§ 1.14. Enumeration of Powers.

The corporate powers of this city may include, but are not limited to, the following:

(1)

to levy and to provide for the assessment, valuation, revaluation, and collection of taxes on all property subject to taxation;

(2)

to levy and to provide for the collection of license fees and taxes on privileges, occupations, trades and professions; and to license and regulate such privileges, occupations, trades and professions and to provide for the manner and method of payment of such licenses and taxes;

(3)

to make appropriations for the support of the government of the city; to authorize the expenditure of money for any purposes authorized by this charter and for any purpose for which a municipality is authorized by the laws of the State of Georgia; and to provide for the payment of expenses of the city;

(4)

to appropriate and borrow money for the payment of debts of the city and to issue bonds for the purpose of raising revenue to carry out any project, program, or venture authorized by this charter or the laws of the State of Georgia;

(5)

to acquire, dispose of, and hold in trust or otherwise any real, personal, or mixed property in fee simple or lesser interest inside or outside the property limits of the city;

(6)

to accept or refuse gifts, donations, bequests, or grants from any source, for any purpose, related to the powers and duties of the city and the general welfare of its citizens, on such terms and conditions as the donor or grantor may impose;

(7)

to condemn property, inside or outside the corporate limits of the city, for present or future use and for any corporate purpose deemed necessary by the governing authority, under Section 36-202 of the Code of Georgia 1933 [O.C.G.A. § 22-1-1 et seq.], or under other applicable Public Acts as are or may be enacted;

(8)

to acquire, lease, construct, operate, maintain, sell, and dispose of public utilities, including, but not limited to, a system of waterworks, sewers and drains, sewage disposal, gas works, electric light plants, transportation facilities, public airports, and any other public utility; to fix the taxes, charges, rates, fares, fees, assessments, regulations, penalties and withdrawal of service for refusal or failure to pay same; and the manner in which such remedies shall be enforced;

(9)

to grant franchises or make contracts for public utilities and public services not to exceed periods of 35 years; and to prescribe the rates, fares, regulations, standards, and conditions of service applicable to the service to be provided by the franchise grantee or contractor insofar as not in conflict with such regulations by the Public Service Commission;

(10)

to lay out, open, extend, widen, narrow, establish, or change the grade of, abandon, close, construct, pave, curb, gutter, adorn with shade trees, otherwise improve, maintain, repair, clean, prevent erosion of and light roads, alleys, and walkways within the corporate limits of the city;

(11)

to grant franchises and right-of-way throughout the streets and roads, and over the bridges and viaducts, for the use of public utilities;

(12)

to provide for the acquisition, construction, building, operation, and maintenance of public ways, parks and playground, recreational facilities, cemeteries, markets and market houses, public buildings, libraries, sewers, drains, sewerage treatment, airports, hospitals and charitable, cultural, educational, recreational, conservation, sport, curative, corrective, detentional, penal and medical institutions, agencies and facilities, and any other public improvements inside or outside the corporate limits of the city; and to regulate the use thereof, and for such purposes, property may be acquired by condemnation under Section 36.202 of the Code of Georgia, 1933 [O.C.G.A. § 22-1-1 et seq.], or other applicable Public Acts, as are or may be enacted;

(13)

to require real estate owners to repair and maintain, in a safe condition, the sidewalks adjoining their lots or lands; and to enact ordinances, establishing the terms and conditions under which such repairs and maintenance shall be effected, including the penalties to be imposed for failure to do so;

(14)

to regulate the erection and construction of buildings and all other structures; to adopt building, housing, plumbing, electrical, gas, heating, and air-conditioning codes; to regulate all housing, building, and building trades; to license all building trades; and to license the construction and erection of buildings and all other structures;

(15)

to provide for the prevention and punishment of drunkenness, riots, and public disturbances;

(16)

to regulate or prohibit junk dealers, pawnshops; the manufacture, sale or transportation of intoxicating liquors; the use and sale of firearms, and to regulate the transportation, storage, and use of combustible, explosive, and inflammable materials, the use of lighting and heating equipment, and any other business or situation which may be dangerous to persons or property;

(17)

to regulate and control the conduct of peddlers, itinerant trades, theatrical performances, exhibitions, shows of any kind whatever by taxation, or otherwise;

(18)

to license, tax, or regulate professional fortunetelling or palmistry;

(19)

to prohibit or regulate and control the erection, removal, and maintenance of signs, billboards, trees, shrubs, fences, buildings, and any and all other structures or obstruction upon or adjacent to the rights-of-way of streets and roads or within view thereof, within or abutting the corporate limits of the city; and to prescribe penalties and punishment for violation of such ordinances;

(20)

to prescribe standards of health and sanitation and to provide for the enforcement of such standards;

(21)

to regulate the emission of smoke or other exhaust which pollutes the air and to prevent the pollution of natural streams which flow within the corporate limits of the city;

(22)

to fix and establish fire limits and from time to time to extend, enlarge, or restrict the same; to prescribe fire safety regulations, not inconsistent with general law, relating to both fire prevention and detection and to fire fighting; and to prescribe penalties and punishment for violation thereof;

