NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY
1965 SESSION

CHAPTER 775
HOUSE BILL 600

AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 667, SESSION LAWS OF 1959, THE SAME BEING THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF STATESVILLE.

The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:

Section 1. Article XXII, Chapter 667, Session Laws of 1959, is hereby amended by rewriting Section 5 to read as follows:
"Sec. 5. Authority to Sell Power Lines, etc. The City Council of the City of Statesville shall have the power to sell, purchase or trade, at private or public sale, either at a negotiated price or upon sealed bids, any power lines and rights of way owned by the city or by others lying inside or outside the corporate limits of the City of Statesville, for cash or exchange for privately or publicly owned lines located within or without the corporate limits of the city.
"Any cash proceeds or exchanged power lines shall be used by the city in its discretion in the operation of its electrical distribution system; provided, that the City Council of the City of Statesville shall have first determined by resolution that such power lines and rights of way are not needed to serve the residents of the City of Statesville and that it would be in the best interest of the city to so buy, sell or exchange said lines and rights of way and that the same will not adversely affect any bonded indebtedness of the city concerning the operation of said electrical distribution system."
Sec. 2. Article XXII, Chapter 667, Session Laws of 1959, is hereby amended by adding a new Section at the end thereof, to read as follows:
"Sec. 17. Authority to Appropriate Non‑tax Funds for Sheltered Workshops for Handicapped and Mentally Retarded Persons. The City Council of the City of Statesville, in its discretion, may appropriate non‑tax funds for the use of the Iredell Vocational Workshop, Inc. for the use of such organization in participation with funds contributed by the State of North Carolina and the United States Federal Government for such purposes."
Sec. 3. Article VI, Chapter 667, Session Laws of 1959, is hereby amended by adding a new Section, immediately following Section 1 thereof, to read as follows:
"Sec. 1.1. Franchises. In addition to rights granted to it by the laws of North Carolina with respect to the franchising of public utilities, the City of Statesville shall have exclusive right, not inconsistent with the rights of the State of North Carolina or the United States Government, to grant a franchise or franchises within its corporate limits to persons or corporations engaged in the business of providing to the public, community antenna television or other television programs transmitted from a common antenna to individual subscribers by use of wire or cable."
Sec. 4. Section 3, Chapter 1055, Session Laws of 1963, is hereby repealed.
Section 9 of Article XXI, Chapter 667, Session Laws of 1959, is hereby rewritten to read as follows:
"Sec. 9. Examination of Applicants for Positions in Police and Fire Departments. All applicants for positions in the Police Department or Fire Department of the City of Statesville shall be subject to an examination by the Civil Service Board, which examination shall be competitive and open to all persons, subject to a reasonable limitation as to age, health, moral character and general reputation, and said examination shall relate to those matters which will fairly test the relative ability of the persons examined to discharge in a proper fashion the duties of the position which he seeks to be appointed to and shall include tests of physical, mental and moral qualifications, but no applicant shall be examined concerning his political opinions or affiliations. Due regard shall be given by the Civil Service Board in its examination of applicants for positions in the Police Department and Fire Department to the experience or training of any applicant which may fit him for the duties which he would be called upon to discharge as a member of the said department, and the findings of the Civil Service Board shall be conclusive. Everything being equal, first priority shall be given to residents of the City of Statesville and secondly, to residents of Iredell County. Provided, however, that for the appointment of a Chief of Police or the appointment of a Chief of the Fire Department, the Civil Service Board shall examine the top six ranking officers from the department in which a vacancy has occurred, and if all six have either been declared ineligible by failure to make a sufficiently high grade on the examination given to them by the Board, or have disqualified themselves by choice, then in such event the Civil Service Board may employ a Chief of the Police Department or a Chief of the Fire Department from out of the city who has had at least ten years' experience, training and education in their respective fields. If an applicant is accepted for employment who lives outside the corporate limits of the City of Statesville, he or she must then move within the city limits not later than 90 days from the time he or she actually goes on the force."
Sec. 5. All laws and clauses of laws in conflict with this Act are hereby repealed.
Sec. 6. This Act shall be in full force and effect from and after its ratification.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 2nd day of June, 1965.