§ 10-501. Constitutional amendment.

The Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Savannah, subject to the procedure prescribed hereinafter, are hereby authorized to levy, on a citywide basis any tax which is not expressly prohibited by the Constitution or general laws of Georgia. The procedure provided herein shall not apply to any tax which the Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Savannah were authorized to levy at the time this amendment was submitted for ratification or rejection, nor to any tax they are authorized to levy by general law enacted subsequent to such time.

Before any such tax shall be levied, approval therefor must be granted by the voters of the City of Savannah in a referendum election as provided for hereinafter. The Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Savannah shall pass a resolution providing that a particular tax shall be levied. The type of tax, a brief explanation of such tax, and the method under which it is proposed to be levied shall be contained in the resolution. Upon the presentation of such resolution to the proper authority, it shall be his duty to issue within thirty days the call for a referendum election to determine whether such resolution shall be approved. The proper authority shall set the date of such an election for a day not less than sixty and not more than ninety days after the date of the issuance of the call, or if the Mayor and Aldermen so direct, he shall set the date of such election for the same date on which the next general election is to be held. The Mayor and Aldermen shall not set the date for such an election for the same date on which there shall be submitted to the electors of Chatham County the question of whether they shall assent to the levying of any tax by the governing authority of Chatham County. The proper authority shall cause the date and purpose of the election and a copy of the resolution to be published once a week for two weeks immediately preceding the date of such election, in the official organ of the City of Savannah or of Chatham County. The ballot shall have written or printed thereon the words:

For approval of the resolution providing for the levying of (insert name of tax).

Against approval of the resolution providing for the levying of (insert name of tax).

If more than one-half of the votes cast on such question are for approval of the resolution, such tax shall be levied; otherwise, such tax shall not be levied. No such tax shall be levied before the beginning of the calendar year immediately succeeding the date of approval by the voters. After any such tax has been levied for one year, the Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Savannah are hereby given the authority to levy or not to levy such tax for any succeeding year, all in the discretion of said Mayor and Aldermen and without the necessity of any further referendum election.

When any such tax is levied pursuant to this amendment, the Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Savannah, when fixing the ad valorem tax millage rate each year, shall determine the millage rate without regard to this amendment. Said officers shall then reduce such millage rate so that the proceeds of the ad valorem tax levy shall be reduced in an amount which shall not be less than an amount equal to 100% of the total amount of funds received in the immediately preceding year from the levy of any tax authorized by this amendment.

The provisions of this amendment are not intended to and shall not be construed to limit in any way the obligation of the City of Savannah to levy ad valorem taxes for bond purposes as required by the provisions of Article VII, Section VII, Paragraph II of the Constitution of Georgia [now art. IX, § V, ¶ VI].

(1968 Ga. Laws, page 1745, § 1)