A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to provide that regular municipal elections in the city of jacksonville shall be held in even‑numbered years.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1.  Article II of the Charter of the City of Jacksonville, being Chapter 911 of the Session Laws of 1967, as amended by Town Ordinance No. 89‑21 adopted on 4‑26‑89 and Ordinance No. 06‑59 adopted on 11‑21‑06, reads as rewritten:
"Sec. 2‑1. Composition. The officers of the city shall consist of a mayor and six councilmembers to be elected as set out in section 2‑8 by the qualified voters of the city biennially on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November in each of the even‑numbered years.
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"Sec. 2‑8. Election of Mayor and Council – Generally. At a regular election to be held by the Onslow County Board of Elections on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, there shall be elected a mayor and six councilmembers to serve staggered four‑year terms, all of whom shall reside within the city and who shall run and be elected in the following manner: Two of the councilmembers shall run at large and four of the councilmembers shall be elected from the wards established by the City of Jacksonville under this ordinance and map published herewith or as such wards may hereafter be constituted, and there shall be elected only one councilmember from each ward who shall be a resident of the ward for which he is elected and shall be voted on by the qualified voters of such ward.
In 2026, and quadrennially thereafter, two at‑large members, a member for Ward 1 (minority ward), and a member for Ward 2 shall be elected to each serve a four‑year term. In 2028, and quadrennially thereafter, a mayor, a member for Ward 3, and a member for Ward 4 (minority ward) shall be elected to each serve a four‑year term.
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SECTION 2.  Section 8‑1 of the Charter of the City of Jacksonville, being Chapter 911 of the Session Laws of 1967, reads as rewritten:
"Sec. 8‑1. – When held. All regular elections shall be held biennially in the even years on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Each regular election for the city shall be held in accordance with this Act and the General Statutes of North Carolina."
SECTION 3.  No municipal elections shall be conducted in the City of Jacksonville in 2025. The terms of office for the two at‑large council members and the council members for Ward 1 and Ward 2 serving on the effective date of this act whose terms are set to expire in 2025 shall be extended by one year. The terms of office for the mayor and council members for Ward 3 and Ward 4 serving on the effective date of this act whose terms are set to expire in 2027 shall be extended by one year. Regular municipal elections shall be conducted in the City of Jacksonville in 2026.
SECTION 4.  This act is effective when it becomes law and applies to elections held on or after that date.