C-1 CHARTER OF THE CITY OF BRADFORD, TENNESSEE1 CHAPTER NO. 20 HOUSE BILL NO. 1356 By Representative Halford Substituted for: Senate Bill No. 1413 By Senator Stevens AN ACT to amend Chapter 38 of the Private Acts of 1985; as amended by Chapter 191 of the Private Acts of 1986; Chapter 121 of the Private Acts of 2000; Chapter 1 of the Private Acts of 2003; and any other acts amendatory thereto, relative to the charter of the City of Bradford. TABLE OF CONTENTS ARTICLE/SECTION PAGE I. Incorporation, name and boundaries......................... C-4 1. Incorporation, name and general powers................ C-4 2. Governing body .................................... C-4 3. Boundaries........................................ C-4 II. Corporate powers........................................ C-5 1. Powers ........................................... C-5 1Priv. Acts 2013, ch. 20, is the current basic charter act for the City of Bradford, Tennessee. The text of the basic charter act set out herein includes all its amendments through the 2017 session of the Tennessee General Assembly. Sections of the charter which have been amended contain at the end of those sections the citation to the official act or acts constituting the amendment or amendments. No other changes have been made to the charter except the addition of a table of contents to facilitate its use. A list of all the acts including the basic charter appears at the end of the charter. Acts of a temporary nature with no general or continuing application, such as bond authorization and validation acts have not been included in this compilation. C-2 ARTICLE/SECTION PAGE III. Elections ............................................... C-7 1. Date of general city elections ......................... C-7 2. General election laws apply .......................... C-7 3. Voter qualification requirements ...................... C-7 IV. Board of mayor and aldermen.............................. C-8 1. Compensation of board .............................. C-8 2. Qualification for office............................... C-8 3. Election of mayor and aldermen....................... C-8 4. Restrictions on candidates and their supporters.......... C-8 5. Oath of office ...................................... C-8 6. Salaries........................................... C-8 7. Meetings.......................................... C-9 8. Quorum .......................................... C-9 9. Mayor’s duties ..................................... C-9 10. Vacancies......................................... C-9 11. City legislation.....................................C10 V. City recorder........................................... C-11 1. Appointment ..................................... C-11 2. Absence of the recorder............................. C-11 3. Duties of the recorder .............................. C-11 VI. City attorney........................................... C-12 1. Qualifications..................................... C-12 VII. Administration ......................................... C-12 1. Appointment of officers............................. C-12 2. Departments, offices, and agencies generally ........... C-12 3. Direction and supervision of departments, offices, or agencies ................................. C-12 4. Personnel rules ................................... C-13 5. Official bonds..................................... C-13 VIII. Finance ............................................... C-13 C-3 ARTICLE/SECTION PAGE 1. Fiscal year ....................................... C-13 2. Annual departmental budgets required ................ C-13 3. Supervisor required to prepare and submit annual budget and explanatory message...................... C-13 4. Required content and organization of budget ........... C-13 5. Amendments to budget............................. C-14 6. Supplemental appropriations........................ C-14 7. Deficits.......................................... C-14 8. Transfer of unencumbered appropriation............... C-14 9. Lapsing of appropriations........................... C-14 10. Incurrence and discharge of obligations................ C-14 11. Borrowing........................................ C-15 12. Accounting records and audits ....................... C-15 13. Competitive bidding and purchasing procedures......... C-15 IX. Taxation .............................................. C-15 1. Property taxes .................................... C-15 2. Tax levy ......................................... C-15 3. Due and delinquent................................ C-15 4. Institution of suits to enforce tax liens................. C-15 5. Statutory lien..................................... C-16 6. Collection of delinquent personal property.............. C-16 X. City court ............................................. C-16 1. Appointment, oath, compensation, and restrictions on office of city judge............................ C-16 2. Absence or disability of city judge ..................... C-16 3. Office of city judge may be provided by ordinance........ C-16 4, Duties and powers of city judge ...................... C-16 5. Imposition of bail, fines, costs, and sentences ........... C-17 6. Maintenance of docket and other court rules............ C-17 7. City judge to be exclusive judge of law and facts......... C-17 8. Appeals.......................................... C-17 XI. Miscellaneous.......................................... C-17 1. Severability ...................................... C-17 2. Gender .......................................... C-18 C-4 ARTICLE/SECTION PAGE 3. The corporate existence of the City of Bradford is continued................................... C-18 4. Continuance in office............................... C-18 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE: SECTION 1. Chapter 38 of the Private Acts of 1985; as amended by Chapter 191 of the Private Acts of 1986; Chapter 121 of the Private Acts of 2000; Chapter 1 of the Private Acts of 2003; and any other acts amendatory thereto, is amended by deleting the charter in its entirety and by substituting instead the following new language: ARTICLE I INCORPORATION, NAME AND BOUNDARIES Section 1. Incorporation, Name, and General Powers. The City of Bradford, in Gibson County, Tennessee, and the inhabitants thereof, are hereby constituted a body politic and corporate by the style and name of "City of Bradford", and shall have perpetual succession; and by this corporate name and style may sue and be sued, plead and implead, contract and be contracted with, grant, receive; purchase·, arid hold real estate, mixed property and personal property, or dispose of same for the benefit of said city; and shall have and use a corporate or official seal. Section 2. Governing Body. The governing body of the City of Bradford as elected by the voters of the city shall consist of a Mayor and six (6) Aldermen in whom shall be vested all legislative powers outlined in this Charter and the Statutes of the State of Tennessee. The governing body of the City of Bradford shall be known as the Board of Mayor and Aldermen. Section 3. Boundaries. The boundaries of the City shall be those fixed by Chapter 182, Private Acts of 1913, all Acts amendatory thereof, and annexations made pursuant to general law. C-5 ARTICLE II CORPORATE POWERS Section 1. Powers. The City shall have power: (a) To assess property for taxation, and to levy and provide for the collection of taxes on all property subject to taxation. (b) To levy and collect privilege taxes on businesses, privileges, occupations, trades and professions, and to levy and collect any other kind of tax not prohibited to cities by the Constitution or general law. (c) To levy and collect registration fees on motor vehicles operated within the city. Such registration fees may be graduated according to the tonnage capacities, weight, or horsepower of motor vehicles. (d) To appropriate and borrow money as authorized in this Charter, and to authorize the expenditure of money for any municipal purpose. (e) To acquire land, including improvements thereon, easements, or limited property rights thereto, by purchase, gift, or condemnation, for public use by the city, to reserve industrial sites, to provide open spaces, to encourage proper development to the community, or for the general welfare of the community. Such acquisitions may be within or outside the city. (f) To grant franchises or make contracts for public utilities and public services, not to exceed a period of twenty (20) years. Such franchises and contracts may provide rates, fares, charges, regulations, and standards and conditions of service, subject to regulation by the Tennessee Public Service Commission or other state or federal agency having jurisdiction in such matters. (g) To provide for the acquisition, construction, building, operation and maintenance of: public ways, parks, public grounds, public buildings, sewers, drains, sewage treatment plants, water works, industrial sites and buildings; and facilities; and any other public improvements; inside our outside the city; and to regulate the use thereof; and for such purposes property may be either acquired or taken under applicable laws. C-6 (h) To require property owners to repair and maintain in a safe condition the sidewalks adjoining their lots or lands, including removal of snow, debris or other material. (i) To make regulations to secure the general health of all inhabitants and to prevent, abate, and remove nuisances, including but not limited to old