The Lithonia city hall, scene of drama and conflict of late, is moving.

The move, started Tuesday, is a bid to get the city back open for business after more than two weeks of conflict and get a handle on a potential mold problem.

Also on Tuesday, a state official issued an opinion that Lithonia's charter gives the city council, not the mayor, authority to hire and fire employees. The opinion from Sewell R. Brumby, the state legislative counsel, came at the request of state Rep. Randal Mangham (D-Decatur).

"It is my opinion that the no one other than the city council is granted by the charter any power to hire and fire officers and employees of the city," Brumby wrote in a letter to Mangham.

That scope of power has been at issue since April 7, when Mayor Joyce McKibben fired the city police chief, only to have the council reinstate him hours later.

City hall has been closed since that meeting, effectively halting city business. The city council approved the move from the City Hall Annex to the police station at its meeting Monday night. It also agreed to request proposals from experts to examine mold concerns at the annex building.

City workers began moving boxes, files and furniture from the annex, across the parking lot into the police station, on Tuesday morning.

The move should allow daily city business to resume, council members said.

The city attorney and McKibben's attorney also met Tuesday, to hash out what authority the city charter grants to both sides. The council is to meet in executive session at 7:45 a.m. Wednesday, to discuss legal matters.