Government

The Town of Richfield is chartered by the North Carolina General Assembly to operate with a mayor-council (Board of Commissioners) form of government. The mayor-council form of government is the original form of general-purpose local government in the United States and is widely used among North Carolina small towns with less than 2,500 residents. The Town Board determines service levels, adopts an annual budget, adopts municipal ordinances (local rules), sets policy and is the policy-making body for the Town. The primary advantage of the mayor-council form of government is that it brings government closer to the voters. The people who have the responsibility of not only formulating town policy but also actually operating the local government are directly elected by the citizens. The responsibility of decision-making is divided among and shared by all members of the town board, making it administration by committee.

Additional boards include the Board of Adjustment, which is an appointed citizen board that primarily considers appeals, variances, and requests for interpretation of the ordinances; and the Planning Board, which is an appointed citizen board which advises the Board of Commissioners on decisions including zoning and development approvals.