Charter Conversation

One of the issues I’ve discussed from time to time on this page is our charter. Originally drafted in 1895, it is the document that is the foundation of our city government. The last major overhaul of the charter came in 1968 — over fifty years ago.

While the document has served the city well over the years, it fails to align with modern municipal government approaches in multiple ways. Comparing our charter to the model charter drafted by the Georgia Municipal Association finds many areas in which we could provide greater clarity and efficiency for our stakeholders and our governing body.

One of the members of our state delegation, Senator Sonya Halpern, recently reached out to the governing body to solicit our input regarding any charter amendments. I responded with my thoughts. At our last regular meeting and at the second special called meeting of the evening this past Monday, my colleagues unanimously passed a resolution voicing their opposition to any changes to the charter. Though I respect their position, I believe there’s room for discussion. I shared concerns with the resolution in my preview of our February 17, 2025 meeting.

If you have thoughts about our charter and how it could be updated, I would encourage you to reach out to our state delegation. You can e-mail them here.