NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY
1973 SESSION

CHAPTER 325
SENATE BILL 482

AN ACT REWRITING SECTIONS 4, 5, 12, AND 13 OF CHAPTER 695, SESSION LAWS OF 1971, RELATING TO REVISIONS OF THE CHARTER OF THE TOWN OF ST. PAULS, NORTH CAROLINA.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1. Section 4, Chapter 695, Session Laws of 1971, is hereby rewritten to read as follows:
"Sec. 4. Creation, salary and composition of Mayor and Board of Commissioners. Except as otherwise provided in this Charter, all powers of the Town shall be vested in a Board of Commissioners composed of six members and a mayor elected from the Town at large in a manner hereinafter provided. Beginning with the regular municipal election to be held November 1973, a Mayor shall be elected for a term of four years, commencing on the second Thursday in December after his election. The term of the present Mayor is extended until the second Thursday in December 1973. The Board of Commissioners shall be elected for four-year terms commencing on the second Thursday in December after their election. The terms of the present members are hereby extended from the first Thursday of June in the year in which their term is scheduled to expire, until the second Thursday in December of the year in which their term expires. If a vacancy occurs in the office of Mayor, it shall be filled by majority vote of the members of the Board of Commissioners. The person appointed shall serve until the next regular municipal election, at which time a Mayor shall be elected by the voters of the Town. The person elected shall serve for a term of four years. If a vacancy occurs in the office of the Board of Commissioners, it shall be filled by the majority vote of the remaining members of the Board of Commissioners. The person appointed shall serve until the next regular municipal election at which time a person shall be elected by the voters of the Town to fill the unexpired term of the person causing the vacancy. The ballot shall indicate that the candidate is seeking to be elected for the unexpired term.
Each member of the Board of Commissioners shall receive fifteen dollars ($15.00) compensation for each meeting attended and the Mayor shall receive twenty-five dollars ($25.00) compensation for each meeting attended, with a limit of two meetings per month to be compensated for. Compensation and allowances of the Mayor and Commissioners hereafter shall be in accordance with the General Statutes of North Carolina controlling municipal officers as set forth in G.S. 160A-64 or subsequent amendments thereto. Members of the Board of Commissioners and the Mayor shall be qualified electors of the Town. A member of the Board of Commissioners or the Mayor ceasing to possess any of the qualifications specified in this section, or convicted of a felony or a serious misdemeanor while in office, shall immediately forfeit his office."
Sec. 2. Section 5, Chapter 695, Session Laws of 1971, is hereby rewritten to read as follows:
"Sec. 5. Meetings of the Board of Commissioners. At 7:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of December following a regular municipal election, the Board of Commissioners and Mayor shall meet at the usual place for holding its meetings and the newly elected members, and then they shall then be sworn into the office for which they have been elected, and then they shall constitute the new Board and Mayor of the Town of St. Pauls. Thereafter the Board of Commissioners shall meet at 7:30 p.m. on the second Thursday of each month or until such other time as may be prescribed by ordinance or resolution, but not less frequently than once each month. Special meetings shall be called by the Mayor, the Mayor Pro Tempore, or any two members of the Council, at any time by signing a written notice stating the time and place of the meeting and the subject to be considered. The notice shall be delivered to the Mayor and each Councilman or left as his usual dwelling place at least six hours before the meeting. Special meetings may be held at any time when the Mayor and all members of the Council are present and consent thereto, or when those not present have signed a written waiver of notice. Only those items of business specified in the notice may be transacted at a special meeting, unless all members are present or have signed a waiver of notice in writing. All meetings of the Board of Commissioners and of committees thereof shall be open to the public and the rules of the Board of Commissioners shall provide that citizens of the Town shall have a reasonable opportunity to be heard at any such meetings in regard to any matter considered thereof."
Sec. 3. Section 12, Chapter 695, Session Laws of 1971, is hereby rewritten to read as follows:
"Sec. 12. Municipal Elections. The regular municipal elections shall be nonpartisan and decided by simple plurality, and shall be held on Tuesday after the first Monday in November in odd-numbered years beginning in 1973. The elections shall be held and conducted by the Robeson County Board of Elections. The Board of Commissioners may, by resolution, order a special election, fix the time for holding the same, and provide all means for holding such special election."
Sec. 4. Section 13, Chapter 695, Session Laws of 1971, is hereby rewritten to read as follows:
"Sec. 13. Regulations of Elections. Except as otherwise provided herein, all elections shall be conducted in accordance with the applicable sections of the municipal election laws as set forth in Article 23 and Article 24 of Chapter 163 of the General Statutes of North Carolina."
Sec. 5. This act is effective upon ratification.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 7th day of May, 1973.