Town Of Oriental Charter, 1899

This morning at the Bean before I arrived, an incumbent commissioner loudly disputed with another patron my contention that hiring policemen is the manager's job. The commissioner insists that the 1899 charter provision in Section 3 that the town's officers include a constable, "who shall be elected by the commissioners" authorizes the board of commissioners rather than the town manager to hire the town's police force.

It does not.

Am I certain? Yes, I am. The record is clear, and I can cite chapter and verse.

Earlier today I shared the information with Town Hall:

Special Meeting on Police

From:	David Cox
To:	bob maxbauer ; billsage@townoforiental.com; Warren Johnson ; jenniferroe@townoforiental.com; barbara venturi ; Candy Bohmert

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"To Town Officials:
I was pleased to learn that the board will meet Friday to address the question of a suitable police force for Oriental. I may not be able to attend much of the meeting that day, because of a prior commitment in Bayboro. Therefore, I want to provide the board of commissioners and the manager with some information I believe pertinent to the hiring procedure.

"As I have pointed out previously, we have a council-manager form of government, established by ordinance amending the charter of 1899, which ordinance was adopted in 1997. North Carolina General Statutes spell out the duties of a town manager in section 160A-148 as follows:
"§ 160A‑148. Powers and duties of manager.

"The manager shall be the chief administrator of the city. He shall be responsible to the council for administering all municipal affairs placed in his charge by them, and shall have the following powers and duties:

"(1) He shall appoint and suspend or remove all city officers and employees not elected by the people, and whose appointment or removal is not otherwise provided for by law, except the city attorney, in accordance with such general personnel rules, regulations, policies, or ordinances as the council may adopt.

"(2) He shall direct and supervise the administration of all departments, offices, and agencies of the city, subject to the general direction and control of the council, except as otherwise provided by law.

"(3) He shall attend all meetings of the council and recommend any measures that he deems expedient.

"(4) He shall see that all laws of the State, the city charter, and the ordinances, resolutions, and regulations of the council are faithfully executed within the city.

"(5) He shall prepare and submit the annual budget and capital program to the council.

"(6) He shall annually submit to the council and make available to the public a complete report on the finances and administrative activities of the city as of the end of the fiscal year.

"(7) He shall make any other reports that the council may require concerning the operations of city departments, offices, and agencies subject to his direction and control.

"(8) He shall perform any other duties that may be required or authorized by the council. (1969, c. 629, s. 2; 1971, c. 698, s. 1; 1973, c. 426, s. 22.)"

"I am told that certain commissioners believe 160A-148(1) does not apply to the hiring of a policeman because Section 3 of the town's charter of 1899 reads as follows:
"Section 3. That the officers of the town shall be a mayor, three commissioners, a constable, who shall be elected by the commissioners, and such other officers as the commissioners may deem necessary and proper, as provided by said chapter sixty-two of The Code [The Code of North Carolina, Enacted March 2, 1883]; Provided that no person shall be a mayor, commissioner or other officer of said town unless he be a qualified voter therein." This, some argue, meets the "whose appointment or removal is not otherwise provided for by law," provision of 160A-148(1). Not exactly.

"There is a problem with citing Section 3 of the charter as authority of any kind: a referendum held November 4, 1993 - the same referendum that changed the membership of the board to five commissioners - repealed both Section 3 and Section 7 of the Charter. The relevant wording of the Act to set a referendum (Chapter 878, Senate Bill 968, Session 1991) reads as follows:

"Sec 3. (a) Sections 3 and 7 of Chapter 184, Private Laws of 1899 are repealed.
(b) The Town of Oriental is governed by a mayor and a board of commissioners of five members. The mayor shall preside at all board of commissioners meetings, but shall have the right to vote only when there are equal numbers of votes in the affirmative and in the negative."

"I bring this to your attention, because I think it is important to comply with the law. In this case, I also believe the Charter as amended provides a sound basis for good management of the town. It allows the board to focus on policy and general oversight and the manager to focus on administering the town. A further benefit is that it provides clear lines of responsibility. No town employee reports to or is supervised in any way by any commissioner or by the mayor.

"I have intentionally not taken a position on particular candidates for the police position(s) because I don't know what the board's policy will be (e.g. how many police, whether they must live in town or nearby, etc.), and I haven't read the resumes of any candidates, don't know the status of any background investigations, their health status or other issues that a hiring authority needs to take into account. It's the manager's job to conduct proper hiring procedures as spelled out in the town's personnel manual.

"I have, however, long supported the concept of at least one full time and one part time policeman.

"I urge you to direct the town manager to begin the search.

"David Cox
Oriental"


This dispute has gone on too long.