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Mayor and Council

Mayor and City Council

City of Dahlonega Mayor & Council

The government of the City of Dahlonega is vested in a city council composed of a mayor and six council members. Each member serves a four-year term of office.

To be eligible to serve as mayor or a council member, the candidate must be a resident of the city for a period of one year immediately prior to the date of the election and continue to reside within the city during the period of service.

To be a candidate for mayor or the city council, you must be registered and qualified to vote in the municipal election of the City of Dahlonega and must meet the qualification standards required by the Georgia House of Representatives as of now, or may in the future, be prescribed by the Georgia Constitution.

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City Council Meetings


City Council

The corporate powers of the government of the City of Dahlonega are exercised by the Dahlonega City Council. The Dahlonega City Council is responsible for enacting ordinances, resolutions, and regulations governing the city.

Forty-nine specific powers of the city are enumerated in the city charter, including the following:

  • Levy and collection of property taxes
  • License fees
  • Franchise fees
  • Beer and wine taxes
  • Miscellaneous permit fees
  • Hotel/motel taxes
  • Sales taxes
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Councilman Owens’ biography will soon be posted.

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Ross graduated from North Georgia College (now UNG) and was commissioned as a 2LT in the US Army field artillery branch, where he served three years of active duty and several more in the Georgia National Guard. He worked as an analyst and supervisor at Georgia Power Company for 32 years prior to his retirement.

He and his wife Evelyn have lived in Dahlonega for 10 years. They live just a short walk from the square and enjoy the amenities associated with living close to the downtown section of Dahlonega. He is active with the North Georgia Cadet Corp Association and is an advisor to the Scabbard and Blade at the UNG Dahlonega campus. He also serves on the Lumpkin County Public Buildings Authority and participates in several volunteer activities in the community. Leisure activities include visiting with family and friends, travel, and outdoor activities such as boating, fishing, and hunting. They have two children and three grandchildren.

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Councilman Ariemma is a long-time resident of Dahlonega, nearly 30-years. Both he and wife of 39-years, Catherine, raised their daughters in Dahlonega and the Lumpkin County School System and are active in the community. As an entrepreneur and businessman, Ariemma had the opportunity to retire from the corporate world nearly two decades ago. This allowed him to invest in Dahlonega. His property holdings include several commercial properties. Ariemma has served on the council for over 11 years.

Ariemma is a graduate of Northwood University with a BBA in Management / Computer Science and Finance. His work career has been primarily in the Automotive Refinishing industry. In 1995 he co-founded and was the principal owner of Single Source Inc, which is a national distributor for automotive refinishing products. Councilman Ariemma is currently active as a board member for the St. Vincent DePaul Society, providing much assistance to the needy of our community. As the founder of the Michigan Epsilon chapter of Phi Delta Theta international fraternity, councilman Ariemma is also the Chapter Advisory Board chairman and chapter advisor for the newly chartered Phi Delta Theta chapter at the University of North Georgia.

When the councilman is not riding motorcycles across the US and Canada, his love and passion are for his growing family, historic preservation and keeping Dahlonega’s historic properties maintained. His practical business sense and love for Dahlonega provide a well-needed point of view on the city council.

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Lance Bagley has served on the Dahlonega City Council since 2022, and was selected as Mayor Pro Tempore for 2025.  He is a graduate of the United States Military Academy, has an MBA from the University of Oregon, and is a former Army Infantry Officer/Airborne Ranger.  Over the past 30 years, he has worked in numerous corporate leadership positions in sales, operations, and customer management.  Lance and his wife, Fiona, moved to Dahlonega in 2018 and both volunteer their time and resources to numerous local community organizations and non-profits.  Lance is proud to serve on the City Council and continue to make Dahlonega a great place to live, work, play, and visit.

Mayor

The Mayor is an elected position and is the Chief Executive Officer of the City of Dahlonega. The Mayor possesses all the executive and administrative powers granted to the city under the constitution and laws of the State of Georgia, and all the executive and administrative powers contained in the city charter.

The Mayor presides at all meetings of the council, votes as a member of the council only at such times as are necessary to break a tie or deadlock of the council and is the official head of the city for the service of process and for ceremonial purposes. The Mayor has the power to administer oaths and to take affidavits, sign all written contracts entered into by the council on behalf of the city and all other contracts and instruments executed by the city which by law are required to be in writing, sees that all laws and ordinances of the city are faithfully executed, and performs other duties as may be required by law, the city charter or ordinances or as otherwise directed by the city council.

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Mayor Norton’s biography will soon be posted.