SB628: SB628 Richmond County and City of Augusta; council-manager form of government; provide

26 LC 47 4309S The Senate Committee on State and Local Governmental Operations - General offered the following substitute to SB 628: A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To amend an Act providing for the consolidation of Richmond Cou nty and the City of1 Augusta, approved March 27, 1995 (Ga. L. 1995, p. 3648), as amended, so as to provide for2 a council-manager form of government; to provide for a referend um, effective dates, and3 automatic repeal; to provide for mandatory execution of electio n and judicial remedies4 regarding failure to comply; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for5 other purposes.6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:7 SECTION 1.8 An Act providing for the consolidation of Richmond County and t he City of Augusta,9 approved March 27, 1995 (Ga. L. 1995, p. 3648), as amended, is amended by revising10 subsection (a) of Section 4 as follows:11 "(a) The mayor shall possess and exercise the following powers and duties:12 (1) To preside at all meetings of the commission;13 (2) To vote on all matters before the commission;14 (3) To serve as the official head of Augusta-Richmond County for the service of process15 and for ceremonial purposes;16 - 1 - 26 LC 47 4309S (4) To administer oaths and to take affidavits;17 (5) To sign all written contracts entered into by the commissi on on behalf of18 Augusta-Richmond County and all other contracts and instruments executed by the19 consolidated government which by law are required to be in writing; and20 (6) To exercise such other powers and perform such other duties as may be required by21 ordinance or resolution of the commission."22 SECTION 2.23 Said Act is further amended by adding a new section to read as follows:24 "SECTION 4.1.25 County manager.26 (a) There shall be an office of county manager to be nominated by the mayor and27 appointed by majority vote of the commission. Notwithstanding any other provision of this28 charter to the contrary, the mayor shall nominate at least two, but no more than four,29 candidates for county manager. The mayor shall have no vote on the appointment of the30 county manager; provided, however, that, in the event of a tie vote of the commission, the31 mayor may vote to break such tie. Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the32 qualifications, compensation, and other matters pertaining to the office of county manager33 shall be provided for by ordinance or resolution of the commission.34 (b) The county manager shall be appointed based solely upon th e appointee's executive35 and administrative qualifications, with specific reference to a ctual experience in or36 knowledge of accepted practices with respect to the duties of the office.37 (c) The county manager shall be the administrative head of the county government and38 shall be responsible to the commission for the proper and efficient administration of all the39 - 2 - 26 LC 47 4309S affairs of the county, except as otherwise provided by law. It shall be the duty of the40 county manager to:41 (1) See that all laws and ordinances of the county are enforced;42 (2) Exercise control over all departments and divisions of the county which the mayor43 or commissioners have exercised control over, except as otherwise provided for in this44 Act;45 (3) Keep the commission fully advised as to the needs of the county;46 (4) Except as otherwise provided in this Act, supervise and direct the official conduct of47 all department heads and county employees, except for the county attorney;48 (5) Prepare the agenda for meetings of the commission, with the input of the mayor and49 commissioners;50 (6) Attend all meetings of the commission with the right to ta ke part in discussion,51 provided that the county manager shall have no vote on any matt er before the52 commission;53 (7) Supervise the performance of all contracts entered into by or on behalf of the county;54 (8) Confer with and advise all other elected or appointed offi cers or officials of the55 county who are not under the control of the commission but who receive financial support56 therefrom;57 (9) Devote his or her entire time to the duties and affairs of the office of county manager58 and hold no other office or employment for remuneration while s erving as county59 manager;60 (10) Make purchases for the county without seeking approval from the commission and61 without obtaining bids in amounts not to exceed $50,000.00, except:62 (A) As provided by general law relating to the letting of public works contracts;63 (B) That no employment, consulting, or severance contract or a greement shall be64 entered into and no payments shall be made without the approval of the commission;65 and66 - 3 - 26 LC 47 4309S (C) Any purchase made for the county in excess of $10,000.00 shall be reported to the67 commissioner by the county manager; and68 (11) Perform such other duties as may be required by the commission.69 (d) The policies, rules, and regulations so adopted by the commission shall be carried out,70 executed, and enforced by the county manager as chief administrative officer of the county,71 and said board may exercise administrative powers, but only whe re such are necessarily72 and properly incident to its functions as a policymaking or rulemaking body or which are73 necessary to compel enforcement of its adopted resolutions or o rdinances. Any action74 taken by the county manager which is in conflict with such adop ted resolutions or75 ordinances or which deals with matters exclusively reserved to the jurisdiction of the76 commission shall be null, void, and of no effect."77 SECTION 3.78 The election superintendent of Augusta-Richmond County shall call and conduct an election79 as provided in this section for the purpose of submitting this Act to the electors of the80 Augusta-Richmond County for approval or rejection. The electio n superintendent shall81 conduct that election on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November, 2026, and82 shall issue the call and conduct such election as provided by g eneral law. The election83 superintendent shall cause the date and purpose of the election to be published once a week84 for two weeks immediately preceding the date thereof in the off icial organ of85 Augusta-Richmond County. The ballot shall have written or printed thereon the words:86 "( ) YES87 ( ) NO88 Shall the Act be approved that provides for a council-manager f orm of government for Augusta-Richmond County?" All persons desiring to vote for approval of the Act shall vote "Yes," and all persons desiring89 to vote for rejection of the Act shall vote "No." If more than one-half of the votes cast on90 such question are for approval of the Act, Section 1 of this Act shall become of full force and91 effect on January 1, 2027. If the Act is not so approved or if the election is not conducted92 - 4 - 26 LC 47 4309S as provided in this section, Section 1 of this Act shall not become effective, and this Act shall93 be automatically repealed on the 365th calendar day following the election date provided for94 in this section. The expense of such election shall be borne by Augusta-Richmond County. 95 It shall be the election superintendent's duty to certify the result thereof to the Secretary of96 State. The provisions of this section shall be mandatory upon the election superintendent and97 are not intended as directory. If the election superintendent fails or refuses to comply with98 this section, any elector of the Augusta-Richmond County may apply for a writ of mandamus99 to compel the election superintendent to perform his or her duties under this section. If the100 court finds that the election superintendent has not complied with this section, the court shall101 fashion appropriate relief requiring the election superintenden t to call and conduct such102 election on the date required by this section or on the next da te authorized for special103 elections provided for in Code Section 21-2-540 of the O.C.G.A.104 SECTION 4.105 Except as otherwise provided in Section 3 of this Act, this Act shall become effective upon106 its approval by the Governor or upon its becoming law without such approval.107 SECTION 5.108 All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.109 - 5 -