Beard has served as Buford's Commission Chairman since 1975. When the Town of Buford was incorporated in 1872, a city commission consisting of six commissioners was established to govern the town. When a new city charter was enacted in 1896 that renamed the Town of Buford to the City of Buford, the city commission was replaced with a mayor and six councilmen. The city council governed the City of Buford until a new charter was approved on December 24, 1937, that re-established the city commission government. The area of Buford inside Gwinnett County is part of Georgia's 7th congressional district while the Hall County portions of Buford belong to Georgia's 9th congressional district. For the state government, the city is part of the Georgia State Senate's 45th and 49th districts, and the 97th, 98th, and 103rd districts for the Georgia House of Representatives. Education The city of Buford operates the Buford City School District for residents that live within the city limits, while Gwinnett County Public Schools and Hall County Public Schools operate schools for residents that live outside of the city limits. The Buford City School District operates three elementary schools, Buford Academy, Buford Senior Academy, and Buford Elementary, as well as Buford Middle School and Buford High School. The Buford-Sugar Hill Branch of the Gwinnett County Public Library is located in Buford. Arts and culture The Gwinnett Environmental & Heritage Center is a museum and cultural center completed in August 2006 and is located in Buford. The center was created to educate children about both water and environmental resources as well as Gwinnett's cultural heritage, including the county's Cherokee and Creek cultures. The Chesser-Williams House, a historic home which is believed to predate the 1850s and one of the oldest wooden-frame houses in Gwinnett county, was moved to the museum to become part of the museum's cultural exhibits. Buford Community Center is a multi-purpose facility that was completed in 2012. Located across the street from Buford City Hall, the Buford Community Center has a museum, 290-seat stage theatre, an outdoor amphitheater, and several spaces for meetings, banquets, and weddings. Media As part of the Metro Atlanta area, Buford's primary network-affiliated television stations are WXIA-TV (NBC), WANF (CBS), WSB-TV (ABC), and WAGA-TV (Fox). WGTV is the local station of the statewide Georgia Public Television network and is a PBS member station. Buford is served by the Gwinnett Daily Post,