Suppose you own a vacant lot in town and you want to build a small, six-unit apartment building on the site. What standards apply? Who decides and how much discretion do they have? Do the neighbors get to weigh in? … Read more

On June 21, 2021, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA’s) COVID-19 Healthcare Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) became effective. Many local government employers didn’t pay much attention. After all, the ETS was publicized as applying to employees in healthcare. … Read more

What investments should our town make to lure new economic development? How can we improve housing options? How can we revitalize downtown? How do we preserve our agricultural lands and ensure property rights? How do we protect our community from … Read more

Update: On January 6, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued the Final Rule, which governs the eligible uses of Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (“SLFRF”) under the American Rescue Plan Act (“ARPA”). The Final Rule makes … Read more

COVID-19 never really went away but now, with the emergence of the highly contagious Delta variant, local governments have an increasing problem. They are finding that employees are unable to work because they are infected with Delta or have been … Read more

In December 2020, I published a blog post titled May a Public Employer Require Vaccination Against COVID-19?. In that post I concluded that a public employer may require its employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as a condition of employment. … Read more

Update: On January 6, 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued the Final Rule, which governs the eligible uses of Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (“SLFRF”) under the American Rescue Plan Act (“ARPA”). The Final Rule makes … Read more