Government representation attorneys for Georgia cities, counties, authorities, and the people who deal with them
Local government is where most of the law that touches daily life is made and enforced: ordinances, permits, contracts, meetings, records, and the disputes that follow. Miles Hansford serves as counsel to municipalities, county governments, development authorities, and boards, and represents businesses and property owners who need something from a government or must defend against one.
The practice is part of the firm's Regulatory & Government Law group led by partner David Davidson. It draws on attorneys who have advised public bodies and on a full-service firm's litigation, business, land use, and employment capabilities, serving North Metro Atlanta from Alpharetta.
What government representation covers
- General counsel and special counsel services for cities, counties, and authorities
- Ordinance drafting, charter questions, and meeting procedure
- Open Meetings and Open Records Act compliance and disputes
- Procurement, public works bidding, and intergovernmental agreements
- Sovereign immunity, ante litem notices, and defense of claims
- Permits, contracts, bid protests, and code enforcement for private clients
Counsel to Public Bodies
City attorney, county attorney, and authority counsel services: advice at meetings, executive sessions, ordinances and resolutions, contracts, personnel, and coordination of litigation and insurance defense.
Finance, Development & Intergovernmental Tools
SPLOST and TSPLOST, tax allocation districts, development authority bond-lease structures, service delivery strategies, annexation, and the agreements between governments that make growth work.
Private Clients Before Government
Permits and licenses, procurement and bid protests, economic development incentives, code enforcement defense, open records requests, and claims against cities and counties.
Public bodies need counsel who can say what the law allows before the vote, not after
A Georgia city or county operates under its charter or enabling act, the general statutes in Title 36, the Open Meetings Act (O.C.G.A. § 50-14-1 et seq.), the Open Records Act (§ 50-18-70 et seq.), the Zoning Procedures Law, the Public Works Construction Bidding statute (§ 36-91-20 et seq.), and its own ordinances. Development authorities, downtown development authorities, housing authorities, and water and sewer authorities each have their own statutes and bond validation requirements. Every meeting, contract, and decision has to fit inside that framework, and a decision that does not can be voided, enjoined, or become a liability.
The firm's role is to make decisions defensible before they are made: reviewing agendas and ordinances, advising on executive session limits and minutes, structuring contracts and bond transactions, handling personnel matters, and responding to records requests and demands. When a dispute becomes litigation, the same attorneys defend the government or coordinate with its insurer or risk pool, with the immunity and ante litem defenses that Georgia law provides.
- Charter, ordinance, and resolution drafting and codification
- Meeting attendance, executive session guidance, and minutes review
- Open Records Act responses, exemptions, and fee compliance
- Contracts, procurement, public works bidding, and intergovernmental agreements
- Employment, personnel policies, and grievance hearings
- Litigation defense, immunity, ante litem review, and appeals
Government representation services
The practice serves governing bodies and the boards and authorities attached to them, and the private clients whose projects, contracts, and disputes run through local government.
General counsel to the governing body: legal opinions, agenda review, meeting attendance, ordinance and resolution drafting, contract review, and day-to-day advice to elected officials and staff.
Counsel to development authorities under O.C.G.A. § 36-62 and downtown development authorities under § 36-42: revenue bond and bond-lease structures, PILOT agreements, project approvals, and superior court bond validation.
Meeting notice and agenda requirements, executive session limits, affidavits, minutes, and Open Records Act responses within three business days, including exemptions, fee rules, and Attorney General mediation or enforcement matters.
Solicitations, bid and proposal evaluation, the advertisement and competitive bidding requirements for public works contracts over $100,000 under § 36-91-20, prequalification, and the resolution of protests.
Project lists, intergovernmental agreements with cities, referendum procedure, and the Redevelopment Powers Law steps for creating and financing a tax allocation district.
The 100 percent, 60 percent, referendum, and local act annexation methods under O.C.G.A. Title 36, Chapter 36; county land use objections; the zoning hearing that must precede annexation; and service delivery strategy agreements.
Municipal immunity under § 36-33-1, official immunity for discretionary acts, ante litem notice requirements under § 36-33-5 and § 36-11-1, and defense of tort, contract, civil rights, and land use claims.
Personnel policies, civil service and grievance procedures, discipline and termination, wage and hour issues, and defense of employment claims against public employers.
Drafting and updating alcohol ordinances, license classes, distance rules, and hearing procedures that satisfy the ascertainable-standards and due process requirements of O.C.G.A. § 3-3-2.
Business and alcohol licenses, building and land-disturbance permits, sign and encroachment permits, government contracts, and bid protests under state procurement rules or local purchasing ordinances.
Citations in municipal and magistrate court for property maintenance, signs, zoning, and occupancy violations; stop-work orders; nuisance abatement; and petitions for review of adverse decisions within 30 days.
