Hurricane Matthew is bearing down on North Carolina’s coast.  State and local officials are preparing for significant impacts.  The Governor has issued a state of emergency declaration for much of central and eastern North Carolina.  Local officials wonder whether they … Read more

What happens when a person has an accidental exposure to someone else’s blood? This is one of my most frequently asked questions. I wrote about it in 2010, but it is time for an update. Since my original post, the … Read more

A local development board is set to hold a quasi-judicial hearing for a development permit. The neighbor across the street from the proposed project is set to oppose it.  She wants to voice her concerns in the quasi-judicial hearing—and appeal … Read more

When done properly, a property tax foreclosure can be an efficient method of satisfying old property taxes while transferring property to new owners who are more likely to pay future property taxes.  When not done properly, a tax foreclosure can … Read more

In an effort to be business-friendly and to avoid a bunch of extra hearings, city council wants to allow the subdivision review officer to vary the subdivision standards when there is good reason to do so.  But, the statutes say … Read more

When I decided to blog about the “statement of taxes due” required by G.S. 105-361, I assumed that tax offices were issuing them all of the time. My thought was that every closing attorney requested one of these binding documents … Read more

UPDATE 4 August 2018: Overruling the court of appeals, the North Carolina Supreme Court held that the Town of Carthage’s liability to refund the unlawful impact fee revenue was subject to a 3-year statute of limitations. See Quality Built Homes … Read more

Update January 2017:  The elections administration system described in this blog post was modified by legislation enacted in December 2016.  That legislation modified the number of members of the state and county boards of elections, but it continued the limitation … Read more

September 1 is just a few days away, which means the end of discounts for 2016 taxes is also just a few days away.  Seems like a perfect time to cover the basics of one of the Machinery Act’s most … Read more

Yesterday, August 21, was National Senior Citizens Day. When President Reagan issued the proclamation first recognizing this day, he explained: For all they have achieved throughout life and for all they continue to accomplish, we owe older citizens our thanks … Read more