Art. 21. - Authorizing election with respect to creation of city manager, town manager, or superintendent of public works.
The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:
Section 1. The Board of Aldermen of the Town of Sanford shall by a majority vote of said aldermen after this Act becomes effective, appoint an administrative officer whose title shall be "Town Manager" or "City Manager" or "Superintendent of Public Works," which administrative officer shall be chosen by the aldermen solely on the basis of his qualifications at the time of his appointment and such administrative officer need not be a resident of the town or State but during his tenure of office he shall reside in the town. No member of the board of aldermen shall be eligible for appointment to the office hereby created until one year has elapsed following the expiration of the term for which he was elected.
Sec. 2. The administrative officer provided in Section 1 of this Act shall be appointed for an indefinite term but may be removed by a majority vote of the board of aldermen and the action of the board of aldermen in removing such administrative officer shall be final.
Sec. 3. Before entering upon the discharge of the duties of the office, such administrative officer provided in Section 1 shall take an oath that he will faithfully perform his duties and shall execute and file with the board of aldermen a bond in favor of the Town of Sanford with sufficient sureties conditioned upon the faithful discharge by him of such duties. The amount of such bond shall be fixed by the board of aldermen and the premium therefor shall be paid by the Town of Sanford.
Sec. 4. The administrative officer created by Section 1 shall not be personally interested in any contract to which the city is a party or doing any work or supplying materials of any character to the town, nor shall he be a stockholder or interested in any manner in any corporation making or having such a contract with the town, nor shall he engage in political elections nor take an active part in political campaigns nor attempt to influence the results of State, county or city elections, except by exercise of his right as a citizen to hold his own political views and cast his own vote.
Sec. 5. The administrative officer hereunder shall devote his entire time to duties of his office and shall attend all meetings of the town board of aldermen and recommend to said board from time to time such measures and actions as he shall deem necessary and proper for the conduct of the business of the town and supply said board with all useful and necessary information and details concerning any of the departments of work under his control. He shall have and exercise control of the several heads or departments and employees of the town and shall make all contracts for labor and materials to be performed for or furnished to the town, except that all such contracts exceeding five hundred dollars ($500.00) shall be otherwise handled by the board of aldermen according to law. He shall see that the laws and ordinances of the town and the resolutions and regulations of the board of aldermen shall be enforced. He shall make recommendations to the board of aldermen with respect to the revocation of licenses. He shall have power and authority to appoint all subordinate officers and servants of the town and to remove or suspend any officer or servant employed by him but he shall report such appointment or removal to the board of aldermen: Provided, that nothing herein contained shall be construed to take from the board of aldermen the power and authority to elect the town treasurer, town clerk, town tax collector and town attorney or auditor or to fix the duties and compensation of such persons. Also the board of aldermen shall have the power and authority to fix, the compensation for supervisors or heads of the various departments of the town.
Sec. 6. The administrative officer hereunder shall have control of all personal property belonging to the town and shall direct the use thereof together with such real property as may be left to his control by the board of aldermen. He shall have authority and charge of all public works, the erection of buildings for the town, the construction of all improvements, paving, curbing, bridges and other public works and the repair thereof. He shall approve all pay rolls and bills against the town for materials furnished, work done or labor performed except salaries fixed by the board of aldermen. He shall have control of telephone poles and wires. He shall perform such other duties as may be imposed upon him by the board of aldermen. He shall receive such compensation as the board of aldermen may determine and fix.
Sec. 7. Sections 1 through 6 of this Act shall not become effective until ratified and approved by a majority of the qualified voters of the Town of Sanford at an election to be called by the Board of Aldermen of said Town of Sanford, and to be held upon the date to be fixed by said board of aldermen, not later than the 28th day of June, 1949. For such election, the appointment of registrars and other election officers and the manner conducted shall be as nearly as may be under the same rules, laws and regulations governing the election of a Mayor and Board of Aldermen of the Town of Sanford as provided by law. A ballot shall be furnished each qualified voter at such election, which ballot shall contain the words "For Appointment of Manager" and the words "Against Appointment of Manager" with ballot squares in front of each alternative in one of which squares the voter may make an "X" mark to indicate whether for or against the proposition submitted. If, at said election, a majority of the votes cast shall be in favor of appointment of a manager, then Sections 1 through 6 of this Act shall be in full force and effect, from and after June 30, 1949, but if a majority of the votes cast shall be against the appointment of a manager, then, in that event, the said Sections 1 through 6 of this Act shall not become effective.
Sec. 8. All laws and clauses of laws in conflict with this Act are hereby repealed.
Sec. 9. This Act shall be in full force and effect from and after its ratification.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 14th day of March, 1949.
(Session Laws of 1949, chapter 321)