Over 200 officials from 60 N.C. local governments joined us for our occupancy tax webinar originally broadcast on April 2.  We received tons of questions before, during, and after the webinar, which meant we couldn’t get to all of them on air.  … Read more

In accordance with G.S. 160A-364, a city has scheduled a public hearing on a proposed amendment to its zoning ordinance. Notice of the hearing has been provided in accordance with the statute, but it now appears that there will not … Read more

Note: This is a revised version of my earlier post on this topic. Thanks to my colleague Jeff Welty for his help in providing a more complete explanation of the criminal investigation exceptions. Local governments want to hear from their … Read more

Warm weather is finally here and it’s time for some spring cleaning.  There’s your worn out office chair, that dented file cabinet whose drawers are stuck shut, those obsolete computers, and goodness-knows-what that is gathering dust in the public works … Read more

Betty Draper owns a single-family residence.  She rents the property to four tenants.  The zoning ordinance does not allow parking in the front yard and limits the number of cars that can be parked on the property to four vehicles. … Read more

I often describe GS 105-394 as a “get-out-of-jail-free” card for local tax officials because the provision excuses mistakes in the administration of property taxes. In other words, taxes are not waived just because the tax office messed up.  I wrote about … Read more

In the summer of 2012, the General Assembly enacted a law that authorized boards of county commissioners in North Carolina to consolidate county human services departments and boards. In the months since, twenty counties have taken actions under G.S. 153A-77. … Read more

Across North Carolina solar energy systems are filling pastures and cladding rooftops.  According to solar industry reports, North Carolina ranked second in the country, behind only California, for solar photovoltaic capacity added in 2013.  The rapid rise of the solar … Read more

Having turned the corner on the Great Recession, the Town of FingersCrossing recently hired a few new employees. The finance office begins to process the first payroll since the new employees began working for the town. It is also the … Read more

If America’s cities and towns are to realize their greatest potential as attractive and welcoming places—and as drivers of the new American economy—they must be able to repurpose their vacant, abandoned and foreclosed properties. Those properties—whether the product of the … Read more

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

When an employee of a city or county wants to run for elective office, three legal considerations have traditionally leapt to mind—North Carolina’s criminal conflicts of interest statute, the state’s common law principle of incompatibility of office, and the federal … Read more

In the world of fashion they say that accessories make the man. What kinds of accessories are we talking about? Accessories such as belts, socks, handkerchiefs, ties, and caps. They complement a man’s shirt, pants, shoes, and jacket. They enhance … Read more

For the last 30 years North Carolina, like most states, has been making it easier to register and vote. In the early 1980s the only way you could register was to go before an official of the local board of … Read more

In my last two posts, I described the new design-build and design-build bridging construction delivery methods authorized by the General Assembly during the 2013 legislative session.  This post completes our discussion of the new delivery methods by outlining the third … 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

It’s almost budget time again for local governments across North Carolina, and tax collectors need to be involved.  Collectors have the responsibility of estimating the property tax collection rate for the current fiscal year (2013-2014), which is the maximum collection rate … Read more

Peaceful Town is famous for being a quiet place to live.  The town has earned this reputation through strict enforcement of its noise ordinance, which bans the use of electronic devices to project sound that is plainly audible at a … Read more

Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, a government employee is entitled to overtime pay after working 40 hours in a week, unless an exemption applies. If an exemption applies, the employee is said to be “exempt” and is not entitled … 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