(23)

to provide for the destruction and removal of any building or other structure which may or might become dangerous or detrimental to the public;

(24)

to provide for and regulate the collection and disposal of garbage, rubbish, and refuse; and to regulate the collection and disposal of garbage, rubbish and refuse by others; to provide for the separate collection of glass, tin, aluminum, cardboard, paper, and other recyclable materials; and to provide for the sale of such items;

(25)

to levy, fix, assess, and collect a garbage, refuse and trash collection, disposal and other sanitary service charge, tax or fee for such services as may be necessary in the operation of the city from all individuals, firms, and corporations residing in or doing business therein benefiting from such services; to enforce the payment of such charges, taxes, or fees; and to provide for the manner and method of collecting such service charges;

(26)

to levy a fee, charge, or sewer tax as necessary to assure the acquiring, constructing, equipping, operating, maintaining, and extending of a sewage disposal plant and sewerage system, and to levy on the users of sewers and the sewerage systems, a sewer service charge fee of sewer tax for the use of the sewers; and to provide for the manner and method of collecting such service charges and for enforcing payment of same;

(27)

to charge, impose, and collect a sewer connection fee or fees, and to charge the same, from time to time, such fees to be levied on the users connecting with the sewerage systems;

(28)

to define, regulate, and prohibit any act, practice, conduct or use of property which is detrimental, or likely to be detrimental, to the health, sanitation, cleanliness, welfare, and safety of the inhabitants of the city; and to provide for the enforcement of such standards;

(29)

to define a nuisance and provide for its abatement whether on public or private property;

(30)

to provide for the preservation and protection of property and equipment of the city, and the administration, and use of same by the public; and to prescribe penalties and punishment for violations thereof;

(31)

to establish minimum standards for, and to regulate, building construction and repair, electrical wiring and equipment, gas installation and equipment, plumbing, and housing, for the health, sanitation, cleanliness, welfare, and safety of inhabitants of the city; and to provide for the enforcement of such standards;

(32)

to provide that persons given jail sentences, in the municipal court, shall work out such sentence in any public works or on the streets, roads, drains, and squares in the city; or to provide for commitment of such persons to any county work camp or jail by agreement with the appropriate county officials;

(33)

to adopt ordinances and regulations for the prevention of loitering, disorderly conduct, public drunkenness, and disturbing the peace in the corporate limits of the city; to prohibit the playing of lotteries therein; and to prohibit, or regulate by ordinance, such other conduct and activities within said city which, while not constituting an offense against the laws of this State, is deemed by the governing authority to be detrimental and offensive to the peace and good order of the city or to the welfare of the citizens thereof;

(34)

to regulate and license, or prohibit the keeping of, or running at-large of animals and fowl; to provide for the impoundment of same if in violation of any ordinance or lawful order; also to provide for their disposition by sale, gift or humane destruction when not redeemed as provided by ordinance; and to provide punishment for violation of ordinance enacted hereunder;

(35)

to regulate the operation of motor vehicles and exercise control over all traffic, including parking, upon or across the streets, roads, alleys, and walkways of the city;

(36)

to regulate and license vehicles operated for hire in the city; to limit the number of such vehicles; to require the operators thereof to be licensed; to require public liability insurance on such vehicles in the amounts to be prescribed by ordinance; and to regulate and rent parking spaces in public ways for the use of such vehicles;

(37)

to provide and maintain a system of pensions and retirement for officers and employees of the city;

(38)

to levy and provide for the collection of special assessments to cover the costs for any public improvements;

(39)

to enter into contracts and agreements with other governmental entities and with private persons, firms, and corporations providing for services to be furnished and payments to be made therefor;

(40)

to create, alter, or abolish departments, boards, offices, commissions, and agencies of the city and to confer upon such agencies the necessary and appropriate authority for carrying out all powers conferred upon or delegated to same;

(41)

to make, ordain, and establish such bylaws, ordinances, rules and regulations as shall appear necessary for the security, welfare, convenience, and interest of the city and the inhabitants thereof and for preserving the health, peace, order, and good government of the city;

(42)

to provide penalties for violations of any ordinance adopted pursuant to the authority of this charter and the laws of the State of Georgia;

(43)

to exercise the power of arrest through duly appointed policemen;

(44)

to establish procedures for determining and proclaiming that an emergency situation exists within or without the city and to make and carry out all reasonable provisions deemed necessary to deal with or meet such emergency for the protection, safety, health, or well-being of the citizens of the city;

(45)

to exercise and enjoy all other powers, functions, rights, privileges, and immunities necessary or desirable to promote or protect the safety, health, peace, security, good order, comfort, convenience, or general welfare of the city and its inhabitants; to exercise all implied powers necessary to carry into execution all powers granted in this charter as fully and completely as if such powers were fully enumerated herein; and to exercise all powers now or in the future authorized to be exercised by other municipal governments under other laws of the State of Georgia. No enumeration of particular powers in this charter shall be held to be exclusive of others, nor restrictive of general words and phrases granting powers, but shall be held to be in addition to such powers unless expressly prohibited to municipalities under the Constitution or applicable laws of the State of Georgia.