In North Carolina, a juvenile who is the subject of an abuse, neglect, or dependency petition may be placed in the custody of a Department of Social Services (DSS). When DSS has a court order of custody, it places a … Read more

2023 marked 27 years since the inception of charter schools in North Carolina. And it brought some big changes to charter school governance, growth, and funding. See S.L. 2023-107; S.L. 2023-110. Among these changes was the grant of authority to … Read more

North Carolina property tax law, nicknamed the Machinery Act, contains many dozens of full or partial exemptions for property as diverse as free drug samples, uranium 233, and Loyal Order of the Moose clubhouses. This blog post attempts to identify … Read more

What if I said there’s a process that, when regularly performed, provides the following benefits: (1) increased accuracy in financial reporting, (2) early fraud detection, and (3) less time spent preparing for the annual financial audit—would you believe me? It … Read more

Nearly 200 North Carolina counties and municipalities levy occupancy taxes. Almost all of them are required to use some percentage of their occupancy tax revenues for “tourism-related” expenditures.  Last week our state courts issued their first appellate opinion examining exactly … Read more

The open meetings law requires all official meetings of public bodies to be open to the public. G.S. 143-318.10(a). However, government bodies can hold closed-door meetings, called closed sessions, under certain limited circumstances. This post focuses on the personnel matters … Read more

If you have obligated and expended all your American Rescue Plan Act Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery funds (ARP/CSLFRF), congrats, you are done forever with this grant. April Fools! Even if you have obligated and expended all your ARP/CSLFRF … Read more

The Local Government Commission (LGC) is a nine-member state body situated in the Department of State Treasurer. G.S. Ch. 159, Art. 2. The commission monitors the fiscal management and financial condition of local governments and public authorities (providing assistance and … Read more

For government officials, the line between official and personal social media pages may sometimes be blurry. Imagine a county commissioner or city council member who maintains a Facebook page that combines photos of her family vacations with updates about important … Read more

This post was co-authored with SOG faculty member Phil Dixon Jr. A version of this post is also available on the School of Government’s North Carolina Criminal Law blog. When and how can state and local government officials and employees … Read more