Local Government in North Carolina

Counties and Municipalities

Jurisdiction Overlaps at the Local Government Level

“I live in the United States but I also live in ____________, which is one of the states. I live in ________ County, which is in North Carolina, and in ______ which is in _________ County.

Local Governments are “Creatures” of the State

The General Assembly creates North Carolina’s local government and decides what authority and responsibility they have.

Two Types of Local Government in North Carolina

Municipalities Counties

Municipalities

Towns Cities Villages

Each local government has a legislative and executive branch

County – Board of County Commissioners

Towns & Cities – Mayor and City or Town Commissioners

What can each local government do?

1. Raise money through taxes and spend local funds

2. Set and implement local policies

Services Provided by Counties

Court facilities Tax Assessment Youth Detention

Facilities Mental Health Services Public Health Services Community Colleges Elections Jails

Public Schools Register of Deeds Sheriff Soil and Water

Conservation

Sheriff Asa Buck

Services Provided by Municipalities (Towns & Cities) Garbage collection cemeteries police gas systems sidewalks street lighting traffic control urban development water and sewer Fire departments

Services provided by Counties and municipalities Services provided by both counties

and municipalities Airports building inspections buses/public transit cable TV regulation community economic development community appearance emergency management environmental protection fire protection historic preservation

human relations industrial development law enforcement libraries open space and parks land use regulation public housing recreation programs senior citizens programs sewer systems solid waste collection and disposal storm drainage tax collection veterans services water and sewer lines

Municipalities

North Carolina has more than 540 towns, cities and villages. Cities, towns and villages all have the same legal status.

We often think of cities as larger than towns or villages, but that is not necessarily true. The city of Stoval has fewer than 500 residents, the town of Cary has more than 90,000 residents, and the village of Pinehurst has more than 8,000 residents.

Incorporation

Each city, town, or village has been incorporated as a municipality by the state. Incorporation means that the state has declared that a specific geographic area is a municipality and given it a charter. The charter outlines the basic rules for that municipal government.

Unincorporated Areas

People living in unincorporated areas can ask the General Assembly to incorporate their neighborhood.

Annexation

Cities can also expand their boundaries to include new territory. Annexation is the name for this process of bringing unincorporated land and its residents into a municipality. Sometimes residents of an area request annexation because they need the services the municipality can provide.

NC Municipalities

Most North Carolina municipalities are small. Sixty-five percent of them have fewer than 2,500 residents. On 15 North Carolina cities and towns have more than 50,000 residents

Governing Municipalities

Each NC municipality elects its own governing board. The board may be called the board of commissioners or the board of aldermen. Most boards have from 5 to 7 members.

What is a municipal board?

Like a local legislature, it passes local laws called ordinances. These ordinances establish municipal policies, approve budgets, set local tax rates, and regulate what people can do inside the municipality’s boundaries.

Who elects a municipal board?

Voters inside the municipality elect its governing board. If it is a county, the voters elect the county commissioners. If it is a town, the voters elect town board members.

Mayors

Most municipalities in NC have a mayor, elected by the voters. He or she is the official spokesperson for the board.

County Managers

Except in the smallest towns or villages, the governing board hires a professional manager to administer or carry out its policies. The City Manager is responsible for the day-to-day operations of town or city government. The manager hires and fires town employees, coordinates their work, proposes the budget, and advises the board on policy.

Counties

The General Assembly has divided North Carolina into 100 counties.

Each county is a local government and kind of a branch office for state government. Thus, the county must not only carry out local policy but must also carry out certain state policies and laws.

Board of County Commissioners

In North Carolina counties, the major governing body is the board of county commissioners. The commissioners set the tax rate, approve the county budget, and approve many of the county’s policies

Douglas W. Harris, Chair William Holt Faircloth, Jr.

Jonathan RobinsonGreg Lewis Pete AllenWade Nelms Thomas L. Steepy

The Board of Commissioners consists of 7 members elected for staggered, 4-year terms. Each Commissioner is elected county-wide, but must reside within the boundaries of one of 6 districts. One Commissioner is elected from each district, with the exception of District 3, which elects two members to the Board of Commissioners.

Independent Boards Created by the General Assembly These boards oversee specific

services required by the state. They set local policy and hire administrators for education, elections, mental health, public health, social services, alcoholic beverage control and soil and water conservation

Independent Boards (Like the County School Board)

1. Usually serve one county. 2. Some counties have more

than one public school system or LEA (Local

Educational Authority). Each LEA has its own board of education representing

the people living in the area that LEA serves.

3. Voters in the LEA elect members of the school board.

Board of Education The state sets qualifications for public school teachers,

pays their base salaries, and establishes the base curriculum for the schools. It also sets graduation requirements for students.

It is the job of the school board in each LEA to decide how to organize its schools in order to meet state requirements. The school board sets the school calendar and attendance policies. It hires teachers.

