A Letter to the Editor

(This is a letter to the editors of the three weekly newspapers in Fannin County addressing the county's failure to codify and publish its ordinances. It was emailed to the papers on April 3, 2016.)

Dear Editor,

In 2001 the Georgia legislature passed a law requiring all Georgia counties to prepare and publish a codification of their “ordinances and resolutions” by January 1, 2002 and thereafter to update their codes of ordinances every year. Fannin County has complied with this statute only once in 14 years. In 2007 the county published a code of ordinances but has neglected to update the code since then.  

County to Publish Code of Ordinances—At Long Last

My View by Jim Yacavone

Big news: Fannin County residents will soon be able to view an up-to-date version of the county’s code of ordinances online. Bill Simonds, the chairman of the county commission, and Lynn Doss, the county attorney, recently met with a representative of Municipal Code Corporation to have the county’s ordinances codified and published online as a true code of ordinances.

COUNTY ORDINANCES DRAFTED IMPROPERLY SINCE 2007

In 2002 Georgia enacted a law requiring counties to compile and publish a code of ordinances no later than January 1, 2002. O.C.G.A. § 36-80-19 (2014). The law also requires that subsequently enacted ordinances be drafted in the same format as the code of ordinances. Fannin county has routinely violated the law since 2007.

FANNIN COUNTY FAILS TO PUBLISH CODE OF ORDINANCES

COUNTY VIOLATES STATE LAW, INCONVENIENCES CITIZENS

Fannin County has not complied with a 2001 state law that requires it to codify and publish a code of ordinances.