SECTION 3.  OFFICERS.
   The elected officers of the Town of Pikeville shall be a mayor and a board of commissioners consisting of five members.  Beginning with the regular municipal election to be held in 1977, the mayor shall be elected for a term of four years and the members of the board of commissioners shall be elected for staggered terms of four years as herein provided.  In the 1977 election, the two candidates receiving the next highest number of votes shall be elected for a term of two years.  Thereafter, as the terms of the members expire, their successors shall be elected for a term of four years.  The municipal elections shall be held by the Wayne County Board of Elections.  The election shall be nonpartisan and decided by simple plurality as provided in G.S. 163-279 and shall be held and conducted in accordance with the applicable provisions of Articles 23 and 24 of Chapter 163 of the General Statutes of North Carolina.
(Amended by Act of the General Assembly ratified 2-18-77)