AN ACT to amend Chapter 7 of the Private Acts of 1999; as amended by Chapter 24 of the Private Acts of 2009; Chapter 37 of the Private Acts of 2014; and any other acts amendatory thereto, relative to the City of Milan.
SB1450 is a private act for the City of Milan that revises several provisions of the city’s charter and related private acts. It changes the timeline for filling an alderman vacancy from 30 days to 60 days, authorizes the mayor to make temporary appointments to the offices of city attorney or city judge during sickness, absence, or other temporary disability subject to board confirmation or rejection, and updates the mayor’s contracting authority to allow execution of contracts up to $10,000 when board approval is not otherwise required and the spending is within budget.
The bill also revises the city’s property and finance provisions. It removes the reference to the city recorder from one section, deletes an obsolete section, corrects a wording error in another section, and replaces the surplus-property rule so the mayor may sell surplus property, but sales of property with a fair market value over $2,500 or any real property still require board approval. It further revises disbursement authority so payments may be made only as authorized by the mayor, city treasurer, vice-mayor, or their designee. The act is contingent on approval by a two-thirds vote of Milan’s legislative body and is structured so it does not remove any incumbent from office or shorten any current term.
The available voting history shows strong support, with a 32-0 floor vote to adopt. No committee transcript is provided, but the unanimous vote suggests the measure was noncontroversial in the General Assembly. Because this is a private act affecting only Milan, the practical impact is local rather than statewide, though it does amend Tennessee private law governing the city’s municipal operations.
The main points of potential contention are the balance of authority between the mayor and the board of mayor and aldermen, especially regarding temporary appointments, contract execution, surplus-property sales, and disbursement control. The bill appears to preserve board oversight for larger or more sensitive actions while giving the mayor more administrative flexibility for routine matters. The requirement of local approval by Milan’s governing body also indicates that the city itself must agree before the changes take effect.
This private act amends the City of Milan’s charter provisions in Tennessee private law, changing municipal procedures for filling alderman vacancies, making temporary appointments, executing smaller contracts, selling surplus property, and authorizing disbursements. It shifts some administrative authority to the mayor while preserving board approval for larger contracts, higher-value surplus property sales, and real property transactions, and it requires approval by Milan’s legislative body before becoming operative.
The bill appears to have been received favorably and without significant opposition in the General Assembly, as reflected by the unanimous 32-0 floor vote to adopt. No committee discussion is available, but the voting record suggests broad agreement that the measure is a routine local government charter update rather than a controversial policy change.
The likely areas of contention are institutional rather than partisan: how much authority the mayor should have versus the board of mayor and aldermen. Specific issues include extending the vacancy-filling period from 30 to 60 days, allowing temporary mayoral appointments to the city attorney and city judge offices, granting the mayor limited contract-signing authority up to $10,000, and permitting the mayor to sell surplus property subject to board approval thresholds. The bill addresses these concerns by retaining board oversight for larger transactions and requiring local approval by Milan.