North Carolina § 160A-101 - Optional forms.

§ 160A-101. Optional forms.

Any city may change its name or alter its form of government by adopting any one or combination of the options prescribed by this section: Name of the corporation: Style of the corporation: Style of the governing board: Terms of office of members of the council: Number of members of the council: Mode of election of the council: All candidates shall be nominated and elected by all the qualified voters of the city. The city shall be divided into single-member electoral districts; council members shall be apportioned to the districts so that each member represents the same number of persons as nearly as possible, except for members apportioned to the city at large, if any; the qualified voters of each district shall nominate and elect candidates who reside in the district for seats apportioned to that district; and all the qualified voters of the city shall nominate and elect candidates apportioned to the city at large, if any. The city shall be divided into single-member electoral districts; council members shall be apportioned to the districts so that each member represents the same number of persons as nearly as possible, except for members apportioned to the city at large; and candidates shall reside in and represent the districts according to the apportionment plan adopted, but all candidates shall be nominated and elected by all the qualified voters of the city. The city shall be divided into electoral districts equal in number to one half the number of council seats; the council seats shall be divided equally into "ward seats" and "at-large seats," one each of which shall be apportioned to each district, so that each council member represents the same number of persons as nearly as possible; the qualified voters of each district shall nominate and elect candidates to the "ward seats"; candidates for the "at-large seats" shall reside in and represent the districts according to the apportionment plan adopted, but all candidates for "at-large" seats shall be nominated and elected by all the qualified voters of the city. The city shall be divided into single-member electoral districts; council members shall be apportioned to the districts so that each member represents the same number of persons as nearly as possible, except for members apportioned to the city at large, if any; in a nonpartisan primary, the qualified voters of each district shall nominate two candidates who reside in the district, and the qualified voters of the entire city shall nominate two candidates for each seat apportioned to the city at large, if any; and all candidates shall be elected by all the qualified voters of the city. Elections: Partisan. - Municipal primaries and elections shall be conducted on a partisan basis as provided in G.S. 163-291. Nonpartisan Plurality. - Municipal elections shall be conducted as provided in G.S. 163-292 Nonpartisan Election and Runoff Election. - Municipal elections and runoff elections shall be conducted as provided in G.S. 163-293. Nonpartisan Primary and Election. - Municipal primaries and elections shall be conducted as provided in G.S. 163-294. Selection of mayor: The mayor shall be elected by all the qualified voters of the city for a term of not less than two years nor more than four years. The mayor shall be selected by the council from among its membership to serve at its pleasure. Form of government: The city shall operate under the mayor-council form of government in accordance with Part 3 of Article 7 of this Chapter. The city shall operate under the council-manager form of government in accordance with Part 2 of Article 7 of this Chapter and any charter provisions not in conflict therewith. The name of the corporation may be changed to any name not deceptively similar to that of another city in this State. The city may be styled a city, town, or village. The governing board may be styled the board of commissioners, the board of aldermen, or the council. Members of the council shall serve terms of office of either two or four years. All of the terms need not be of the same length, and all of the terms need not expire in the same year. The council shall consist of any number of members not less than three nor more than 12. If either of options b, c, d or e is adopted, the council shall divide the city into the requisite number of single-member electoral districts according to the apportionment plan adopted, and shall cause a map of the districts so laid out to be drawn up and filed as provided by G.S. 160A-22 and 160A-23. No more than one half of the council may be apportioned to the city at large. An initiative petition may specify the number of single-member electoral districts to be laid out, but the drawing of district boundaries and apportionment of members to the districts shall be done in all cases by the council. Under option a, the mayor may be given the right to vote on all matters before the council, or he may be limited to voting only to break a tie. Under option b, the mayor has the right to vote on all matters before the council. In both cases the mayor has no right to break a tie vote in which he participated. History (1969, c. 629, s. 2; 1971, c. 698, s. 1; c. 1076, s. 1; 1973, c. 426, s. 19; c. 1001, ss. 1, 2; 1975, c. 19, s. 64; c. 664, s. 6; 2017-6, s. 3; 2018-146, ss. 3.1(a), (b), 6.1.) Local Modification. - (As to Part 4) Wilmington/New Hanover County Consolidated Government: 1987, c. 643; city of Bessemer City: 1991, c. 293; (as to Part 4) city of Greensboro: 2015-138, s. 2(b), as amended by 2015-264, s. 85.5. Re-codification; Technical and Conforming Changes. - Session Laws 2017-6, s. 3, provides, in part: "The Revisor of Statutes shall recodify Chapter 138A of the General Statutes, Chapter 120C of the General Statutes, as well as Chapter 163 of the General Statutes, as amended by this act, into a new Chapter 163A of the General Statutes to be entitled `Elections and Ethics Enforcement Act,' as enacted by Section 4 of this act. The Revisor may also recodify into the new Chapter 163A of the General Statutes other existing statutory laws relating to elections and ethics enforcement that are located elsewhere in the General Statutes as the Revisor deems appropriate." The Revisor was further authorized to make additional technical and conforming changes to catchlines, internal citations, and other references throughout the General Statutes to effectuate this recodification, in consultation with the State Ethics Commission, the State Board of Elections, the Secretary of State, and the new Bipartisan State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement. Pursuant to this authority, the Revisor of Statutes substituted "163A-1615" for "163-291" in sub-subdivision (7)a.; substituted "163A-1616" for "163-292" in sub-subdivision (7)b.; substituted "163A-1617" for "163-293" in sub-subdivision (7)c.; and substituted "163A-1618" for "163-294" in sub-subdivision (7)d. Session Laws 2018-146, ss. 3.1(a), (b) and 6.1 repealed Session Laws 2017-6, s. 3, and authorized the Revisor of Statutes to re-recodify Chapter 163A into Chapters 163, 138A, and 120C and to revert the changes made by the Revisor pursuant to Session Laws 2017-6, s. 3. Pursuant to this authority, the Revisor of Statutes reverted the changes to references in subdivision (7). Editor's Note. - Session Laws 1975, c. 664, which added references to option e. in subdivision (6), provided in s. 6(c): "Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to alter any existing form of government of any municipality."