Welcome to the School of Government's Forms of North Carolina Municipal Government microsite. Each city, town, and village in North Carolina has its own particular form of government, initially set out in the municipal charter and subject to change by local acts of the General Assembly, and by local ordinances adopted by the governing board of the municipality. This site includes two resources as briefly described below.
If you have a legal question regarding the process for city charter amendments, a comprehensive FAQ resource is available at this link: “Modifying a City’s Charter – A Summary with Questions and Answers."
The Forms of Government and Methods of Election in North Carolina Cities database details and displays the current form of government in each city, town, or village in North Carolina. “Form of government,” as used in the webpage and database, includes the following characteristics of each city, town, or village:
1. The corporate name.
2. Whether the corporation is a city, town, or village.
3. The name of the governing board.
4. The size of the governing board.
5. The terms of office of governing board members.
6. Whether board members are elected at-large or from districts or both.
7. The election method used in the city, town, or village.
8. How the mayor is chosen.
9. The mayor’s term of office.
10. The mayor’s voting powers.
11. The form of administration used in the city, town, or village.
The Changing Forms of North Carolina Municipal Government part of this microsite is a set of materials about how a city, town, or village, or its voters, may locally amend its charter to change one or another characteristic of the municipality’s form of government, including answers to frequently asked questions and the charter change statutes.
