NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1979 SESSION

CHAPTER 334

HOUSE BILL 363

AN ACT TO AMEND THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF WILSON.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1.  Article III of the revised and consolidated Charter of the City of Wilson (Chapter 136 of the 1969 Session Laws) is amended by rewriting said Article to read as follows:

"Article III. Governing Body.

"Section 3.1. Structure of Governing Body: Number of Members. The governing body of the City of Wilson is the City Council, which has six (6) members, and the Mayor.

"Section 3.2. Manner of Election of City Council. Qualified voters of the entire City elect the members of the City Council.

"Section 3.3. Term of Office of Members of the City Council. Members of the City Council are elected to two-year terms.

"Section 3.4. Election of Mayor. The qualified voters of the entire City elect the Mayor.

"Section 3.5. Term of Office of Mayor. The Mayor shall be elected to a two-year term of office.

"Section 3.6. Voting Rights of Mayor. Where there is an equal division upon any question, or in the appointment of officers, by the Council, the Mayor shall determine the matter by his vote, and shall vote in no other case."

Sec. 2. That Article IV of the revised and consolidated Charter of the City of Wilson (Chapter 136 of the 1969 Session Laws) be amended to read as follows:

"Article IV. Elections.

"Section 4.1. Conduct of City Elections. The Mayor and members of City Council shall be elected on a nonpartisan basis and the results determined by plurality, as provided by G.S. 163-292."

Sec. 3. That Article VII of the revised and consolidated Charter of the City of Wilson (Chapter 136 of the 1969 Session Laws) is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Article VII. Administrative Offices and Employees.

"Section 7.1. The City Clerk. The City Manager may appoint a City Clerk to keep a journal of the proceedings of the City Council and to maintain in a safe place all records and documents pertaining to the affairs of the City, and to perform such other duties as may be required by law or as the Manager may direct.

"Section 7.2. Finance Officer. The City Manager may appoint a Finance Officer to perform the duties specified under the Local Government Budget and Fiscal Control Act contained in Chapter 159 of the North Carolina General Statutes.

"Section 7.3. Consolidation of Functions. The City Manager may, with the approval of the City Council, consolidate any two or more of the positions of City Clerk, Finance Officer or any other positions, or may assign the functions of any one or more such positions to the holder or holders of any other such positions. The City Manager may also, with the approval of the City Council, himself perform all or any part of the functions of any positions or offices in lieu of appointing other persons to perform the same."

Sec. 4. That Article VIII of the revised and consolidated Charter of the City of Wilson (Chapter 136 of the 1969 Session Laws) entitled "Disposal of Property" be and is hereby repealed in its entirety.

Sec. 5. That Article IX of the revised and consolidated Charter of the City of Wilson (Chapter 136 of the 1969 Session Laws) entitled "Finance and Taxation" be and it is hereby repealed in its entirety.

Sec. 6. That Article X of the revised and consolidated Charter of the City of Wilson (Chapter 136 of the 1969 Session Laws) entitled "Police" be and it is hereby repealed in its entirety.

Sec. 7. That Section 11.1 of Article XI of the revised and consolidated Charter of the City of Wilson (Chapter 136 of the 1969 Session Laws) be amended by rewriting said section to read as follows:

"Section 11.1. Presentation of Claims; Suit upon Claims. (a) In order to preserve a claim against the City of Wilson arising in contract or in tort, notice must be given and the cause of action commenced in accordance with Section 1-539.15 of the North Carolina General Statutes."

Sec. 8. That the statutory reference to "Article IX, Chapter 160 of the General Statutes" contained in Section 12.5 and 12.6 of the revised and consolidated Charter of the City of Wilson (Chapter 136 of the 1969 Session Laws) be amended by substituting therefor "Article X, Chapter 160A of the North Carolina General Statutes".

Sec. 9. That Article XIV of the revised and consolidated Charter of the City of Wilson (Chapter 136 of the 1969 Session Laws) entitled "Regulatory Powers" be amended by repealing Sections 14.1, 14.2 and 14.3 and by substituting therefor the following sections to read as follows:

"Article XIV. Regulatory Powers.

"Section 14.1. Conditional Use Zoning. In addition to the authority granted under Article 19 of Chapter 160A of the North Carolina General Statutes to adopt zoning regulations, the City Council is hereby authorized to establish conditional use zoning districts to coincide and correlate with the issuance of conditional use permits. Such districts shall be established and amended under rules, regulations and guidelines as may be established by City Council. Notwithstanding Section 160A-388 of the North Carolina General Statutes, the City Council may reserve to itself the right to issue conditional use permits with such reasonable conditions as the Council determines to be desirable in promoting the public health, safety and general welfare.

"Section 14.2. Payments in Lieu of Property. A subdivision control ordinance adopted pursuant to the Part 2 of Article 19 of Chapter 160A of the North Carolina General Statutes may provide that a developer will be allowed to pay funds to the City whereby the City may acquire recreational land or areas to serve the development or subdivision, including the purchase of land which may be used to serve more than one subdivision or development within the immediate area."

Sec. 10. That Article XV of the revised and consolidated Charter of the City of Wilson (Chapter 136 of the 1969 Session Laws) be amended by rewriting said Article to read as follows:

"Article XV. Special Assessments and Charges.

