Byron council OKs truck traffic rule

BYRON — City Council passed an ordinance that revamps the prohibition of trucks on 21 of the city’s streets and raises the weight limit of prohibited vehicles.

The new ordinance outlines prohibited streets, notably all of Main Street, and raises the prohibited limit stated in the ordinance from three tons to four tons — an increase of 2,000 pounds. City officials said now that new weight limits have been set, new signs will be ordered immediately and put up.

In other business, City Council authorized Byron City Attorney Joan Harris to draft a new ethics ordinance based on a model from the Georgia Municipal Association. Byron passed such an ordinance 10 years ago but new rules from the GMA require cities to re-certify every four years.

The council chose to have the ordinance reflect that ethics issues will be heard by a municipal court judge rather than an appointed citizen’s board. The first reading of the new ordinance will be at the council’s regular March meeting.

Also, the council voted to have Betsy P. Murdock replace Judy Messer on the Byron Redevelopment Authority. Her term will expire in December 2012.

The City Council also had the first reading of an ordinance regarding the management, retention and destruction of official city documents. The new ordinance will adopt Georgia’s archival schedule for such documents, outlining what type of documents are affected, how long each type must be kept and when they can be destroyed.