GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
1987 SESSION

CHAPTER 1003
HOUSE BILL 2212

AN ACT TO INCORPORATE THE TOWN OF VARNAMTOWN; SUBJECT TO A REFERENDUM.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1.  A charter is enacted for the Town of Varnamtown to read:
"CHARTER
FOR THE TOWN OF VARNAMTOWN, NORTH CAROLINA
CHAPTER I INCORPORATION
Section 1.1  The Town of Varnamtown, in the County of Brunswick, of the State of North Carolina is hereby incorporated to be known as the Town of Varnamtown and is invested with all the powers, rights, privileges and immunities conferred and imposed on cities by the general law of North Carolina.
CHAPTER II BOUNDARIES
Section 2. 1.  Until modified in accordance with law, the boundaries of the town are as follows:  Beginning at Stanbury bridge on center line of state road #1119; thence south along the center line of state road #1119 to the intersection of state roads #1119 and #1120; thence westerly along the center line of state road #1120 to a point that intersects the north and south line on the west side of Bobby Caison's tract of land; thence southerly along Bobby Caison's line to Cecil Holden's northern boundary line; thence easterly along Cecil Holden's and Wilbur Holden's northern lines to the northern boundary line of Lockwood Folly Golf Links; thence along the Lockwood Folly Golf Links northern line to Lockwood Folly River; thence northerly along the contour of the old river to a point that divides Riverside #1 from Riverside #2; thence along the northern boundary line of Riverside #1 to Wilson Lancaster's line; thence along Wilson Lancaster's northern line to Ennis Swain's eastern line; thence along Ennis Swain's eastern line to Joe Singletary's northwest corner; thence due west to John T. Galloway's eastern, north-south line; thence along Ennis Swain's, John T. Galloway's, Mary Galloway's, Curtis Cumbee's lines to the northern right-of-way line of state road #1122; thence westerly along the northern right-of-way line of state road #1122 to Arthur Thompson's southeast corner; thence along the Ennis Swain and Arthur Thompson line to the center of Stanbury Creek; thence westerly along the center of Stanbury Creek to the point of beginning at Stanbury bridge.
CHAPTER III GOVERNING BODY
Section 3.1.  The governing body of the Town of Varnamtown is the Board of Aldermen, which has five members, and the Mayor.
Section 3.2.  Manner of electing town officials.  The qualified voters of the entire town elect the members of the Board of Aldermen and the Mayor.
Section 3.3.  Term of Office of Board members.  At the regular municipal election in 1989, the two candidates for Town Aldermen receiving the highest number of votes shall be elected for a term of four years, and the three candidates receiving the next highest number of votes shall be elected for a term of two years.  In the municipal election of 1991 and bienially thereafter, all Town Aldermen shall be elected for a term of four years as their terms expire.  Municipal elections for Varnamtown shall be held in accordance with the general law.
Section 3.4.  Election of Mayor: Term of Office.  In 1989 and biennially thereafter, the qualified voters of the entire town elect the Mayor, for a two-year term of office.
CHAPTER IV ELECTIONS
Section 4.1.  Town officers shall be elected on a non-partisan basis and the results determined by a plurality as provided in G.S. 163-292.
CHAPTER V ADMINISTRATION
Section 5.1.  The Town of Varnamtown will operate under the mayor-council plan as provided in Part 3 of Article 7 of Chapter 160A of the General Statutes. 
Section 5.2.  All Aldermen and the Mayor, from the date of incorporation to the regular election of town officers in 1989 shall receive no salary for their services.  Thereafter, elected officers of the Town may only receive a salary if the question on such compensation is submitted to a referendum which receives the affirmative vote of sixty percent (60%) of those voting on that question.
Section 5.3.  Notwithstanding G.S. 160A-209, the property tax rate may not exceed ten cents (10¢) per one hundred dollars ($100.00) appraised value of property subject to taxation, until modified by any election held under G.S. 160A-209(e), G.S. 160A-209(f), or under Chapter 159 of the General Statutes."
Sec. 2.  Until the organizational meeting after the 1989 municipal election, Tracie Varnum shall be Mayor, and George Ennis Swain, Marion Davis, John David Dawson, Roger Robinson and Ada McDonald shall constitute the Board of Aldermen.
Sec. 3.  Interim budget.  The Board of Aldermen may adopt a budget ordinance for the 1988-89 fiscal year, following their qualification for office, without having to comply with the budget preparation and adoption timetable set out in the Local Government Budget and Fiscal Control Act.  For the budget adopted for fiscal year 1988-89, property taxes may be paid at par within 90 days of adoption of the budget ordinance, and thereafter according to the schedule in G.S. 105-360 as if the taxes had been due on September 1, 1988.
Sec. 4.  (a) The Brunswick County Board of Elections shall conduct an election on September 20, 1988, for the purpose of submission to the qualified voters of the area described in Section 2.1 of the Charter of Varnamtown, the question of whether or not such area shall be incorporated as Varnamtown.  Registration for the election shall be conducted in accordance with G.S. 163-288.2.
(b)	In the election, the question on the ballot shall be:
"[ ] FOR Incorporation of Varnamtown
[ ] AGAINST Incorporation of Varnamtown".
Sec. 5.  In such election, if a majority of the votes cast are not cast "FOR Incorporation of Varnamtown", then Sections 1 through 3 of this act shall have no force and effect.
Sec. 6.  In such election, if a majority of the votes cast shall be cast "FOR Incorporation of Varnamtown" then Sections 1 through 3 of this act shall become effective on the date that the Brunswick County Board of Elections determines the result of the election.
Sec. 7.  This act is effective upon ratification.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 28th day of June, 1988.