Charter*
*Editors Note: Printed herein is the Charter of Town of La Grange being Session Laws 1979, chapter 1151, as adopted by the Legislature, and effective on June 23, 1980. Amendments to the Charter are indicated by parenthetical history notes following amended provisions. The absence of a history note indicates that the provision remains unchanged from the original Charter. The term board of commissioners has been changed to town council throughout the Charter. Obvious misspellings have been corrected without notation. For stylistic purposes, a uniform system of headings, catchlines and citations to state statutes has been used. Additions made for clarity are indicated by brackets.
Article I. Incorporation, Corporate Powers and Boundaries
- Sec. 2.1. Governing body.
- Sec. 2.2. Town council; composition; terms of office.
- Sec. 2.3. Mayor; term of office; duties.
- Sec. 2.4. Mayor pro tempore.
- Sec. 2.5. Meetings of the town council.
- Sec. 3.1. Regular municipal elections.
- Sec. 3.2. Officers of the town; conduct and method of election.
- Sec. 3.3. Election of the mayor; election of the town council.
Article IV. Organization and Administration
- Sec. 4.1. Form of government.
- Sec. 4.2. Town attorney.
- Sec. 4.3. Town clerk.
- Sec. 4.4. Town finance officer.
- Sec. 4.5. Town budget officer.
- Sec. 4.6. Town tax collector.
- Sec. 4.7. Consolidation of functions.
- Sec. 4.8. Other administrative officers and employees.
Article V. Public Improvements
- Sec. 5.1. Street improvements; assessment of costs.
- Sec. 5.2. When petition unnecessary.
- Sec. 5.3. Street improvement defined.
- Sec. 5.4. Sidewalks, assessment of costs.
- Sec. 5.5. Assessment procedure.
- Sec. 5.6. Effect of assessments.
Article VI. Special Provisions
- Sec. 6.1. Authority to construct a health center or clinic.
- Sec. 6.2. Retirement or pension fund for employees.
ARTICLE I.
INCORPORATION, CORPORATE POWERS AND BOUNDARIES
Sec. 1.1. Incorporation.
The Town of La Grange, North Carolina, in the County of Lenoir, and the inhabitants thereof, shall continue to be a municipal body politic and corporate, under the name and style of the "Town of La Grange," hereinafter at times referred to as the "town."
Sec. 1.2. Powers.
The Town of La Grange shall have and may exercise all of the powers, duties, rights, privileges and immunities, which are now, or hereafter may be, conferred, either expressly or by implication, upon the Town of La Grange, specifically, or upon municipal corporations, generally, by this Charter, by the state constitution, or by general or local law.
Sec. 1.3. Corporate limits.
The corporate limits of the Town of La Grange shall be those existing at the time of ratification of this Charter, as the same are set forth on the official map of the city, and as the same may be altered from time to time in accordance with law. An official map of the town, showing the current town boundaries, shall be maintained permanently in the office of the town clerk, and shall be available for public inspection. Immediately upon alteration of the corporate limits made pursuant to law, the appropriate changes to the official map of the town shall be made.
ARTICLE II.
MAYOR AND COUNCIL
Sec. 2.1. Governing body.
The mayor and town council, elected and constituted as herein set forth, shall be the governing body of the town. On behalf of the town, and in conformity with applicable laws, the mayor and town council may provide for the exercise of all municipal powers, and shall be charged with the general government of the town.
Sec. 2.2. Town council; composition; terms of office.
The town council shall be composed of six members, each of whom shall be elected for terms of four years in the manner provided by article III of this Charter, provided they shall serve until their successors are elected and qualified.
Sec. 2.3. Mayor; term of office; duties.
The mayor shall be elected in the manner provided by article III of this Charter to serve 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 shall preside at all meetings of the town council. The mayor shall have the right to vote only when there are an equal number of votes in the affirmative and the negative on any motion before the town council. The mayor shall exercise such powers and perform such duties as presently are or hereafter may be conferred by the General Statutes of North Carolina, by this Charter, and by the ordinances of the town.
Sec. 2.4. Mayor pro tempore.
In accordance with applicable state laws, the town council shall appoint one of its members to act as mayor pro tempore to perform the duties of the mayor in the mayor’s absence or disability. The mayor pro tempore as such shall have no fixed term of office, but shall serve in such capacity at the pleasure of the remaining members of the town council.
Sec. 2.5. Meetings of the town council.
In accordance with the General Statutes, the town council shall establish a suitable time and place for its regular meetings. Special meetings shall be held according to the applicable provisions of the General Statutes.
ARTICLE III.
ELECTIONS*
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* State Law References: Elections, G.S. 163-279 et seq.
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Sec. 3.1. Regular municipal elections.
Regular municipal elections shall be held in the town every two years in odd-numbered years and shall be conducted in accordance with the Uniform Municipal Election Laws of North Carolina.
Sec. 3.2. Officers of the town; conduct and method of election.
