We here at the School of Government are really good at pumping out 400+-page tomes that examine every possible legal detail of tax collection, zoning, public records and other topics near and dear to the hearts of local government employees. … Read more

UPDATE: NEW LEGISLATION (SB411) WENT INTO EFFECT ON JUNE 19, 2013, SIGNIFICANTLY CHANGING THE ETHICS REQUIREMENTS FOR MPOs AND RPOs.  CLICK HERE FOR A NEW BLOG POST OUTLINES THESE NEW REQUIREMENTS. During the recent legislative session, the General Assembly designated … Read more

UPDATE September 2013: For more recent information on this topic, click here. Once H438 (S.L. 2012-126) became law on June 29, 2012, counties had some new options available for organizing and governing their human services agencies (see earlier posts here … Read more

Al Czervik is a real estate developer who has invested in several shopping malls and mixed-use developments across the Tar Heel state. He is planning a mixed use development called “Gopher Commons” in your community, but “in order to make … Read more

When property owners stop paying their property taxes, it’s a good bet that they’ve been ignoring other obligations concerning those properties as well.  Weeds grow chest-high, houses slowly crumble, and neighbors begin to use the lots as informal trash dumps. … Read more

In a prior blog post I wrote about the patchwork of local and general laws that collectively define local government authority. I noted that it can be difficult to determine when a general law does or does not override an … Read more

A rezoning petition is pending before the city council.  The parcel involved is zoned for single-family residential use.  The landowner wants to build a retail store on the site, so she is seeking a change in the zoning to a … Read more

As discussed in a previous post, local governments have broad authority to appropriate monies to private entities (including nonprofits, corporations, associations, and individuals). The monies, however, must be expended by the private entities only on projects, services, or activities that … Read more

UPDATE November 2013: The 2013 General Assembly enacted new voter identification requirements, including the requirement that voters to show photo identification, beginning in 2016.  See this Coates Canon post:  2013—A Year of Election Law Changes. UPDATE February 2017:  In July … Read more