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Third, the advocates of incorporation should interview other county officials-- such as the manager, the planner, the fi- nance officer--to (I) determine what the county is now doing in the community and what it plans to do: and (2) become familiar with any relevant county studies on land use, utilities, topography, and the like. Fourth, when incorporated the new town will have a charter enacted by the General Assembly. That character will set out the town boundaries and establish the size. length of terms, and method of election of the town's governing board. Several options are possible concerning how the governing board is structured, and the proponents normally make the choice among the op- tions. (Appendix A sets out the current pat- tern of governing board structures in North Carolina, while Appendix B contains a model charter.) For this work and other tasks, sponsors of incorporation often need the help of a local attorney. Fifth, the community's residents usually want to know how much a town govern- ment will cost. especially what the property tax rate is likely to be. Proponents therefore often find it useful to develop a model bud- get for a town. The two sample budgets set out later in this booklet should help in de- veloping such a model, and visits to nearby existing towns of roughly the same size are also helpful, in addition, residents will want to know what agencies, public and private, are currently providing services in the com- munity and at what cost. How does that cost compare with the cost as shown in the proposed budget? Finally, proponents need to know what others in the community think of incorpora- tion. Frequently the le~is!ative dele.eatioo will want some concrete evidence of corr)- mun~ity wishes before it introduces the legis- 5 lation incorporating a to~y.n. Several meth- o~; are'available for eliciting views. Com- .m_?n. ity meetings may be held tO explain ~nc=orpo_ration and obtain res. ponses--per- haps in a local school. Peti~tions in SUpl~o_r~ of incorporation ma), ~: circUlate_cl. On a more ambitious level, some communities halve made house-to-house surveys on com- munity needs and thout~hts on incorpora- tion. -'~everal agencies can help a community that is interested in incorporation. They are the Institute of Government, a department o~ The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; the Divisiqn of Community A. ss, istanc~ of the State Deuart[nerit of Nat- ural Resources and Community F)eve.!nly. men,t; th(: Lea=l~ue of Municipalities, a vol- untary organization of North Carolina cities and towns; and the eishteen councils of governments, which are regional organiza- tions of counties, cities, and towns.