The officers of the municipality of La Grange shall consist of a mayor and six councilpersons. Beginning with the regular municipal election to be held in 1993, the election shall be conducted using the nonpartisan plurality method as provided by G.S. 160A-101(7)(b).
(Ord. of 4-5-93(2), § 1)
Sec. 3.3. Election of the mayor; election of the town council.
The mayor shall be elected for a term of four years. In the 1975 election, the three candidates for the town council who received the higher number of votes shall be elected to terms of four years, and the three candidates receiving the next highest number of votes shall be elected for terms of two years. Thereafter, as the terms expire, the successors shall be elected for terms of four years each.
ARTICLE IV.
ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION
Sec. 4.1. Form of government.
The town shall operate under the council-manager form of government, in accordance with G.S. 160A-146 et seq.
(Ord. of 3-5-90, § 1)
Sec. 4.2. Town attorney.
The town council shall appoint a town attorney who shall be licensed to engage in the practice of law in the State of North Carolina. It shall be the duty of the town attorney to prosecute and defend suits against the town; to advise the mayor, town council, and other town officials with respect to the affairs of the town; to draft all legal documents relating to the affairs of the town; to inspect and pass upon all agreements, contracts, franchises and other instruments with which the town may be concerned; to attend meetings of the town council; and to perform other duties required by law or as the town council may direct.
Sec. 4.3. Town clerk.
The town council shall appoint a town clerk to keep a journal of the proceedings of the board, to maintain in a safe place all records and documents pertaining to the affairs of the town, and to perform such other duties as may be required by law or as the town council may direct.
Sec. 4.4. Town finance officer.
The town council shall appoint a town finance officer to perform the duties of the finance officer as required by the Local Government Budget and Fiscal Control Act.
Sec. 4.5. Town budget officer.
The town council shall appoint a town budget officer to perform the duties of the budget officer as required by the Local Government Budget and Fiscal Control Act.
Sec. 4.6. Town tax collector.
The town council shall appoint a town tax collector to collect all taxes, licenses, fees and other moneys belonging to the town, subject to the General Statutes, the provisions of this Charter and the ordinances of the town. The town tax collector shall diligently comply with and enforce all the laws of North Carolina relating to the collection of taxes by municipalities.
Sec. 4.7. Consolidation of functions.
The town council may consolidate any two or more positions of town clerk, town tax collector, town budget officer and town finance officer, or may assign the functions of any one or more of these positions to the holder or holders of any other of these positions, subject to the Local Government Budget and Fiscal Control Act.
Sec. 4.8. Other administrative officers and employees.
Consistent with applicable state laws, the town council may establish other positions, provide for the appointment of other administrative officers and employees, and generally organize the town government in order to promote the orderly and efficient administration of the affairs of the town.
ARTICLE V.
PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS
Sec. 5.1. Street improvements; assessment of costs.
In addition to any authority which is now or may hereafter be granted by general law to the town for making street improvements, the town council is hereby authorized to make street improvements and to assess the cost thereof against abutting property owners in accordance with the provisions of sections 5.1 through 5.6 herein.
Sec. 5.2. When petition unnecessary.
The town council may order street improvements and assess the cost thereof against the abutting property owners, exclusive of the costs incurred at street intersections, according to one or more of the assessment bases set forth in G.S. 160A-216 et seq. without the necessity of a petition, upon the finding by the board as a fact:
- (a) That the street improvement project does not exceed 1,200 linear feet; and
- (b) That such street or part thereof is unsafe for vehicular traffic, and it is in the public interest to make such improvement; or
- (c) That it is in the public interest to connect two streets, or portions of a street already improved; or
- (d) That it is in the public interest to widen a street, or part thereof, which is already improved, provided, that assessments for widening any street or portion of street without a petition shall be limited to the cost of widening and otherwise improving such street in accordance with the street classification and improvement standards established by the town’s thoroughfare or major street plan for the particular street or part thereof to be widened and improved under the authority granted by this article.
Sec. 5.3. Street improvement defined.
For the purposes of this article, the term "street improvement" shall include grading, regrading, surfacing, resurfacing, widening, paving, repaving, the acquisition of right-of-way, and the construction or reconstruction of curbs, gutters and street drainage facilities.
Sec. 5.4. Sidewalks, assessment of costs.
In addition to any authority which is now or may hereafter be granted by general law to the town for making sidewalk improvements, the town council is hereby authorized without the necessity of a petition, to make or to order to be made sidewalk improvements or repairs according to standards and specifications of the town, and to assess the total cost thereof against abutting property owners, according to one or more of the assessment bases set forth in G.S. 160A-216 et seq.; provided, however, that regardless of the assessment basis or bases employed, the town council may order the cost of sidewalk improvements made only on one side of a street to be assessed against property owners abutting both sides of such street.
Sec. 5.5. Assessment procedure.
In ordering street and sidewalk improvements without a petition and assessing the cost thereof under authority of this article, the town council shall comply with the procedure provided by G.S. 160A-216 et seq. except those provisions relating to the petition of property owners and the sufficiency thereof.
