Tennessee Senate Bill SB2715

Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 3/3/26
• Chaptered: 5/1/26
• Passed: 5/1/26

Caption

AN ACT to amend Chapter 167 of the Private Acts of 1994; as amended by Chapter 39 of the Private Acts of 2020; Chapter 30 of the Private Acts of 2023; Chapter 26 of the Private Acts of 2025; and any other acts amendatory thereto, relative to the charter of the Town of Oakland.

Summary

SB2715 is a local private act amending the charter of the Town of Oakland, Tennessee. The bill revises the town’s governance structure by clarifying that the Board of Mayor and Aldermen has the authority to appoint and remove the Town Recorder by majority vote, and it restates the Town Manager provisions in the charter. Under the revised language, the Board appoints and sets the salary of the Town Manager, who serves at the board’s will and acts as the town’s chief administrative officer. The bill also details the Town Manager’s administrative powers and duties. These include supervising and disciplining department heads and employees, appointing and removing department heads other than the Town Recorder, enforcing laws and ordinances, attending board meetings without voting, preparing annual operating and capital budget updates, reporting on departmental finances, making recommendations to improve town operations, handling town purchases, and performing other duties assigned by the charter or the board. The act takes effect only if approved by a two-thirds vote of Oakland’s legislative body, making it a charter amendment contingent on local approval.

Impact

The bill amends the private charter law governing the Town of Oakland, changing the allocation of appointment and removal authority for key municipal officers and reaffirming the Town Manager’s role as the town’s chief administrative officer. It affects local governance rather than statewide general law, and it specifically alters the charter provisions in Chapter 167 of the Private Acts of 1994 as previously amended. The practical effect is to centralize administrative authority in the Town Manager while preserving board control over the manager and the Town Recorder, subject to local ratification.

Sentiment

The available voting history suggests strong support for the measure, with a 31-0 floor vote to adopt. No committee transcripts are provided, so there is no recorded debate to indicate opposition or concerns in committee. Overall, the bill appears to have been treated as a routine local charter amendment with broad legislative approval.

Contention

No explicit points of contention are shown in the provided materials. The only potentially sensitive issue is the balance of power between the Board of Mayor and Aldermen and the Town Manager, especially the manager’s authority to appoint and remove department heads and the board’s authority over the Town Recorder and the manager’s employment. However, the unanimous floor vote indicates that any such concerns did not produce visible opposition in the recorded vote.