2026-05-12
2. 2026-05-12Act 656
3. 2026-05-12House Date Signed by Governor (House)
4. 2026-04-06House Sent to Governor (House)
5. 2026-02-17Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
6. 2026-02-17Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
7. 2026-02-09Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
8. 2026-02-06House Passed/Adopted (House)

• Derrick Jackson (D, HD-068)Primary sponsor
• Debra Bazemore (D, HD-069)
• Josh Bonner (R, HD-073)
• Karen Mathiak (R, HD-082)

1. PassedHouse voteFebruary 6, 2026

   163 yea, 0 nay (7 not voting, 5 absent)

   Local Calendar : House Vote #480

2. PassedSenate voteFebruary 17, 2026

   48 yea, 1 nay (2 not voting, 3 absent)

   Local Consent Calendar: Senate Vote #548

• city charter
• local government
• Fayetteville
• municipal court
• city elections