UPDATE May 17, 2023: US Treasury has issued updated guidance for compliance requirements for sub awards to ISP providers for broadband. It is available here. The analysis below continues to apply to all sub awards to other entities except ISP … Read more

Over the last several years, the School of Government has developed new and exciting resources to support local multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) involved with protecting adults from abuse, neglect, and exploitation. An MDT is a group of professionals in a geographic … Read more

N.C. General Statute 160D-903(a) prevents zoning ordinances in county and municipal extraterritorial jurisdiction from affecting “property used for bona fide farm purposes.” This statute also blocks zoning regulations in these same areas from applying to buildings or structures used for … Read more

I often use this blog to provide detailed answers to common tax questions.  But sometimes the most common questions have answers that aren’t quite long enough to justify their own blog post. Below is a collection of a few short … Read more

UPDATED August 2022: On July 27, 2022, US Treasury amended its Final Rule FAQs to exempt expenditures in the Revenue Replacement category from some Uniform Guidance provisions. Those changes are reflected in the updated post below.  Many NC local governments, … Read more

As detailed in previous posts, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (ARP/CSLFRF) provides funding for North Carolina counties and municipalities. There are four main authorized expenditure categories: (1) Responding to the pandemic … Read more

Overview of Voting Rules Voting is one of the most important things that local governing boards do. They vote on a range of things, including, motions, resolutions, ordinances, franchises, contracts, and any other matters that come before them for action. … Read more

On the edge of town there’s a new residential development under construction. The neighborhood looks fairly conventional—there are houses and yards, streets and sidewalks. But there is a notable difference that you can’t see. The homes are not listed for … Read more

Uniformity is a defining characteristic of our state’s property tax system. As I’ve written before, both our state constitution and the Machinery Act (the collection of state statutes that govern property taxes) require that all local governments across North Carolina … Read more

What a difference a decade makes.  In 2012, the country was a couple of years into its recovery from the “Great Recession” and real estate prices across North Carolina were still lagging behind their 2007 peak.  In 2022, the country … Read more

By most accounts, the need for affordable housing across North Carolina is massive. According to 2019 census data, over a million North Carolina households are “cost burdened,” meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on housing. Almost half … Read more

Under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), employers must grant eligible employees a total of up to twelve workweeks of job-protected, unpaid leave during any twelve-month period for any of the following reasons: the birth of a child; the … Read more

In North Carolina, a county director of a department of social services (DSS) is responsible for administering and providing a wide variety of social services and economic services programs. Recently, a DSS director asked me for some information on how … Read more

The North Carolina Court of Appeals ruled in Schroeder v. City of Wilmington that state law prohibits a registration requirement for short-term rentals, but the court also ruled that state law allows for general zoning and development standards for short-term … Read more

The U.S. Department of the Treasury has stated in its Interim Final Rule and Final Rule applicable to Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (“Fiscal Recovery Funds”) that, with few exceptions, the procurement standards contained in the Uniform Administrative … Read more

What is the Standard Allowance? The Final Rule implementing the ARP/CSLFRF authorizes 4 main expenditure categories: Addressing the COVID-19 public health emergency and its negative economic impacts: authorizing projects that address the ongoing pandemic or its negative economic impacts on … Read more

SUPPORT the UNC SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT Time and again, my work across the state of North Carolina reminds me of the power of good leadership. True leaders unlock potential in others, leading to transformative outcomes in institutions and communities. I … Read more

SUPPORT the UNC SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT When Dean Mike Smith asked me to join the UNC School of Government Foundation Board in 2014, I was honored to have the opportunity to work in support of an institution that has done … Read more

The Town of Ticketmaster is holding a particularly contentious regular meeting this evening that will draw a much larger crowd than usual. The council wants to require tickets for entry to prevent overcrowding. Meanwhile, in the neighboring County of Corona, … Read more

“County zoning regulations may not affect property used for bona fide farm purposes.” That’s what North Carolina state law dictates about land use zoning regulations of agricultural operations in the county or the municipal extraterritorial jurisdiction (G.S. 160D-903). But that … Read more