Updates On The New City Charter Project
The City of Dalton has been working since 2022 to draft a new charter for the city government. Dalton's existing charter is more than 100 years old, with some sections dating back to Dalton's incorporation in 1847. Many sections are out of date and no longer reflect current practices or even current state law. The Charter Update project is now in the review stage with an evolving Charter draft undergoing review by City elected leaders and staff as well as the public. A comprehensive review of the City's code of ordinances is also underway to ensure that the ordinances and policies of the City are in line with the new Charter draft. Updates about this project will appear below:
November 7th, 2023 Update
The Dalton Mayor and Council voted unanimously to approve the new City charter at their meeting Monday night, November 6th. The resolution approved on Monday night calls for the new charter to be sent to the Georgia General Assembly to be enacted into law during the legislature's 2024 session.
"I think we’ve had probably five different work sessions and public meetings over the course of 2023 and along the way the draft has been fine-tuned and updated," City Administrator Andrew Parker said Monday night. "I want to recognize our department heads, too, because there was a lot of quality control work along the way to make sure that what we were doing was right so it is a project that we're all very pleased to have completed."
The Mayor and Council also commended City Clerk Bernadette Chattam and attorney Jonathan Bledsoe for the hard work they have put in to complete the new charter.
"We appreciate you letting us be involved and handle and we are very happy to see it to conclusion tonight," Bledsoe said.
Read more about Monday night's meeting by clicking here.
November 3rd, 2023 Update
The final draft of the new City of Dalton Charter is complete and ready for review and potential approval by the Mayor and Council. The final draft incorporates the clarifications about the Dalton Public Schools still being required to consult with the City Council to issue debt and also the transfer payment by Dalton Utilities.
The final draft of the charter will be presented at the Monday, November 6th Mayor and Council meeting along with a resolution to send the charter to the Georgia General Assembly. If approved by the council, the charter would be introduced during the state legislature's 2024 session to be enacted into law.
City Administrator Andrew Parker told City of Dalton staff and leadership in a message Friday announcing the completion of the final Charter draft that, "I am proud of our team that put much thought, long hours, sweat, and tears during 2023 to re-write the City charter which has been a project in the making for over 50 years. The project seemed almost insurmountable in the past, but I’m fulfilled in knowing that this new charter will serve the City well for many, many years to come."
You can read the final draft of the charter by clicking here.
October 17th, 2023 Update
The City of Dalton held a work session on October 16th to discuss the latest updates to what had been considered the final draft of the new City Charter. The work session consisted of a detailed review of the latest changes to the document which was led by attorney Jonathan Bledsoe from the firm Minor, Bell, and Neal which represents the City and who has worked extensively on the update to the charter.
Some of the changes to the most recent draft of the document included:
- Article I, Section 2.11 – Adding the term of art “domiciled”
- Article IV, Section 4.11 (d) – Updating a provision relevant to Municipal Court Judge to match current State law requirements
- Article VII -- Dalton Public School edits as requested by the school system’s legal counsel and subsequent revisions by City staff
- Article VIII – Dalton Utilities/WLSF edits of section 8.17 and removal of section 8.19
- Per the GMA model charter, all commissions and authorities that are within the operational control of the City (i.e. public safety commission, public works committee, finance and administration committee, etc.) were removed from the charter and placed in the City code of ordinances. The only commissions and authorities that remain in the charter are those that exclusively obtain their vesting authority through the charter (i.e. WLSF, Airport Authority, DDDA, Recreation Commission, Building Authority, and Dalton Public Schools).
The current draft of the charter can be reviewed at the bottom of this page along with previous versions of the charter draft.
During the review of the document, members of the City Council requested some clarification to sections of the charter dealing with the Dalton Utilities transfer payment and also the section concerning how the Dalton Public Schools work with the Mayor and Council to request issuing debt for projects.
Once those clarifications are made to the City charter, the Mayor and Council will consider an ordinance at their November 6th meeting to send the charter to the Georgia General Assembly for its 2024 session where it can be enacted into law. Because of the extensive changes to the document, it cannot simply be enacted by home rule and instead needs to be enacted by the state.
For the full video of Monday evening's work session, click play in the window below:
October 13th, 2023 Update
There will be a work session Monday, October 16th, at 5:00 pm before the Mayor and Council meeting for a reading of the final draft of the new City Charter. The latest draft of the charter can be viewed below
After the reading of the draft, the City Council will consider a resolution at their regular meeting on November 6th to send the draft to the Georgia General Assembly to be enacted into law
Some of the revisions to the current final draft include:
- Article I, Section 2.11 – Adding the term of art “domiciled”
- Article IV, Section 4.11 (d) – Updating a provision relevant to Municipal Court Judge to match current State law requirements
- Article VII -- Dalton Public School edits as requested by the school system’s legal counsel and subsequent revisions by City staff
- Article VIII – Dalton Utilities/WLSF edits of section 8.17 and removal of section 8.19
- Per the GMA model charter, all commissions and authorities that are within the operational control of the City (i.e. public safety commission, public works committee, finance and administration committee, etc.) were removed from the charter and placed in the City code of ordinances. The only commissions and authorities that remain in the charter are those that exclusively obtain their vesting authority through the charter (i.e. WLSF, Airport Authority, DDDA, Recreation Commission, Building Authority, and Dalton Public Schools).
May 2nd, 2023 Update:
A public information meeting was held Monday night, May 1st before the regularly scheduled meeting of the Mayor and Council to provide an update on the progress of the Charter draft and to allow the public a chance to ask questions. The meeting was live streamed to Facebook and YouTube and it can be watched in its entirety here:
April 27th, 2023 Update:
There will be a public information session on Monday, May 1st at 5:00 pm in the City Council Chamber for review of the draft of the proposed City Charter with City department heads. The meeting will precede the regularly scheduled Mayor and Council meeting which is at 6:00 pm.
April 4th, 2023 Update:
There was a joint work session between the Mayor and Council and the Dalton Public Safety Commission on April 3rd, 2023 to discuss the latest draft of the proposed charter and the proposed changes to the Public Safety Commission's function and responsibilities. Video of the work session can be viewed in the window below.
The latest draft of the proposed charter was updated on March 20th and can be reviewed by clicking here.
February 7th, 2023 Update:
On Monday, February 6th, the Dalton mayor and council held the first public work session to review the draft of a new charter. Video of that meeting can be viewed below. The charter draft document can be reviewed below (the current draft is the January 27th, 2023 version). More information about the Feb. 6th meeting can be found by clicking here.
Comments, questions, or concerns about the charter draft can be sent via email to City Clerk Bernadette Chattam (bchattam@daltonga.gov) and they will be forwarded to the mayor and council and city staff for review.
