UPDATE September 2013:  The 2013 legislation revising the board of adjustment statutes codifies the “self-created-hardship” standard for granting variances that is common in many ordinances.  S.L. 2013 – 126 provides that the hardship may not result from actions taken by … Read more

[UPDATE: S.L. 2018-98  exempts leasehold interests in exempt government property beginning with the 2019 tax year.  As of 2019, leases in government property will no longer be taxable to the lessee.] Which of the following real property is exempt from local … Read more

Surveys are a valuable tool for local governments and other public agencies. They provide important data that can help agencies make decisions and improve services. Surveys might be designed to get feedback from citizens or employees, or may involve research … Read more

The contents of an envelope tucked under the windshield wiper of your car parked on a city street doesn’t seem as ominous as a citation hand-delivered through your driver’s side window by a law enforcement officer illuminated by the flashing … Read more

Newly elected (or re-elected) local officials were sworn-in all over the state on Monday night. As the newly constituted boards settle in and prepare to govern, questions typically arise about the extent to which a board may alter its unit’s … Read more

This is the final post in a series on local preference policies.  (Earlier posts can be found here, here, here, here, and here.)  Once again, we find ourselves listening in on the Emerald City Council meeting where the Council is … Read more

Two years ago, you won a countywide at-large election to a seat on the board of county commissioners, and now one of your fellow citizens, Mary Anderson, has developed the suspicion that you don’t really live in the county.  She … Read more

In this blog post about the personnel privacy provisions, I described a scenario in which a North Carolina city receives a request under G.S. 160A-168(b)(11) for a copy of the written notice of the final dismissal of former police chief … Read more