Sec. 5.6. Effect of assessments.
The effect of the act of levying assessments under the authority of this article shall for all purposes be the same as if the assessments were levied under authority of G.S. 160A-216 et seq.
The title to the site or property and any buildings for public health center or clinic purposes constructed thereon shall be owned and held by the Town of La Grange and the County of Lenoir in proportion and in ratio to the amounts which each such authority or board shall appropriate for the construction and the purchase of the site of the public health center or clinic heretofore mentioned.
ARTICLE VI.
SPECIAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 6.1. Authority to construct a health center or clinic.
(a) The governing authority of the Town of La Grange, in Lenoir County, is hereby authorized and empowered to appropriate from nontax funds the sum of at least $10,000.00 for the purpose of acquiring a site and constructing thereon a health center or clinic for public health purposes or for use as a public health center, and the said Town of La Grange is authorized not only to appropriate said funds but also to take any and all steps that may be necessary to acquire a site and to construct said public health center or clinic.
(b) If and when the Town of La Grange shall appropriate and make available the said sum of $10,000.00 for the purpose of a public health clinic, as mentioned in section 1 of this act [subsection (a) hereof], then the Town Council of Lenoir County is authorized, in its discretion to appropriate and make available the sum of $25,000.00 from nontax funds for the purpose and as an aid to the construction of, and acquisition of a site for, a public health center or clinic in the Town of La Grange. The expenditure of said funds shall be supervised by the Town Council of Lenoir County. If and when same are appropriated and made available the same shall be expended for the acquisition of said site and the construction of the public health center or clinic thereon according to a contract or agreement which shall be negotiated and entered into between the Town Council of Lenoir County and the governing authority of the Town of La Grange, which such contract or agreement is hereby authorized, and reciprocal resolutions, or a joint resolution, of the Town Council of said Town of La Grange and County of Lenoir shall be sufficient evidence of such contract or agreement.
(c) If and when said site is acquired and public health center or clinic constructed, then with the joint approval and consent of the Town Council of Lenoir County and the governing authority of the Town of La Grange, any offices available in same may be rented to practicing physicians, such rentals to be approved by both authorities and the proceeds of such rentals shall be payable to the Town of La Grange and the County of Lenoir as the interest of each authority may appear and according to the ratio of the funds appropriated by each authority or board.
Sec. 6.2. Retirement or pension fund for employees.
(a) The governing body of the Town of La Grange is hereby authorized to establish or provide for a retirement system to provide for the payment of benefits to its employees or to their beneficiaries in the following cases:
- Retirement, because of age;
- Disability;
- Death.
(b) Such system shall include such officers and employees of the town as shall be determined by the governing body. The town shall contribute to the system in such amounts as it shall determine, in order to meet the liabilities accruing because of personal services rendered to the town by its officers and employees; provided, however, that the system may also provide benefits which are based, partly or entirely, upon personal services rendered to the town prior to the establishment thereof, and the town may contribute the entire cost of benefits based on any such prior service. The governing body may provide that employees shall share in the cost of financing the system, upon such terms as it deems advisable. The expense of administering the system shall be paid as provided by the governing body and the governing body shall appropriate each year sufficient revenue to provide for the expense of the administration.
(c) The system shall be maintained on a solvent actuarial reserve basis for all benefits beginning at its inauguration date, excepting the present value of benefits based on prior service.
(d) The contribution required to cover the cost of benefits based on prior service, if any, shall be sufficient to fund the liability for such prior service in not more than 40 years from the date of establishment of the system.
(e) The ordinance may provide for the appointment or election of a retirement board or board of trustees, and for the delegation to such board of such powers and duties as may be deemed necessary to carry out the intent and purpose for which the system is established. If such a retirement board or board of trustees is provided for, the said board shall consist of a member or members of the governing body, an employee or employees entitled to participate in the system, and one or more citizens of the town not officially connected with the town nor entitled to participate in the system.
(f) The town may provide for the payment of one or more of the benefits enumerated in subsection (b) of this section by contracting with the governing body of any other municipality or municipalities in the state, with the United States government or any of its agencies or departments, with the State of North Carolina or any of its agencies or departments, or may contract with any insurance company or other corporation for the performance of any service in connection with the establishment of such fund, or for the investment, care, or administration of such fund, or for any other service relating thereto.
The town or any other governing body, agency, insurance company, person, or corporation contracting with the town for the investment, care or administration of said system may invest and reinvest the funds thereof in one or more of the types of securities or other investments authorized by G.S. 58-79, as heretofore or hereafter amended, and by other State law, for the investment of assets of domestic life insurance companies.
(g) Nothing in this shall be construed so as to prohibit the town from providing or continuing to provide Old Age and Survivors’ Insurance, or Social Security coverage for its officers and employees as the same may be authorized by federal and state laws, either separately or in addition to the fund authorized herein, or any other retirement or pension plan or fund authorized by general law or local act.