(a) The name of the unified government shall be such name as the charter commission shall deem historically and geographically appropriate.
Terms Used In Tennessee Code 7-21-206
Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
Charter: means a document containing a unified government structure, pursuant to this chapter, that constitutes the fundamental law of the unified government. See Tennessee Code 7-21-104
Charter commission: means a commission established to propose the charter to the voters for adoption as provided in this chapter. See Tennessee Code 7-21-104
Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
County: means any county whose voters have adopted a county charter government. See Tennessee Code 7-21-104
Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
Municipality: means an incorporated city or town located within the boundaries of a county whose voters have adopted a county charter government. See Tennessee Code 7-21-104
Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
Principal city: means that municipality having the largest population of any municipality in a particular county. See Tennessee Code 7-21-104
Representative: when applied to those who represent a decedent, includes executors and administrators, unless the context implies heirs and distributees. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
Smaller city: means any municipality within a county other than the principal city. See Tennessee Code 7-21-104
State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
unified: means consolidation or consolidated pursuant to this chapter and that power granted by the Constitution of Tennessee, Article XI, §. See Tennessee Code 7-21-104
Unified government: means the governmental entity created by the unification of the governmental and corporate functions of a charter county government with the governmental and corporate functions of one (1) or more municipalities within that county's boundaries. See Tennessee Code 7-21-104
(b) The proposed charter shall provide for the effective date of the unified government.(c) The proposed charter shall provide for a single government possessing three (3) branches of government, executive, legislative and judicial, with due regard for the doctrine of separation of powers as known and practiced in the American form of representative or republican government.(d) All executive powers of the unified government shall be vested in a chief executive officer whose title shall be determined by the charter commission.(e) All legislative powers of the unified government shall be vested in a legislative body whose title and size shall be determined by the charter commission; provided, that the members shall be elected by districts and shall be not less than nine (9) nor more than nineteen (19) members.(f) The courts established by general law shall constitute the judicial branch, but the proposed charter may vest additional jurisdiction of local ordinances to the extent not prohibited by general law. Such courts as are established by private act or by public act having local application may be continued by charter provisions.(g) Within the general restrictions contained in this section, the proposed charter may organize the executive and legislative branches as the charter commission deems necessary and appropriate for the efficient and economical delivery of public services befitting the particular county.(h) Any functions of the governing bodies of the county, the principal city or any smaller city electing to be included, or functions of the officers of the governing bodies that the charter commission may deem feasible to carry forward into the unified government, to the extent that such functions are not set forth in the Constitution of Tennessee, shall be set forth in the charter.(i) Any right, power, duty or obligation of any officer or agency of the county, the principal city or any smaller city electing to be included, deemed by the charter commission to be feasible to carry forward into the unified government, and not set forth in the Constitution of Tennessee, shall be set forth in the charter.(j) The charter shall expressly provide the means, as determined to be necessary and appropriate by the charter commission, by which the indebtedness and contract obligations of the county and the principal city and any smaller city electing to be included shall not be impaired or diminished.(k) The charter shall set forth the procedure for the subsequent merger of the government of any smaller city into the unified government.(l) The date of such regular county, state or federal election at which the referendum election shall be held for the ratification or rejection of the proposed charter shall be set forth in the proposed charter.(m) The charter shall designate the officer with whom the official copy of the charter of the unified government shall permanently repose.(n) The charter shall provide for the consolidation of county and city employees’ retirement and pension systems and the regulation of the retirement and pension systems; provided, that nothing in this chapter or in a charter adopted pursuant to these provisions shall impair or diminish the rights and privileges of the city and county employees in the existing city and county employees’ retirement and pension systems in effect at the time of establishment of the unified government.(o) The charter shall provide for the maintenance and administration of an effective consolidated civil service system and the regulation of a civil service system; provided, that nothing in this chapter or in a charter adopted pursuant to these provisions shall impair or diminish the rights and privileges of city and county employees as provided for in any city charter, county ordinance or general state law at the time of the establishment of the unified government.(p) The charter shall contain or incorporate into the charter such terms and provisions as are contained in any private act or municipal charter with respect to any utility created, authorized or owned by the principal city that is supported by its own revenues and operated, administered and managed pursuant to the private act or municipal charter. Such terms and provisions as are required by this subsection (p) may be subsequently amended only pursuant to subsection (q).(q) The charter shall provide for the method and procedure by which the charter may subsequently be amended; provided, that no such amendment shall be effective until submitted to the qualified voters residing within the geographical jurisdiction of the unified government and approved by a majority of those voters voting on the amendment.(r) The charter shall provide for a determination of the proportionate responsibility for the existing bonded indebtedness, contract obligations and pension obligations of the county and any unified municipality, and shall provide for the creation and establishment of such taxing districts as are necessary and appropriate to fairly allocate such obligations.
