This is perhaps my most frequently asked question, and it comes up in a variety of contexts. Some local governments wish to provide discounted utility services (particularly water, wastewater, and solid waste) to certain targeted populations, such as low income … Read more

Last week’s posting about motions to reconsider led one reader to ask a couple of follow-up questions: (1) does a board need a specific rule in order to permit motions to reconsider, and (2) if a board does desire a … Read more

On July 1, 2009, a new Statewide Uniform Certification Program for Historically Underutilized Businesses (commonly abbreviated as “HUBs” and formerly referred to as “minority- and women-owned businesses”) went into effect.  North Carolina state agencies and local governments may now count … Read more

UPDATE September 2013:  Click here for an analysis by my colleague Trey Allen of the general police power as interpreted by the 2013 North Carolina Court of Appeals case of King v. Town of Chapel Hill.              In North Carolina … Read more

The General Assembly recently enacted SL 2009-302, with the stated purpose of prohibiting “cities and counties that operate public enterprises from using certain debt collection practices that result in a customer being liable for the past due and unpaid debts … Read more

Here’s a situation that comes up in phone calls several times a year.  The board passes some kind of motion – adopting an ordinance, establishing a policy, making an appointment – and a meeting or two later one or more … Read more

Property tax revaluations conducted in the midst of the national economic crisis ignited an explosion of taxpayer outrage across the state in early 2009.  Assuming the local housing market woes continue, counties implementing revaluations in the next few years would … Read more

When it comes to litigation involving freedom of expression in public places, the three-part forum analysis is, by now, pretty familiar. There’s the traditional public forum, the nonpublic forum, and the limited (sometimes called “designated” or “quasi”) public forum.  Courts … Read more

As anyone who has been involved in a construction project knows, construction almost always involves unexpected costs.  The North Carolina General Statutes give local governments the flexibility to address these costs through change orders.  G.S. 143-129(e)(4) says that the bidding … Read more

Shortly after the 2010 New Years’ celebrations have died down, smoking will be prohibited in most restaurants and bars across the state. In addition, local governments will have new authority to regulate smoking in many public places. The new law … Read more