In the last few months of 2009, the North Carolina Court of Appeals issued two interesting opinions on property tax situs. A fancy word for “location,” situs controls whether or not property is subject to tax in a particular jurisdiction. The … Read more
A $12,000 dinner for Mecklenburg ABC employees paid for by a liquor broker. A $280,000 salary for an ABC administrator in New Hanover County ― finally disclosed after the ABC board first refused to release public information about salaries. A … Read more
Local government officials often ask me two questions related to their property tax authority—(1) whether a unit may impose property taxes only for specific, designated purposes; and (2) whether a unit may impose property taxes only on specific properties within … Read more
UPDATE September 2013: Click here for an update on federal law as of March 2013. New North Carolina legislation adopted during the summer of 2013 makes conforming changes to North Carolina law with respect to recent federal legislation and Federal … Read more
Local tax officials should add to their reading lists the latest chapter in what may be the state’s longest-running property tax saga. Last month the N.C. Court of Appeals ruled in favor of IBM Credit Corporation in its dispute with … Read more
The town council is holding a hearing on a special use permit application that would allow a small shopping center. The proposed site is on a major road and is adjacent to an existing residential neighborhood. At the hearing detailed … Read more
In a post describing the recently enacted legislation that (potentially) authorizes North Carolina local governments to establish revolving loan funds or impose special assessments in order to finance energy efficiency improvements and distributed generation renewable energy sources permanently affixed to private … Read more
The governing board of a small town believes that it would be advantageous to hire the mayor as a part-time town administrator. Is this legal? In some cases, it is. There are two main legal prohibitions that would generally bar … Read more
UPDATE November 2013: The Court of Appeals opinion discussed in this post was reversed by the Supreme Court. See this Coates Canon post: Holding Over After Your Term Ends (revisited). North Carolina law permits officeholders to continue in office, … Read more