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CHARTER FOR THE TOWN OF ATOKA, TENNESSEE1
CHAPTER
373
House Bill No. 647.
(By Mr. Lanier.)
AN ACT Entitled "An Act to incorporate
the town of Atoka, Tipton County,
Tennessee, and to prescribe its corporate boundaries and regulate
its
municipal government."
SECTION
1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of
Tennessee, That the citizens of Atoka, in the county of Tipton, State of
Tennessee,
are hereby incorporated by the name of the Mayor and Aldermen of
Atoka, and by that name may sue and be
sued and contract and be contracted
with, hold real and personal property, assess taxes to improve
its streets and
sidewalks and public squares, and pass all ordinances necessary of the benefit
and good of the town.
SECTION
2. Be it further enacted, That the boundaries of the said town
of Atoka, Tennessee shall be as follows: beginning at a stake, the S.E. corner of
Kimbrough
to the S.W. corner of Blaydes in a pond; thence in a northerly
direction with the lines of Kimbrough and
Blaydes about 600 feet to a stake;
thence westerly to an oak tree near Kimbrough's smokehouse
about 300 yards;
thence westerly to the S.W. corner of Kimbrough's garden; thence northerly
within Kimbrough's garden fence to a stake in the Memphis and Covington Road
about
200 feet; thence easterly along said road about 300 yards to a tree near
the house
where Russell now lives, the foregoing boundaries including the
residence house of V. Kimbrough; thence
running about 150 feet to the S.W.
corner of O.E. Tenant's lot; thence with this line to the
Atoka and Munford Road
about 200 feet from A.F. Walker's line; thence N.E. across
Mrs. Tipton's field
about 1,200 feet to a forked black locust on the bank of a
branch west of Sam
Robertson's line 150 feet; thence with the meanderings of said branch across the
Covington and Atoka Road; thence along the creek to the N.E. corner of the old
Stevenson
tract of land now owned by Mrs. W.E. McCarty; thence nearly south
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with the old Stevenson line to C.L. Harmon and McCarty's corner; thence nearly
south
with Harmon's Stevenson's and Ervin's lines to the Idaville and Atoka;
thence
south to a point on Mrs. Fannie Simonton's line joining McLaughlin
about 600 feet;
thence east on said line to Mrs. Anna Walker's about 400 feet;
thence on the line
of McLaughlin and Walker to the Bethel and Atoka Road;
thence about 300 feet to the beginning
corner.
SECTION 3. Be it further enacted, That there shall be a Mayor and six
Aldermen, who shall constitute the Board of Mayor and Aldermen of Atoka, and
they
shall be elected by the qualified voters as hereafter provided.
SECTION
4. Be it further enacted, In order to increase the participation
of the voters in municipal elections and to save considerable expense for the
taxpayers
of the Town of Atoka, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen hereby
extend the terms of the current members
of the board so that future elections
of the Town of Atoka will be conducted at the regular election
held in November
of even-numbered years. The terms of the three aldermen whose terms expire
in May 2007 are hereby extended until the first regular meeting of the board in
December
2008, at which time the three aldermen elected at the November 2008
election shall
take office. The terms of the three aldermen and the mayor whose
terms expire in May 2009 are hereby extended
until the first regular meeting
of the board in December 2010, at which time the mayor and
aldermen elected
at the November 2010 election shall take office.
At
the election to be held in November 2008, and each succeeding election
held every two
years thereafter, the three (3) candidates receiving the highest
number of votes for alderman shall be elected
for a term of four (4) years or until
their successors are elected and qualified.
At the election to be held in November 2010, and each succeeding election
held
every two years thereafter, the three (3) candidates receiving the highest
number of
votes for alderman shall be elected for a term of four (4) years or until
their successors
are elected and qualified.
At the election to be held in November 2010, and each succeeding
election
held every four years thereafter, there shall be an election for the office of
mayor, who shall be elected for a term of four years or until the mayor's
successor
is elected and qualified.
