Resolution for American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allocation
MTAS Finance Consultant Eric Spencer created this sample resolution to be used by a Tennessee municipality to use when receiving their allocation from the American Rescue Plan Act.
Charter amendment to reduce number of elected officials and number of required readings for ordinances
The Town of Petersburg was experiencing challenges due to the population size of the municipal being less than 1,000 residents with finding citizens willing to serve vacated positions on the Board of Mayor and Aldermen. The Board of Mayor and Aldermen also expressed concern about the length of time required to adopt an ordinance with the requirement that ordinances be passed on three consecutive readings by the Board. The Board of Mayor and Aldermen requested assistance from MTAS to review the Town’s charter to provide recommendations to amend the charter to reduce the number of elected officials from seven (7) to five (5) and to reduce the number of required readings on an ordinance from three (3) to two (2) readings. The Town of Petersburg has a private act charter. MTAS consultants’ Chuck Downham, Municipal Management Consultant, and Elisha Hodge, Legal Consultant, worked collaboratively to prepare a resolution for consideration by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen to request the Tennessee General Assembly prepare a bill to amend the Town’s charter to reduce the number of elected officials and to reduce the number of required readings for the passage of an ordinance. The resolution identified amendments to Article II, Sections 2 through 5, and Article II, Section 10 to address the request from the Board of Mayor and Aldermen. The resolution was approved by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen. The General Assembly passed an act to amend the Town’s charter to reduce the number of elected officials from seven to five along with other associated amendments and to reduce the number of readings required for an ordinance from three to two that was subsequently approved by a two-thirds vote by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen.
Amendments to the General Law Mayor-Aldermanic Charter (2010)
On July 1, 1991, municipalities operating under the general law mayor-aldermanic charter received a completely revised charter. Since that revision, there have been several amendments to the charter, which are summarized in this publication.
The Court Liaison Program is a cooperative effort of the local police department, the District Attorney General's office and the General Sessions Court Judge to reduce police overtime costs.