§ 36-82-62 - Powers as to undertakings and revenue bonds generally - Georgia Statutes

O.C.G.A. 36-82-62 (2010)
36-82-62. Powers as to undertakings and revenue bonds generally

(a) In addition to the other powers which it may have, any governmental body shall have power under this article:

(1) To acquire, by gift, purchase, or the exercise of the right of eminent domain, and to construct, to reconstruct, to improve, to better, and to extend any undertaking wholly within or wholly outside the governmental body or partially within and partially outside the governmental body; and to acquire, by gift, purchase, or the exercise of the right of eminent domain, lands, easements, rights in lands, and water rights in connection therewith. For property located within a city, the extraterritorial exercise of eminent domain for redevelopment purposes shall be approved by resolution by the governing authority of the city. For property located in an unincorporated area of a county, the extraterritorial exercise of eminent domain for redevelopment purposes shall be approved by resolution by the governing authority of the county. Any such resolution shall be adopted under the procedures specified in Code Section 22-1-10 and shall specifically and conspicuously delineate each parcel to be affected. The requirement for approval by a governing authority under this Code section shall be in addition to any other approval required by Title 22;

(2) To operate and maintain any undertaking for its own use, for the use of public and private consumers, and for users within and outside the territorial boundaries of the governmental body;

(3) To prescribe, revise, and collect rates, fees, tolls, or charges for the services, facilities, or commodities furnished or made available by such undertaking; and, in anticipation of the collection of the revenues of the undertaking:

(A) To issue revenue bonds to finance, in whole or in part, the cost of the acquisition, construction, reconstruction, improvement, betterment, or extension of any undertaking;

(B) To issue revenue bonds at any time to refund or refinance, in whole or in part, all outstanding revenue bonds against any existing undertaking or any combination thereof or its anticipated revenue; and

(C) To issue revenue bonds at any time to refund or refinance, in whole or in part, all obligations or debt of any nature, including outstanding revenue bonds or general obligation bonds, against any existing undertaking or any combination thereof or its anticipated revenue;

(4) To pledge to the punctual payment of such bonds and interest thereon all or any part of the revenues of the undertaking (including the revenues of improvements, betterments, or extensions thereto thereafter constructed or acquired as well as the revenues of existing systems, plants, works, instrumentalities, and properties of the undertaking so improved, bettered, or extended) or of any part of the undertaking;

(5) To fix the value of existing undertakings at the time the governmental body desires to reconstruct, improve, better, or extend the undertaking and to pledge to the payment of the revenue bonds and the interest thereon issued for the undertaking under this article such part of the revenues of the undertaking as the cost of the reconstruction, improvement, betterment, or extension of the undertaking bears to such cost plus the value of the existing undertaking before reconstruction, improvement, betterment, or extension. This paragraph shall not be construed to restrict or limit the powers granted in paragraph (4) of this Code section; and

(6) To make all contracts, execute other instruments, and do all things necessary or convenient in the exercise of the powers granted in this article, or in the performance of its covenants or duties, or in order to secure the payment of its bonds, provided that no encumbrance mortgage or other pledge of property of the governmental body shall be created thereby, that no property of the governmental body shall be liable to be forfeited or taken in payment of such bonds, and that no debt on the credit of the governmental body shall be thereby incurred in any manner for any purpose.

(b) The use of streets, thoroughfares, parkways, and avenues of traffic in a governmental body for the handling of mobile and foot traffic, the use of same for the parking of mobile equipment, and the availability of off-street parking facilities for such equipment are matters of public concern and the affording of such facilities serves the better welfare of the citizens of a governmental body and may, in the discretion of a governmental body, be considered as one revenue-producing undertaking. If any governmental body desires to acquire, construct, alter, or remodel any property for use as public parking areas or public parking buildings or both and issues revenue bonds in order to finance the acquisition, construction, alteration, or remodeling of the same in accordance with this article, the governmental body may pledge to the payment of the principal, interest, and call premium, if any, of such revenue bonds, the whole or any part of the receipts of parking meters operated by the governmental body, in addition to the revenues derived directly from such public parking areas or public parking buildings or both.