The Mayor and Aldermen shall assume office at the first regular
meeting
of the board in December following their election. (as amended by Chapter 63,
Private Acts of 1977, and replaced by Chapter 125, Private Acts of 2006)
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SECTION 5. Be it further enacted, Every person elected to the office of
Mayor or Alderman shall have been a resident of the state of Tennessee for more
than
one (1) year, a resident within the boundaries of Atoka for not less than six
(6) months
immediately preceding the election, and shall continue to reside
within the town of Atoka during his term
of office. In case of the removal of any
officer of the town of Atoka, his respective office shall immediately
become
vacant. (as amended by Chapter 19, Private Acts of 1973, and replaced by
Chapter 125, Private Acts of 2006)
SECTION
6. Be it further enacted, That all elections for said town of
Atoka shall be held by the Commissioners of Elections of Tipton County, under
the
laws of the State of Tennessee governing elections, or by such officer or
officers and
in such manner as the laws of the State may prescribe.
SECTION
7. Be it further enacted, That all persons who are qualified
to vote for members of the General Assembly in the State and who have been
actual
bona fide residents and citizens of the territory within the corporate
boundaries of Atoka
for six months prior to the election, and all nonresidents
who are qualified voters under the laws
of the State of Tennessee and Tipton
County, owning real estate in Atoka, shall be entitled to vote
in the election to
be held on the second Tuesday in May, 1911, and at every subsequent municipal
election.
SECTION 8. Be it further enacted, The officers of the corporation of
Atoka shall, before entering upon the discharge of duties of the office, take an
oath
to support the Constitution and the laws of the United States and the State
of Tennessee.
(as replaced by Chapter 125, Private Acts of 2006)
SECTION
9. Be it further enacted, That the salaries and compensation
of all officers of the town of Atoka shall be fixed by ordinance of the Board of
Mayor
and Aldermen; and the said salaries of the various officers heretofore
mentioned may be
changed by ordinance, but they shall not be increased or
diminished for the term for which they
are elected.
SECTION 10. Be it further enacted, That the Mayor and Aldermen of
the
town of Atoka shall have power by ordinance in said corporation to levy and
collect
taxes upon all property taxable by law for State purposes and upon all
privileges and
polls taxable by the laws of the State; to appropriate money to
provide for the debts and expenses of the
town; to prevent and remove
nuisances; to open, alter, abolish, widen, extend, preserve,
and keep in good
repair the streets and sidewalks; to establish patrols and watches; to regulate
and suppress all disorderly houses and houses of ill fame; and to provide for the
arrest
and confinement of all vagrants, riotous or disorderly persons within the
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limits of the town; to impose fines and
penalties for the breach of any ordinance
or by-law, and to provide for their recovery.
The Board of Mayor and Aldermen shall have authority to appoint some suitable
person
to serve as town marshal and to fix his compensation. The town marshal
shall serve at
the pleasure of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen. (as amended
by Chapter 3, Private Acts of 1969)
SECTION 11. Be it further enacted, That the Mayor and Aldermen
may, as soon as
practicable after the passage of this Act, erect, purchase, or rent
and organize a
workhouse within or beyond the limits of the town; and any
person who shall neglect, fail, or refuse
to pay any fine or costs imposed upon
him or her under any ordinance of the town shall be committed
to the
workhouse until such fine and costs be fully paid. Every person so committed
to the workhouse shall be required to work for the town at such work as his or
her
health and strength will permit within or without the workhouse, not
exceeding ten hours
per day, Sunday excepted, and for such work shall be
allowed forty cents per day and board until
the whole fine and costs are
discharged, when said person shall be released; and until such
workhouse is
established, such offenders may be made to work the streets of said town,
subject to the same probation and limitations as above.
SECTION 12. Be it further enacted, That
the Mayor shall act as
President of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, and that the
Recorder and
Treasurer shall act as Secretary or Clerk to said Board of Mayor and Aldermen,
and during the absence of either one of these officials the Aldermen present
shall
choose one of their own members, to fill the vacancy temporally; and said
Board shall
have power to fill all vacancies caused by death, removal,
resignation, or otherwise.
SECTION 13. Be it further enacted, That four members of the Board of
Mayor
and Aldermen shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business,
but a smaller
number may adjourn from day to day or time to time.
