Each North Carolina local government and public authority (local unit) must adopt an annual balanced budget ordinance. G.S. 159-8. The Local Government Budget and Fiscal Control Act, G.S. Ch. 159, Art. 3 (LGBFCA), provides a basic framework for the preparation and … Read more

In King v. Town of Chapel Hill, the North Carolina Supreme Court issued what could be its most significant decision yet on the general police power of local governments. Somewhat predictably, media coverage tended to focus on the portion of the court’s … Read more

[Please see this more recent post for updates on Cynthia Baldwin’s role in the PSU scandal.] Most of the headlines relating to the Pennsylvania State University (“PSU”) child abuse scandal focused on the connections between convicted child molester Jerry Sandusky … Read more

The town of Renewville wants to improve the look of its downtown Main Street, which is pocked with poorly-maintained commercial buildings. The Mayor has had his eye on a few key properties on Main Street, which, if redeveloped, would transform … Read more

The General Assembly’s decision to eliminate local privilege licenses in S.L. 2014-3 left many unanswered questions.  I tackled some of the big ones in my first blog post on the new law last month. Today I address a few more privilege license … Read more

The majority of funding for North Carolina’s public schools comes from the State. Each county, however, is required to annually fund most capital expenses and at least some operating expenses of its local school administrative unit(s). Questions often arise as … Read more

In my last blog post, I concluded that all members in attendance at a meeting of a local government board should be deemed present for quorum purposes, even those who for whatever reason decline or aren’t permitted to deliberate or vote on … Read more

Under North Carolina law, records containing information about applicants for local government jobs are confidential. Of course, employees and officials of the local government itself may view applicant information. This blog explores who, within the unit of government, can have … Read more