Local school boards pay for school buildings and their maintenance. The costs of operating the public schools also come out of the LEA budget. LEA’s do not have the power to tax. To pay for local school expenses, the local school board receives funding from the board of county commissioners.

Carteret County Board of Education Board members are, seated, Adele Collins, Chair Cathy Neagle, June Fulcher,and standing, Bill Blair, Vice Chair Al Hill, David Carr and Dr. Rick Luettich

Carteret County Board of Education The Carteret County Public

School System serves the students of Carteret County, a county located on the beautiful Crystal Coast of eastern North Carolina. From Cedar Point to Cedar Island there are 85 miles of beautiful coastal scenery, friendly towns, and 17 public schools that are committed to creating opportunities for all students to do their best and to succeed.

The school system employs approximately 1,200 individuals and is the largest employer in the county. The system's student enrollment for the 2007-2008 school year is about 8,185 in kindergarten through 12th grade and about 80 in pre-kindergarten.

County Executives Like municipalities,

counties, too, use a professional manager to administer the policies and services the board has established. Also, like managers of cities, towns, and villages, county managers usually have much experience in directing public agencies. John Langdon, Carteret

County Manager

County Manager, Continued The County Manager is the chief administrative official of

County government, serving at the pleasure at the Board of County Commissioners. The County Manager is responsible for the overall management of County departments under the Board's control and coordinates with other County departments not under the Board's direct control to maintain a cohesive County government organization. The County Manager's duties include preparing the recommended budget for all County departments, recommending new and revised policies and programs to the Board of County Commissioners, and implementing County programs and services in an efficient and effective manner.

Law Enforcement

Law enforcement is a local government responsibility in North Carolina. The General Assembly passes laws that define crimes. Municipal police and county sheriffs, however, have the main responsibility for investigating crimes and apprehending suspects.

Municipal Police Have the responsibility for enforcing traffic laws and

investigating traffic accidents. Almost every town and city, town and village in North Carolina has its own municipal police department. These departments enforce state and local laws within their municipalities.

A chief of police directs each police department. North Carolina has established requirements for police officers, including setting the training new officers must complete. Every police officer must learn about the laws that define crimes in North Carolina and about people’s constitutional rights. Basic law enforcement training also includes learning how to investigate crimes, how to use force to defend themselves and others, and how to assist people in distress.

County Sheriffs The voters in each North Carolina county elect a sheriff.

The sheriff hires and supervises jailers to operate the county jail and hires deputies to enforce laws outside city limits.

Because sheriffs are elected officials, the policies set by the county commissioners do not necessarily apply to them, their deputies and other employees. All sheriff’s deputies must meet state requirements including law enforcement training. Sheriffs do not regularly conduct traffic enforcement. There are no “county roads” that the sheriff’s department patrols.

Asa Buck, Carteret County Sheriff

NC Highway Patrol

Rural roads are part of the NC highway system and it is the NC Highway Patrol that enforces traffic laws and investigates traffic accidents on state highways, including all public roads outside municipalities.

The North Carolina State Highway Patrol's primary mission is to reduce collisions and make the highways of North Carolina as safe as possible.

Since 1929 the mission of the Highway Patrol has not changed. From a handful of Highway Patrolmen in 1929 the Highway Patrol now employs 1,813 Troopers to cover more than 78,000 miles of North Carolina roadways.

NC Highway Patrol In 2005, the State Highway Patrol arrested 25,286 people for driving

while impaired, seized $10 million worth of drugs, and investigated 1,160 fatal collisions on North Carolina highways. The Motor Carrier unit fined thousands of truck drivers for various violations.

Troopers and Motor Carrier Enforcement officers also guide traffic during hurricane evacuations or re-route traffic around hazardous chemical spills. The Patrol stands ready, should any act of terrorism occur, to carry out the directives of Governor Mike Easley.

The Highway Patrol has eight troop locations throughout the state. Located at each Troop is a Traffic Safety Information officer. These officers promote highway safety and provide presentations to schools, civic groups, or any other interested parties.

The Highway Patrol continues to promote highway safety through education and enforcement. The Highway Patrol has safety programs for bicycles, seat belts and school buses and its popular Buckle-in-Baby-Safely Program.

NC State Bureau of Investigation (SBI)

Investigates crimes that involve state agencies or employees and assists law enforcement. Their crime labs examine evidence such ad DNA for local agencies and submit results for use in criminal or civil cases.

Coastal Area Management

North Carolina has developed a Coastal Area Management Plan to coordinate local governments’ decisions about land use among countries along the seacoast. State government also regulates development near streams to protect drinking water and fishing.

Both the Federal and State governments have policies to discourage building in floodplains, the areas alongside rivers that are likely to be flooded in heavy rains. Counties are encouraged to follow these policies in their own land use plans.