Town Structure

The Town of Carolina Beach has a Council-Manager form of government. Legislative and policy making authority rests with a Mayor and a four-member Town Council. The Mayor is reelected every two (2) years and Council is reelected every four (4) years with overlapping terms. The Council hires a Town Manager to carry out its policies, as well as manage and direct daily operations of the Town.

The Town provides police protection, maintains streets, and operates a water and sanitary sewer system. Residential and commercial sanitation service is contracted to a private waste disposal system, Waste Industries. Recycling is also contracted to Waste Industries. These contracts will end in 2004. The Carolina Beach Volunteer Fire Department is a municipal department, owns all the equipment, and pays for operations and maintenance costs, along with workman’s compensation insurance and a per call fee to the volunteer firefighters. EMS is provided by New Hanover Regional Medical Center, which is a private entity. There is a station with a full time paid ACLS at the Federal Point Medical Center (within town limits of Carolina Beach). Electric Distribution service is provided by Progress Energy. BellSouth Telephone provides telecommunications service within the town limits. A cable television franchise is operated by Charter Communications, which has an office in Carolina Beach and a district office in Holly Ridge, North Carolina.