AN ACT to revise and consolidate the charter of the town of littleton.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  The Charter of the Town of Littleton is revised and consolidated to read as follows:
"THE CHARTER OF THE TOWN OF LITTLETON.
"ARTICLE I.  INCORPORATION, CORPORATE POWERS AND BOUNDARIES.
"Section 1.1. Incorporation. The Town of Littleton, North Carolina in Halifax County and the inhabitants thereof shall continue to be a municipal body politic and corporate, under the name of the 'Town of Littleton,' hereinafter at times referred to as the 'Town.'
"Section 1.2. Powers. The Town shall have and may exercise all of the powers, duties, rights, privileges and immunities conferred upon the Town of Littleton specifically by this Charter or upon municipal corporations by general law. The term 'general law' is employed herein as defined in G.S. 160A‑1.
"Section 1.3. Corporate Limits. The corporate limits shall be those existing at the time of ratification of this Charter, as set forth on the official map of the Town, and as they may be altered from time to time in accordance with law. An official map of the Town, showing the current municipal boundaries, shall be maintained permanently in the office of the Town Clerk and shall be available for public inspection. Upon alteration of the corporate limits pursuant to law, the appropriate changes to the official map shall be made and copies shall be filed in the office of the Secretary of State, the Halifax County Register of Deeds, and the appropriate board of elections.
"ARTICLE II. GOVERNING BODY.
"Section 2.1. Town Governing Body. The Board of Commissioners, hereinafter referred to as the 'Board,' and the Mayor shall be the governing body of the Town.
"Section 2.2. Board of Commissioners; Composition; Terms of Office. The Board shall be composed of five members, to be elected by all the qualified voters of the Town, for staggered terms of four years or until their successors are elected and qualified.
"Section 2.3. Mayor; Term of Office; Duties. The Mayor shall be elected by all the qualified voters of the Town 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 meetings of the Board. He shall have the right to vote only when there is an equal division on any question or matter before the Board, and shall exercise the powers and duties conferred by law or as directed by the Board.
"Section 2.4. Mayor Pro Tempore. In accordance with general law, the Board shall elect one of its members to act as Mayor Pro Tempore to perform the duties of the Mayor during his or her absence or disability.
"Section 2.5. Meetings. In accordance with general law, the Board shall establish a suitable time and place for its regular meetings. Special and emergency meetings may be held as provided by general law.
"Section 2.6. Quorum; Voting. Official actions of the Board and all votes shall be taken in accordance with the applicable provisions of general law, particularly G.S. 160A‑75. The quorum provisions of G.S. 160A‑74 shall apply.
"Section 2.7. Compensation; Qualifications for Office; Vacancies. The compensation and qualifications of the Mayor and Commissioners shall be in accordance with general law. Vacancies that occur in any elective office of the Town shall be filled by majority vote of the remaining members of the Board and shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term, notwithstanding the contrary provisions of G.S. 160A‑63.
"ARTICLE III. ELECTIONS.
"Section 3.1. Regular Municipal Elections. Regular municipal elections shall be held in each odd‑numbered year in accordance with the uniform municipal election laws of North Carolina. Elections shall be conducted on a nonpartisan basis and the results determined by a plurality as provided in G.S. 163‑292.
"Section 3.2. Election of Mayor. At the regular municipal election in 2001, and quadrennially thereafter, a Mayor shall be elected to serve a term of four years.
"Section 3.3. Election of Commissioners. At the municipal election to be held in 1999, the three candidates for Commissioner who receive the highest number of votes shall be elected for four‑year terms and the two candidates who receive the next highest number of votes shall be elected for two‑year terms. At the regular municipal election in 2001, and quadrennially thereafter, two Commissioners shall be elected to four‑year terms. At the regular municipal election in 2003, and quadrennially thereafter, three Commissioners shall be elected to four‑year terms.
"Section 3.4. Special Elections and Referenda. Special elections and referenda may be held only as provided by general law or applicable local acts of the General Assembly.
"ARTICLE IV. ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION.
"Section 4.1. Form of Government. The Town shall operate under the mayor‑council form of government as provided in Part 3 of Article 7 of Chapter 160A of the General Statutes.
"Section 4.2. Town Attorney. The Board shall appoint a Town Attorney licensed to practice law in North Carolina. It shall be the duty of the Town Attorney to represent the Town, advise Town officials, and perform other duties required by law or as the Board may direct.
"Section 4.3. Town Clerk. The Board shall appoint a Town Clerk to keep a journal of the proceedings of the Board, to maintain official records and documents, to give notice of meetings, and to perform such other duties required by law or as the Board may direct.
"Section 4.4. Tax Collector. The Board shall appoint a Tax Collector to collect all taxes owed to the Town and perform those duties specified in G.S. 105‑350 and such other duties as prescribed by law or assigned by the Board.
"Section 4.5. Other Administrative Officers and Employees. The Board may authorize other positions to be filled by appointment and may organize the Town government as deemed appropriate, subject to the requirements of general law."
SECTION 2.  The purpose of this act is to revise the Charter of the Town of Littleton and to consolidate certain acts concerning the property, affairs, and government of the Town.  It is intended to continue without interruption those provisions of prior acts that are expressly consolidated into this act so that all rights and liabilities that have accrued are preserved and may be enforced.
SECTION 3.  This act does not repeal or affect any acts concerning the property, affairs, or government of public schools in the Town, or any acts validating, confirming, approving, or legalizing official actions, proceedings, contracts, or obligations of any kind.
SECTION 4.  The following acts, having served the purposes for which they were enacted or having been consolidated into this act, are expressly repealed:
Chapter 175 of the Public Laws of 1876‑77. 
Chapter 126 of the Private Laws of 1883.
Chapter 171 of the Private Laws of 1893.
Chapter 465 of the Public Laws of 1905.
Chapter 30 of the Private Laws of 1905, except sections 1, 2, and 3.
Chapter 56 of the Public Laws of 1907.
Chapter 153 of the Private Laws of 1907.
Chapter 138 of the Public Laws of 1909.
Chapter 116 of the Private Laws of 1911.
Chapter 120 of the Private Laws of 1921, Extra Session.
Chapter 939 of the 1947 Session Laws.
Chapter 763 of the 1953 Session Laws.
Chapter 399 of the 1965 Session Laws.
Chapter 106 of the 1969 Session Laws.
Chapter 601 of the 1973 Session Laws.
S.L. 1998-11.
SECTION 5.  The Mayor and Commissioners serving on the date of ratification of this act shall serve until the expiration of their terms or until their successors are elected and qualified. Thereafter those offices shall be filled as provided in Articles II and III of the Charter contained in Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 6.  This act does not affect any rights or interests that arose under any provisions repealed by this act.
SECTION 7.  All existing ordinances, resolutions, and other provisions of the Town of Littleton not inconsistent with the provisions of this act shall continue in effect until repealed or amended.
SECTION 8.  No action or proceeding pending on the effective date of this act by or against the Town or any of its departments or agencies shall be abated or otherwise affected by this act.
SECTION 9.  If any provision of this act or application thereof is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this act that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this act are declared to be severable.
SECTION 10.  Whenever a reference is made in this act to a particular provision of the General Statutes, and that provision is later amended, superseded, or recodified, the reference shall be deemed amended to refer to the amended General Statute, or to the General Statute that most clearly corresponds to the statutory provision that is superseded or recodified.
SECTION 11.  This act is effective when it becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 16th day of July, 2002.

	s/	 Beverly E. Perdue
	 President of the Senate

	s/	 James B. Black
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives