As the economy continues to drag, more and more local governments are relying on foreclosures to improve their tax collections.  I’ve blogged previously about the foreclosure process here and here.  Today’s post responds to a couple of interesting questions attorneys and … Read more

One of the bills enacted by the General Assembly this session imposed new requirements for “owner-contractor” building construction projects.  S.L. 2011-376 (HB 648) is summarized in the Purchasing and Contracting Legislative Wrap-up blog post and the 2011 Purchasing and Contracting … Read more

A county’s board of commissioners (BOC) has the power and responsibility to “develop() and direct() the fiscal policy of the county government.” G.S. 153A-101. The board adopts the annual county budget ordinance, as well as capital project ordinances, and has … Read more

Today, the Court of Appeals issued an opinion in Liebes v. Guilford County Department of Public Health, one of two cases challenging provisions of the 2009 law that banned smoking in restaurants and bars. The law exempts non-profit private clubs … Read more

Several significant changes to the laws governing environmental health programs were made during the 2011 General Assembly’s regular session. The state Division of Environmental Health was abolished and its programs were transferred to other agencies or eliminated. New laws changed … Read more

UPDATE August 2013: In 2012, the legislature replaced the petition process described below with a referendum requirement. The current law is summarized here. Nearly 40 annexation-related bills were introduced during this legislative session. Included in this number were identical House … Read more

Municipal annexations have been the subject of much debate recently.  My colleague Frayda Bluestein expertly analyzes S.L.  2011-396 (H.B.  845) the one bill that became law among dozens on the topic introduced during the current legislative session here.  My post today focuses on the two major property tax implications of this new law. … Read more

You want to run for city council, but you or your company has a contract with the city (or maybe you want to run to be a county commissioner and the contract is with the county).  Can you be a … Read more

A developer proposes rezoning a parcel from a low density residential zone to a commercial zoning district. The neighbors would be satisfied with some of the uses allowed in the more intensive district, but are wary about others. The staff … Read more

One of the more controversial “local government” issues addressed by the North Carolina General Assembly this year is the proper role of municipal governments in providing cable and Internet services. This issue is not new. Several bills relating to municipal … Read more