Havelock to update its code

HAVELOCK - The code book for city ordinances has not been revised for Havelock since 1989. Since that time, there have been 12 supplements to the code, each containing several ordinance amendments.

A public hearing is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday for comment on a new version prepared with the assistance of the North Carolina League of Municipalities.

 "There have been a number of changes both locally and in state law since October 1989 and this recodification is an update, reorganization and general improvement in the code, which are the city's laws," said Frank Sheffield, city attorney.

"It will make the code of ordinances easier to use and easier to keep updated in the future," he said. "Most of the changes are really in the way that it reads. It is not intended to make substantive changes."

"It is pretty much a technicality," Sheffield said.

The new code of ordinances will delete all provisions to the city's laws that have been repealed as well as update them to reflect new city ordinances or state laws.

The Havelock Board of Commissioners voted to do the code revision in April 2007 for an estimated publishing cost of $9,500.

The published code is designed with a new look, using dual-column formatting in a three-ring binder to facilitate future supplements.