...commission has the power to alter the tax system by abolishing tax districts and creating new ones, according to the consolidation law."So that is a simple act of the commission," Brigham said. "You just need six votes to change it."The panel...

...we thought controversy over whether the city's personnel policy and procedures manual violates provisions in the consolidation law was a dead horse, Commissioner Bill Lockett wants to exhume it.Lockett has placed an item on Monday's Administrative...

...clarify it so that it applied to all consolidated governments." THE BACK STORY: When approved in 1995 Augusta's consolidation law stated that commission elections would be held in November in odd-numbered years."About eight years ago, the...

...winds from earlier this week. Commission to review consolidation law Augusta commissioners went to the USC Aiken campus...to set goals for the city and agreed to review the consolidation law and recommend improvements. Mayor Deke Copenhaver...

...mistake about the year. Mr. Brigham said Mr. Williams has lectured his colleagues many times on following the consolidation law, and the law calls for the election of a mayor pro tem every year. Mr. Williams said holding the election now...

...Commissioners Johnny Hatney and Andy Cheek say they want a department that is exclusively in-house because the city's consolidation law mandates it, but the author of that provision says the intent was never to eliminate the county attorney, and some...

...06. One affidavit says he a resident of Richmond County, and it's dated August of '06." Under Augusta's consolidation law, a candidate for mayor must have lived in Richmond County for one year before the election. And Georgia law states...

...before a fresh residency issue surfaced elsewhere - this time for mayoral candidate Ronnie Few. Under Augusta's consolidation law, candidates must live in Richmond County for at least one year before the election date. So where did Few legally...

...Plunkett Hamilton & Boudreaux to do the bulk of the legal work. The city also has one in-house attorney. The 1995 consolidation law called for an in-house legal department but did not specify that the city could not have outside counsel. Police...

...City Attorney Stephen Shepard said the city is operating under the rules created by the lawmakers who wrote the consolidation law, with Roberts Rules of Order to be used as a backup when that law doesn't apply. And furthermore, the mayor...