GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2009

SESSION LAW 2009-150

SENATE BILL 60

AN ACT to revise and CONSOLIDATE the charter of the town of white lake.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  The Charter of the Town of White Lake is revised and consolidated to read as follows:

"THE CHARTER OF THE TOWN OF WHITE LAKE.

"ARTICLE I. INCORPORATION, CORPORATE POWERS, AND BOUNDARIES.

"Section 1.1.  Incorporation. The Town of White Lake, North Carolina, in Bladen County and the inhabitants thereof shall continue to be a municipal body politic and corporate, under the name of the 'Town of White Lake,' hereinafter at times referred to as the 'Town.'

"Section 1.2.  Powers. The Town shall have and may exercise all of the powers, duties, rights, privileges, and immunities conferred upon the Town of White Lake specifically by this Charter or upon municipal corporations by general law. The term 'general law' is employed herein as defined in G.S. 160A-1.

"Section 1.3.  Corporate Limits. The corporate limits shall be those existing at the time of ratification of this Charter, as set forth on the official map of the Town and as they may be altered from time to time in accordance with law. An official map of the Town, showing the current municipal boundaries, shall be maintained permanently in the office of the Town Clerk and shall be available for public inspection. Upon alteration of the corporate limits pursuant to law, the appropriate changes to the official map shall be made, and copies shall be filed in the office of the Secretary of State, the Bladen County Register of Deeds, and the appropriate board of elections.

"ARTICLE II. GOVERNING BODY.

"Section 2.1.  Town Governing Body; Composition. The Board of Commissioners, hereinafter referred to as the 'Board,' and the Mayor shall be the governing body of the Town.

"Section 2.2.  Town Board of Commissioners; Composition; Terms of Office. The Board shall be composed of six members, to be elected by all the qualified voters of the Town, for staggered terms of four years or until their successors are elected and qualified.

"Section 2.3.  Mayor; Term of Office; Duties. The Mayor shall be elected by all the qualified voters of the Town for a term of four years or until his or her successor is elected and qualified. The Mayor shall be the official head of the Town government and preside at meetings of the Board, shall have the right to vote only when there is an equal division on any question or matter before the Board, and shall exercise the powers and duties conferred by law or as directed by the Board.

"Section 2.4.  Mayor Pro Tempore. The Board shall elect one of its members as Mayor Pro Tempore to perform the duties of the Mayor during his or her absence or disability, in accordance with general law. The Mayor Pro Tempore shall serve in such capacity at the pleasure of the Board.

"Section 2.5.  Meetings. In accordance with general law, the Board shall establish a suitable time and place for its regular meetings. Special and emergency meetings may be held as provided by general law.

"Section 2.6.  Quorum; Voting. Official actions of the Board and all votes shall be taken in accordance with the applicable provisions of general law, particularly G.S. 160A-75. The quorum provisions of G.S. 160A-74 shall apply.

"Section 2.7.  Compensation; Qualifications for Office; Vacancies. The compensation and qualifications of the Mayor and Commissioners shall be in accordance with general law. Vacancies that occur in any elective office of the Town shall be filled by majority vote of the remaining members of the Board and shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term, despite the contrary provisions of G.S. 160A-63.

"ARTICLE III. ELECTIONS.

"Section 3.1.  Regular Municipal Elections. Regular municipal elections shall be held in each odd-numbered year in accordance with the uniform municipal election laws of North Carolina. Elections shall be conducted on a nonpartisan basis and the results determined using the nonpartisan plurality method as provided in G.S. 163-292.

"Section 3.2.  Election of Mayor. A Mayor shall be elected in the regular municipal election in 2011 and each four years thereafter.

"Section 3.3.  Election of Commissioners. In the regular municipal election in 2009 and quadrennially thereafter, three Commissioners shall be elected for four-year terms in those positions whose terms are then expiring. In the regular municipal election in 2011 and quadrennially thereafter, three Commissioners shall be elected for four-year terms in those positions whose terms are then expiring.

"Section 3.4.  Special Elections and Referenda. Special elections and referenda may be held only as provided by general law or applicable local acts of the General Assembly.

"ARTICLE IV. ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION.

"Section 4.1.  Form of Government. The Town shall operate under the mayor-council form of government, in accordance with Part 3 of Article 7 of Chapter 160A of the General Statutes.

"Section 4.2.  Town Attorney. The Board shall appoint a Town Attorney licensed to practice law in North Carolina. It shall be the duty of the Town Attorney to represent the Town, advise Town officials, and perform other duties required by law or as the Board may direct.

"Section 4.3.  Town Clerk. The Board shall appoint a Town Clerk to keep a journal of the proceedings of the Board, to maintain official records and documents, to give notice of meetings, and to perform such other duties required by law or as the Board may direct.

"Section 4.4.  Tax Collector. The Town shall have a Tax Collector to collect all taxes owed to the Town and perform those duties specified in G.S. 105-350 and such other duties as prescribed by law or assigned by the Board.

"Section 4.5.  Other Administrative Officers and Employees. The Board may authorize other positions to be filled by appointment and may organize the Town government as deemed appropriate, subject to the requirements of general law.

"ARTICLE V. MISCELLANEOUS.

"Section 5.1.  White Lake. The Town may adopt ordinances with respect to the body of water in Bladen County known as White Lake, which ordinances shall have the same force and effect as if the lake were within the corporate limits of the Town, and Town Police shall have the same powers as peace officers on the lake as within the corporate limits of the Town."

SECTION 2.  The purpose of this act is to revise the Charter of the Town of White Lake and to consolidate certain acts concerning the property, affairs, and government of the Town. It is intended to continue without interruption those provisions of prior acts that are expressly consolidated into this act, so that all rights and liabilities which have accrued are preserved and may be enforced.

SECTION 3.  This act does not repeal or affect any acts concerning the property, affairs, or government of public schools, or any acts validating official actions, proceedings, contracts, or obligations of any kind.

SECTION 4.  The following acts, having served the purposes for which they were enacted or having been consolidated into this act, are expressly repealed:

Chapter 511, Session Laws of 1951, except Sections 8 and 9 which were already repealed.

Chapter 1177, Session Laws of 1953

Chapter 424, Session Laws of 1961

Chapter 339, Session Laws of 1963

Chapter 200, Session Laws of 1967, except Section 5

Chapter 602, Session Laws of 1971

Chapter 1160, Session Laws of 1981, except Section 4.1.

SECTION 5.  The Mayor and Commissioners serving on the date of ratification of this act shall serve until the expiration of their terms or until their successors are elected and qualified. Thereafter those offices shall be filled as provided in Articles II and III of the Charter contained in Section 1 of this act.

SECTION 6.  This act does not affect any rights or interests that arose under any provisions repealed by this act.

SECTION 7.  All existing ordinances, resolutions, and other provisions of the Town of White Lake not inconsistent with the provisions of this act shall continue in effect until repealed or amended.

SECTION 8.  No action or proceeding pending on the effective date of this act by or against the Town or any of its departments or agencies shall be abated or otherwise affected by this act.

SECTION 9.  If any provision of this act or application thereof is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this act that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this act are declared to be severable.

SECTION 10.  Whenever a reference is made in this act to a particular provision of the General Statutes, and such provision is later amended, superseded, or recodified, the reference shall be deemed amended to refer to the amended General Statute, or to the General Statute that most clearly corresponds to the statutory provision which is superseded or recodified.

SECTION 11.  This act is effective when it becomes law.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 23^rd day of June, 2009.

                                                                    s/  Walter H. Dalton

                                                                         President of the Senate

                                                                    s/  Joe Hackney

                                                                         Speaker of the House of Representatives