Animal services programs have a variety of local government homes – they may be in the local health department, law enforcement agency, city or county administration, or a standalone department. There are also intergovernmental programs, such as a county agreeing … Read more

If I sell you my house, you need to worry about old property taxes on that house.  If those taxes aren’t paid, you will become personally responsible for them. Your wages, bank accounts and cars may become targets of enforced … Read more

Hurricane Matthew is bearing down on North Carolina’s coast.  State and local officials are preparing for significant impacts.  The Governor has issued a state of emergency declaration for much of central and eastern North Carolina.  Local officials wonder whether they … Read more

What happens when a person has an accidental exposure to someone else’s blood? This is one of my most frequently asked questions. I wrote about it in 2010, but it is time for an update. Since my original post, the … Read more

A local development board is set to hold a quasi-judicial hearing for a development permit. The neighbor across the street from the proposed project is set to oppose it.  She wants to voice her concerns in the quasi-judicial hearing—and appeal … Read more

When done properly, a property tax foreclosure can be an efficient method of satisfying old property taxes while transferring property to new owners who are more likely to pay future property taxes.  When not done properly, a tax foreclosure can … Read more

In an effort to be business-friendly and to avoid a bunch of extra hearings, city council wants to allow the subdivision review officer to vary the subdivision standards when there is good reason to do so.  But, the statutes say … Read more

When I decided to blog about the “statement of taxes due” required by G.S. 105-361, I assumed that tax offices were issuing them all of the time. My thought was that every closing attorney requested one of these binding documents … Read more

UPDATE 4 August 2018: Overruling the court of appeals, the North Carolina Supreme Court held that the Town of Carthage’s liability to refund the unlawful impact fee revenue was subject to a 3-year statute of limitations. See Quality Built Homes … Read more

Update January 2017:  The elections administration system described in this blog post was modified by legislation enacted in December 2016.  That legislation modified the number of members of the state and county boards of elections, but it continued the limitation … Read more

September 1 is just a few days away, which means the end of discounts for 2016 taxes is also just a few days away.  Seems like a perfect time to cover the basics of one of the Machinery Act’s most … Read more

Yesterday, August 21, was National Senior Citizens Day. When President Reagan issued the proclamation first recognizing this day, he explained: For all they have achieved throughout life and for all they continue to accomplish, we owe older citizens our thanks … Read more

Three (of five) board members walk into a bar…. Sounds like the beginning of a joke, right? In fact it’s the beginning of a frequently asked legal question. Stated more broadly the question is whether the mere presence of a … Read more

Property owned by a local government, the state, or (usually) the federal government is exempt from property taxes in North Carolina. That’s one of the most straightforward provisions in the entire Machinery Act. (You can find it in G.S. 105-278.1).  … Read more

The SOG will host its 2016 legislative update webinar next Monday, August 1 at 10:00 a.m. This annual tradition is your opportunity to learn about significant legislation affecting North Carolina local governments. The webinar will cover current hot topics such … Read more

Interpreting the zoning ordinance—like interpreting any legislation—can be tricky business. Ordinances may be imprecise, development continually evolves, and terms are not always clear.  Reasonable minds may disagree over the correct interpretation and application of a particular provision of the ordinance.  … Read more

UPDATE:  The rabies law was amended in 2017.  A revised version of this post is available here. Your dog, Duke, is outside in the yard and has an unexpected encounter with a raccoon. The raccoon bit Duke and there is … Read more

Scenario 1: A city council has six members and no vacant seats.  Three of the members fail to show up for this month’s regular meeting, leaving only the mayor and the other three members in attendance. Scenario 2: The same … Read more

On July 11, 2016, Governor McCrory approved new legislation that creates rules for access to law enforcement recordings, including body-worn camera and dashboard camera records. Following a national trend, North Carolina’s law enforcement agencies have adopted these technologies, and the … Read more

The General Assembly avoided messing with the Machinery Act during their session that just ended, which means that you don’t need to worry about any big property tax law changes this year.  The only ratified bill relating to local property … Read more