Athens City Charter

Section 1. Be it further enacted, That the City Manager shall appoint a chief of police and such patrolmen and other members of the police force as may be provided by ordinance.

It shall be the duty of the chief of police and the members of the police force to preserve order in the city; protect the inhabitants and property owners therein from violence, crime, and all other criminal acts; prevent the commission of crime, violations of law and of the city ordinances, and perform a general police duty; execute and return all processes, notices, and legal orders of the Mayor, City Manager, City Attorney or Attorneys, and the head of the Department of Finance, and all other processes, notices, and orders as in this charter, or by ordinances, may be provided.

Section 2. Be it further enacted, That the Mayor, during a time of an emergency, shall have the authority granted to city mayors pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 58-8-104, as same may be amended from time to time. [As replaced by Priv. Acts 2024, ch. 60, § 2]

Section 3. Be it further enacted, That the City Manager shall appoint a chief of the fire department and such other members of said department as may be provided for by ordinance.

It shall be the duty of the chief of the fire department and the members thereof, to take all proper steps for fire prevention and suppression, and elimination of conditions which create fire hazards.

Section 4. Be it further enacted, That the chief of fire department or any assistant of such chief in charge at any fire, shall have the same police powers at such fire as the chief of police, under such regulations as may be prescribed by ordinance.

Section 5. Be it further enacted, That the City Manager may appoint a fire chief or designate a member of the fire department whose duty shall be, subject to the chief of the fire department, to investigate the cause, origin, and circumstances of fires and the loss occasioned thereby, and assist in the prevention of arson.

Section 6. Be it further enacted, That the City Council may by a majority vote of its entire membership combine the police and fire departments under one head or chief, and prescribe their duties and functions and establish the salaries of all personnel of said departments.