The North Carolina open meetings law requires most official meetings of public bodies to be open to the public. The law also lists nine permitted purposes for meeting in closed session. It sets rules for announcing and conducting closed sessions, … Read more

[Update: The case that is discussed in this post was reversed in LexisNexis Data Management, Inc, v. NC Administrative Office of the Courts (101PA14), on August 21, 2015. The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that the Court of Appeals erred in … Read more

The storm is coming and there’s a town council meeting scheduled for tonight. Not only that, the town is scheduled to have a public hearing on an economic development project as part of that meeting. What are the procedures for … Read more

The closed session meeting was contentious. Three of the five board members were ready to fire the manager. They were going off the board and were anxious to push for a vote on the dismissal before the election in November. … Read more

December brings thoughts of gifts: gifts for hard-working employees, gifts for outgoing board members and retiring employees, and gifts from vendors and contractors. May public money be spent on gifts for employees or board members? May local governments honor outgoing … Read more

Two new members have been elected to the Pleasantville town council and are scheduled to be sworn in at the December meeting. A special meeting has been called for November 25, at which the current board plans to address several … Read more

North Carolina holds its local government board members’ feet to the fire when it comes to voting. City council members and county commissioners have a legal duty to vote unless they are excused for any of several grounds allowed under … Read more

Three members of a five-member city council are up for reelection. They attend multiple candidate events, including candidate forums. The Chamber of Commerce and League of Women Voters sponsor forums for candidates that are open to the public. A neighborhood … Read more

“Annexation” is the incorporation of new territory into an existing city. North Carolina allows three methods of annexation:  1) city-initiated (“involuntary”), 2) by petition from property-owners or residents (“voluntary”), and 3) by act of the General Assembly (“legislative”). The General … Read more

In 2009 I wrote a blog post summarizing the common law doctrine of “amotion” which was recognized in several old North Carolina cases as an inherent power of a board to remove one of its members. Since there had been … Read more