Fayetteville opts for single ordinance readings

Fayetteville’s city government will now hold just one public reading of most proposed new ordinances rather than two. The change to Section 2.13 of the municipal charter was approved 5-0 at the City Council’s Thursday meeting. The measure itself had two readings, the first on March 4. Until now, one reading was held at a council meeting and then a second reading was held at the next meeting two weeks later, just before the council voted on the matter. The procedure change is permitted under the House Rule Act adopted by the Georgia legislature.

Fire Chief and Assistant City Manager Alan Jones said the action is meant to expedite minor ordinance changes and housekeeping measures, and “is in no way meant to stem meaningful dialog on any issue.” The council still has the option of holding additional hearings regarding issues of greater importance in order to hear more public comments.