UPDATE August 2013: For updated information on the public school funding dispute resolution process, click here. In my last post, I reviewed the constitutional and statutory framework for county funding of local school administrative units (public schools). As I explained … Read more

It is budget season. And, once again, local government officials face tough decisions about how to balance their annual budgets—Raise taxes and fees? Curtail services? Delay projects? Cut personnel? If my volume of phone calls is any indication, however, the … Read more

A city’s governing board wishes to support and promote its downtown area. It wants to install sidewalks and street lighting. It wants to renovate the storefronts that line its main street. It wants to hire personnel to provide additional security … Read more

In my last post I defined metadata and summarized the three cases (in other states) that have addressed whether, and to what extent, metadata is a public record. I concluded that post by asking what we might glean from these … Read more

(Updated March 15, 2010) Is metadata a public record? There is not a clear answer to this question, at least in North Carolina. But that does not mean that public entities should ignore the question. In fact, public officials, particularly … Read more

UPDATE August 2013: During the 2013 legislative session, the General Assembly enacted S.L. 2013-366, which prohibits a local government from providing health insurance coverage for abortions that is greater than that provided by the State Health Plan for Teachers and … Read more

A tenant signs up to receive water or sewer utility services and then falls delinquent on her payments. The tenant moves out and the local utility provider is left with an unpaid bill (or series of unpaid bills). What can (and … Read more

Local government officials often ask me two questions related to their property tax authority—(1) whether a unit may impose property taxes only for specific, designated purposes; and (2) whether a unit may impose property taxes only on specific properties within … Read more

In a post describing the recently enacted legislation that (potentially) authorizes North Carolina local governments to establish revolving loan funds or impose special assessments in order to finance energy efficiency improvements and distributed generation renewable energy sources permanently affixed to private … Read more

There is an old adage among attorneys that “bad facts make bad law.” Along those lines, there may be a tendency to dismiss a recent e-discovery opinion as a case where “bizarre facts make bad e-discovery sanctions.” However, local government … Read more