"Section 15.1. Alternative Methods of Assessing Costs of Improvements. In addition to, and as alternatives to, the method provided in Article 10 of Chapter 160A of the North Carolina General Statutes for assessing the cost of improvements against the benefited property, the City Council, if in its opinion, it would be more equitable to do so, is hereby authorized in its discretion to levy any such assessments in accordance with the provisions of this Article. In lieu of assessing the total cost of a particular project as provided in G.S. 160A-218, the City Council may annually, between the first day of January and the first day of July of each year, determine the average cost of installing such improvements and on the basis of such determination may make assessments of such average cost during the following fiscal year beginning July 1. The average cost of such installation shall include the cost of the particular size and material of improvements completed during the preceding calendar year. It may also include the anticipated increase in labor and material costs based upon the average of such increases during the preceding five calendar years. The assessment of the average costs of such improvements shall not be made until after the particular project to be assessed has been completed. The purpose of this section is to distribute more equitably the cost of the installation of public works improvements throughout the City; to permit a property owner to know in advance what the cost of installation of the improvements benefiting his property will be; and to permit the most expeditious assessment of costs against the property after completion of the installation of such improvements. The actual cost of acquisition of right-of-way may also be assessed as a part of the cost of an individual project. If the right-of-way cost has not been determined and assessed with the assessment of the average installation cost at the time of the completion of the project, such costs may be assessed separately when they are determined.

"Section 15.2. Acreage Charges for Water and Sewer Connections. In addition to, and as alternatives to the water and sewer service charges authorized by G.S. 160A-314 and other connection charges authorized by law, the City Council may establish and collect acreage charges for making connection to the city water and sewerage systems, both inside and outside the corporate limits, to aid in the financing of new water mains and sewer outfall lines and the replacement or enlargement of existing mains and outfall lines. Such charges shall apply uniformly to all properties to which water or sewer service is extended subsequent to the establishment of such charges; provided, the City Council may establish higher acreage charges for property to be developed for commercial, institutional, or industrial use than those established for property to be developed for other uses, and may base acreage charges for residential development on the number of dwelling units per acre of land."

Sec. 11. That Article XVI of the revised and consolidated Charter of the City of Wilson (Chapter 136 of the 1969 Session Laws) be repealed in its entirety.

Sec. 12. That Chapter 151 of the 1963 Session Laws prohibiting members of the Board of Adjustment, Planning Board, Board of Appeals for Airport Zoning, and the Recreation Commission of the City of Wilson from serving more than two consecutive terms of 3 years is hereby repealed and declared null and void.

Sec. 13. That Chapter 723 of the 1961 Session Laws relating to the appointment and terms of office of the City of Wilson Recreation Commission be and it is hereby repealed and declared null and void.

Sec. 14. That Chapter 634 of the 1961 Session Laws relating to the appointment and terms of office of members of the City of Wilson Planning Board be and it is hereby repealed and declared null and void.

Sec. 15. That Chapter 633 of the 1961 Session Laws relating to the appointment and terms of office of members of the City of Wilson Board of Adjustment be and it is hereby repealed and declared null and void.

Sec. 16. That Chapter 378 of the 1941 Public-Local Laws authorizing the Town of Wilson to acquire and operate an airport is hereby repealed and declared null and void.

Sec. 17. That Chapter 635 of the 1961 Session Laws relating to the appointment and terms of office of members of the City of Wilson Board of Appeals for Airport Zoning be and it is hereby repealed and declared null and void.

Sec. 18. That the revised and consolidated Charter of the City of Wilson (Chapter 136 of the 1969 Session Laws) be amended by adding the following Article to be numbered VIII which shall read as follows:

"Article VIII. Purchasing.

"Section 8.1. Contracts Requiring Use of Formal Bid Procedure. Notwithstanding the provisions of G.S. 143-129, the City of Wilson shall not be required to use the formal bid procedure for construction or repair work requiring the estimated expenditure of $30,000 or less or for the purchase or lease-purchase of apparatus, materials, supplies, or equipment requiring an estimated expenditure of $10,000 or less; notwithstanding the provisions of G.S. 143-132, the City of Wilson may let public contracts on construction of repair work with estimated costs between $30,000 and $50,000 on receipt of at least two competitive bids without readvertising upon first finding that readvertising is not in the public interest."

Sec. 19. The purpose of this act is to revise the Charter of the City of Wilson to eliminate unnecessary repetition of the general law and to eliminate, wherever possible, variations from the general law. It is intended to continue without interruption those rights and privileges conferred to the City of Wilson by the general law as embodied in Chapter 160A of the North Carolina General Statutes so that all such rights and privileges are preserved and continue to inure to the City of Wilson.

Sec. 20. No provision of this act is intended, nor shall be construed to affect in any way any rights or interest, whether public or private:

(a)       now vested or accrued, in whole or in part, the validity of which might be sustained or preserved by reference to any provisions of law repealed by this act.

Sec. 21. No law heretofore repealed expressly or by implications, and no law granting authority which has been exhausted, shall be revived by:

(a)       the repeal herein or any act repealing such law, or

(b)       any provision of this act that disclaims an intention to repeal or effect enumerated or designated laws.

Sec. 22. (a)  All existing ordinances, resolutions, franchises and contracts of the City of Wilson and all existing rules and regulations of departments or agencies of the City of Wilson, not inconsistent with the provisions of this act, shall continue in full force or effect until repealed, modified, or amended.

(b)       No action or proceeding of any nature (whether civil or criminal, judicial or administrative, or otherwise) pending at the effective date of this act by or against the City of Wilson or any of its departments or agencies shall be abated or otherwise affected by the adoption of this act.

Sec. 23. If any of this act or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this act which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this act are declared to be severable.

Sec. 24. Whenever a reference is made in this act to a particular provision of the General Statutes, and such provision is later amended, repealed, or superceded, the reference shall be deemed amended to refer to the amended General Statute, or to the General Statute which most clearly corresponds to the statutory provision which is repealed or superceded.

Sec. 25. All laws and clauses of laws in conflict with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed.

Sec. 26. This act is effective upon ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 11th day of April, 1979.