SECTION
14. Be it further enacted, That all ordinances of the town of
Atoka and a full and complete record of the proceedings of the Board of Mayor
and
Aldermen shall be kept by the Recorder and Treasurer, who shall keep a
minute book, and
also in a separate book called the "Ordinance Book," in which
shall be recorded
all the ordinances passed by the Board, with the date on which
they were passed.
SECTION 15. Be it further enacted, That the Recorder and Treasurer
shall collect,
receive, and receipt and account for the revenue of the corporation;
but he shall not
pay out any part of the same except on warrants previously
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authorized and issued by the Mayor and attested by the Recorder and
Treasurer, and such warrants shall specify the particular fund out of which they
are
to be paid, the purpose of which they are issued, and shall be payable out of
no other
fund.
SECTION 16. Be it further enacted, That the Recorder and Treasurer
shall
have the custody of all public records and all contracts and of all deeds and
other
instruments of writing belonging to said corporation, except his own
official bond.
SECTION 17. Be it further enacted, That the Board of Mayor and
Aldermen may by
ordinance prescribe and require a bond or bonds of any officer
elected by said Board or by the people
or voters of said town and fix the amount
and terms thereof; and such bonds shall be required of any
and all officers
charged with the collection of the corporate revenue.
SECTION 18. Be it further enacted, That
it shall be the duty of the
Recorder and Treasurer to keep a full and accurate system of
accounts with each
official department of the corporate government, showing the amounts of
receipts and expenditures of each of said departments; and he shall submit a
statement
of the same to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen whenever requested
by said Board.
SECTION 19. Be it further enacted, That the Mayor of said town is
hereby vested
with full power and authority to try and determine all offenses for
the violation of
ordinances and laws of said corporation, and to impose and
enforce and cause to be enforced penalties
and punishments for violations of the
laws and ordinances of the said town of Atoka; and he is also
hereby vested
within the limits of the said corporation concurrent jurisdiction with Justices of
the Peace in cases of the violations of the criminal laws of the State of
Tennessee,
and to be entitled to the same fee as now allowed Justices of the
Peace for their services, said court to
have power and authority to preserve order
and decorum while in session, and shall
be vested with the same powers to
suppress disorder in the courtroom as are incident to the Justices
of the Peace.
The Mayor shall have the power to remit fines and penalties.
SECTION 20. Be it further enacted, That the City Marshal of said town
of Atoka,
or any person of the police force of said town, may arrest any person
who in his presence,
may be guilty of a breach of any ordinance of said
corporation or of a crime against the laws
of the State of Tennessee; and they
are empowered to serve process of any kind or character issued
by or out of the
Mayor's Court, and to serve process in criminal matters issued by a Justice of
the Peace within the corporate limits of said town of Atoka.
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SECTION 21. Be it further enacted, That this Act take effect from and
after its passage, the public welfare requiring it.
PASSED:
April 17, 1911
A.M. Leach,
Speaker of the House of Representatives
N. Baxter, Jr.,
Speaker of the Senate
APPROVED:
June 24, 1911
Ben W. Hooper,
Governor
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ACTS COMPRISING THE CHARTER OF ATOKA, TENNESSEE
________________________________________________________________________
YEAR CHAPTER SUBJECT
________________________________________________________________________
1911 373 Charter of incorporation.
1969 3 Section 4 (elections) amended.
1969 3 Section 10 (powers) amended.
1969 3 Section 20 (powers of marshal and
police) amended.
1973 19 Section 4 (elections) amended.
1973 19 Section 5 (officers) amended.
1977 63 Section 4 (elections) amended.
2006 125 Section 4 (elections) replaced.
2006 125 Section 5 (officers) replaced.
2006 125 Section 8 (oath of office) replaced.
1Priv.
Act 1911, ch. 373, is the current basic 1 charter act for the Town of
Atoka,
Tennessee. The text of the basic charter act set out herein includes all
its amendments
through the 2007 Session of the Tennessee General Assembly.
Sections of the charter which have been
amended contain at the ends of those
sections the citation to the official act or acts constituting
the amendment or
amendments.