Ante litem notices that meet the statutory content and delivery requirements, immunity analysis, and litigation of claims where immunity has been waived by insurance or statute.
The rules that govern Georgia local government, and why they matter to everyone
These summaries reflect Georgia law as we understand it at the time of writing. Statutes and local rules change; confirm current requirements with the firm.
Open Meetings Act
Meetings of a governing body, board, or authority must be open to the public, with a posted regular schedule and at least 24 hours' notice of a called meeting, an agenda, and a written summary. Executive sessions are limited to specific topics, principally real estate acquisition, personnel matters, and consultation with counsel about pending or threatened litigation, and require minutes and a presiding officer's affidavit. Actions taken in violation may be set aside, and the Act provides civil penalties up to $1,000 for a first violation and $2,500 for subsequent violations within a year, along with criminal exposure. The Attorney General may enforce the Act and offers mediation.
Open Records Act
Public records must be produced within three business days of a request, or the agency must state in writing when and which records will be available. Fees are limited: the first fifteen minutes of search and retrieval are free, hourly charges are based on the lowest-paid employee capable of the work, and copies are capped at ten cents per page. Exemptions cover pending investigations, certain personnel records, real estate negotiations, attorney-client communications, and trade secrets that a business has properly designated. For private clients, the Act is also a tool to obtain competitor bids, inspection files, and agency communications.
Sovereign immunity and ante litem notice
Georgia cities are immune from liability for governmental functions except where immunity has been waived, most commonly by the purchase of liability insurance to the extent of coverage, and are not immune for proprietary functions or nuisance. Officials enjoy official immunity for discretionary acts performed without malice. Before suing a city, a claimant must deliver written notice within six months of the event stating the time, place, extent of injury, the negligence alleged, and the specific amount of monetary damages sought (O.C.G.A. § 36-33-5); claims against counties must be presented within twelve months (§ 36-11-1). Defective or late notice bars the claim.
Procurement and public works
Public works construction contracts over $100,000 must be advertised and awarded by competitive sealed bids or proposals under O.C.G.A. § 36-91-20 et seq., with written contracts and permitted prequalification. Below that threshold and for non-construction purchases, the local purchasing ordinance controls. Georgia has no uniform statutory bid protest process for local governments, so a disappointed bidder's remedies depend on the solicitation, the ordinance, and equitable relief. State procurements follow the Georgia Procurement Manual's protest timelines, which are short.
SPLOST, TADs, and development authorities
A special purpose local option sales tax is a county-initiated one percent sales tax for capital projects, approved by referendum, with an intergovernmental agreement governing distribution to cities. A tax allocation district under the Redevelopment Powers Law requires a local act and referendum, a redevelopment plan, public hearing, consents from the school board and county to pledge their increments, and a district resolution fixing the base value. Development authority revenue bonds and bond-lease abatement structures must be validated in superior court after published notice, with citizens entitled to intervene. Each tool is powerful and procedurally unforgiving.
Annexation and service delivery
Georgia allows annexation by 100 percent landowner petition, by the 60 percent method, by resolution and referendum, and by local act. A county may object to certain annexations on land use grounds, triggering a statutory dispute resolution process. Because the Zoning Procedures Law requires the zoning hearing for annexed property to occur before annexation, the sequence matters. Counties and cities must also maintain a service delivery strategy agreement to remain eligible for state permits and funding.
The private side of the practice
Everything above applies in reverse for businesses and property owners. A developer negotiating a bond-lease abatement, a contractor protesting a bid award, a restaurant owner defending a citation, or a family with a claim against a county road department needs counsel who knows the government's rules as well as the government does. Because the firm advises public bodies, it screens each private matter for conflicts and takes only those it can handle without divided loyalty.
Public-sector experience inside a firm built for private clients
Government law is a practice of anticipation. The value of counsel lies in the problems that never happen: the executive session that stays within the statute, the contract that is bid correctly, the ordinance that survives challenge, the records response that meets the deadline. The firm's attorneys bring experience representing public bodies and the judgment to advise elected officials and staff plainly and quickly.
For private clients, the same experience means realistic advice about what a government can and cannot do, and how to get a permit, a contract, or a resolution without unnecessary litigation. When litigation is unavoidable, the firm's civil litigation attorneys handle it in superior court and on appeal.
Governments, authorities, and the businesses and residents of North Georgia
From municipal general counsel engagements to a single bid protest or ante litem notice, the practice scales to the matter.
Cities & counties
Governing bodies, managers, clerks, and department heads who need reliable, practical legal advice.
Authorities & boards
Development authorities, downtown development authorities, housing, water and sewer, hospital, and recreation authorities, and appointed boards.
Businesses & residents
Developers, contractors, vendors, licensees, property owners, and claimants dealing with local government.
How the firm engages with a public body or a private client
Engagements range from ongoing general counsel to a single defined matter.
