City of Greensboro v. Smith

In the construction of the Act our chief concern is to ascertain the legislative intent. As stated by Stacy, C. J., in Trust Co. v. Hood, Comr. of Banks, 206 N.C. 268, 113 S.E. 601: “The heart of a statute is the intention of the law-making body.”

Rules of statutory construction relevant here are stated succinctly by Johnson, J., in Cab Co. v. Charlotte, 234 N.C. 572, 68 S.E. 2d 433, as follows:

“It is an accepted rule of statutory construction that ordinarily words of a statute will be given their natural, approved, and recognized meaning. Commissioners of Johnston County v. Lacy, 174 N.C.…