History
The city of High Point was named in 1855 because it was the highest point along the first North Carolina railroad between Charlotte and Goldsboro. The N. C. General Assembly granted the city's charter on May 26, 1859.
City Government
The city is divided into six single-member electoral wards. In non-partisan elections, voters in each of the wards elect one representative for their district and two council members and the mayor to represent the city as a whole. All are elected to two-year terms. The next municipal election will be held in November 2008.
High Point's charter provides for a council-manager form of government, under which the council appoints a manager to serve at its pleasure. The manager is the city's chief administrator, which means that he is responsible for all the operations of the city government.
What Members of the City Council Do
The city council is a group of people elected to make decisions for city government the legislative branch of city government. As a group, the mayor and council members listen to what the citizens have to say, gather information from the city manager and staff (the administrative branch of city government), discuss choices, and make decisions.
The city council decides how it will pay for the services that you need, such as garbage collection, police and fire protection, parks, and the library. Council members adopt a budget that lists those services and where the money will come from to pay for them.
The city council also adopts ordinances laws that regulate behavior, such as how tall you can allow your grass to grow before you have to mow it or how fast the speed limit should be set on city streets or what you can build on your property.
In addition, city council members try to help citizens when they have complaints about city services.