Do you have questions about North Carolina local government? Want to know what “spot zoning” really means? Confused about what kinds of annexation cities can still do? Looking for a summary of changes in the structure of mental health and other human services? Want to know more about benchmarking, IT and social media trends, the respective roles of the manager and the governing board, or the governance and funding structure of public schools in North Carolina? Searching for a general overview of the public records and open meetings laws?

You can find all this and much more in the new edition of County and Municipal Government in North Carolina, now available for purchase. 

This publication has a long history. The first versions were created in 1969 as materials for use in the Institute of Government’s courses for newly elected city and county officials. These materials became books designed for a general audience, providing an overview of local government. Many people remember them as “the rainbow books” because of their colorful covers. In 2007 the books were combined into a single publication. This is the second edition of the combined version, which is now available as bound book and as a PDF.  In addition, each of its 46 chapters is available for purchase as an individual PDF.

Information in the book reflects legislation and case law through the end of 2014. Of course, the law will continue to change faster than we can update and revise this publication. We encourage readers to subscribe to Coates’ Canons for timely updates and analysis of changes in the law.

To view the table of contents and order your copy of County and Municipal Government in North Carolina go here.