Scope & conflicts
We define the engagement, complete a conflict review across the firm's government and private clients, and agree on the fee structure.
Review & advise
We review the charter, ordinances, contracts, or notice at issue and provide written advice on what the law requires and the options available.
Act
We draft, negotiate, attend, respond, or file, whether that is an ordinance, a bond validation petition, a records response, a bid protest, or an ante litem notice.
Defend or enforce
When a matter becomes contested, the firm's litigators take it to superior court, with immunity, procedural, and substantive defenses preserved from the start.
Government representation FAQs
What does a city attorney or county attorney actually do?
A city or county attorney serves as general counsel to the governing body and its departments: attending meetings, advising on executive sessions and votes, drafting and reviewing ordinances, resolutions, and contracts, responding to open records and legal demands, handling personnel matters, and managing or coordinating litigation. Many Georgia local governments engage a private firm for this role rather than employing in-house counsel.
Can a development authority or DDA hire outside counsel?
Yes. Development authorities under O.C.G.A. § 36-62 and downtown development authorities under § 36-42 are separate public bodies with their own boards and may retain counsel for bond issues, bond-lease abatement structures, project agreements, open meetings compliance, and superior court bond validation proceedings, independent of the city or county attorney.
When can a Georgia council or commission go into executive session?
Only for the purposes the Open Meetings Act allows, chiefly discussing the acquisition of real estate, certain personnel matters, and consultation with counsel about pending or threatened litigation. The body must vote in open session to close the meeting, keep minutes, and have the presiding officer sign an affidavit. Votes on final action must occur in open session.
How fast must a city respond to an open records request, and what can it charge?
Within three business days, either by producing the records or stating in writing when and which records will be provided. The first fifteen minutes of search time are free, additional time is charged at the hourly rate of the lowest-paid employee capable of the work, and copies are limited to ten cents per page. Certain records are exempt, and the requester must be told which exemption applies.
What is an ante litem notice and how long do I have?
An ante litem notice is the written claim a person must deliver to a city or county before suing it. For a city, notice must be given within six months of the event and must state the time, place, extent of the injury, the negligence alleged, and the specific amount of damages sought under O.C.G.A. § 36-33-5. Claims against a county must be presented within twelve months under § 36-11-1. Late or deficient notice bars the claim.
Does sovereign immunity mean I cannot sue a Georgia city or county?
Not always. Cities are immune for governmental functions unless immunity is waived, most often by liability insurance to the extent of coverage, and are not immune for proprietary functions or nuisance. Counties have broad immunity except where waived by statute, such as through motor vehicle liability coverage. Officials may be personally liable for ministerial acts or acts done with malice. The analysis is fact-specific.
How does a SPLOST or TSPLOST get on the ballot, and what can it fund?
The county governing authority calls the referendum after adopting a resolution with the project list, duration, and estimated cost, typically following negotiation of an intergovernmental agreement with the cities on how proceeds are shared. The tax funds capital outlay projects such as roads, facilities, parks, and equipment, and its proceeds must be spent on the approved projects.
What is a tax allocation district and how is it created?
A tax allocation district lets a local government use the growth in property tax revenue within a defined area to finance redevelopment. Creating one under the Redevelopment Powers Law requires a local act and referendum authorizing the power, a redevelopment plan, a public hearing, consents from the school board and county to pledge their increments, and a resolution fixing the district's base value. TAD bonds may run up to thirty years.
Can I protest a local government bid award in Georgia?
Yes, but the process depends on the jurisdiction. Georgia has no uniform statutory bid protest procedure for local governments, so the solicitation and the local purchasing ordinance control, and remedies often involve equitable relief in superior court. State agency procurements follow the Georgia Procurement Manual, with protest deadlines measured in days. Acting immediately after the award notice is essential.
How do I fight a code enforcement citation or a stop-work order?
Citations are typically heard in municipal or magistrate court, where defenses may include the ordinance's text, nonconforming use or vested rights, procedural defects, and the facts. Stop-work orders and administrative decisions usually carry a short internal appeal window followed by a petition for review in superior court within 30 days. Do not ignore the deadline while negotiating with the department.
Related services at Miles Hansford
Government matters frequently involve licensing, land use, and litigation.
Talk with a government representation attorney in Alpharetta
Whether you are a city manager, an authority chair, a developer, or a resident with a claim, Miles Hansford can explain what Georgia law requires and how to proceed.
Miles Hansford Law Firm
Phone: 770-781-4100
Address:
1725 Windward Concourse, Suite 150
Alpharetta, GA 30005
Consultations: Contact the firm online to get started.
This page is for general informational purposes and is not legal advice. Fees, deadlines, and ordinance provisions change; confirm current requirements with the relevant jurisdiction or with the firm. No attorney-client relationship is created by viewing this content or sending a message through the website.