In the wake of new legislation enacted in June 2012, several counties have decided to make changes to how they organize and govern their local human services agencies.  Last September, I wrote about this issue and identified three counties that … Read more

A city manager sends and receives the following text messages from a city resident on the manager’s personal smartphone: Citizen: u and wife want to meet us for dinner at 6 2moro? Manager: same place as last Fri? scallops were delish … Read more

Rick Grimes is a sheriff’s deputy residing in a crossroads community out in the county.  For a number of years he has supplemented his income with a small business repairing RVs.  He usually has three or four old RVs parked … Read more

The word “agenda” derives from Latin, meaning “things to be done”. For local government boards, it is a tool for organizing and conducting meetings. This blog addresses frequently asked questions about agendas, including how they are developed, how they may … Read more

With this week’s men’s and women’s championship games (neither of which featured my beloved Blue Devils, alas), the college basketball season came to a close.  But don’t despair—you won’t need to wait a full year for another Final Four.  After … Read more

Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines “synthetic,” among other things, as “devised, arranged, or fabricated for special situations to imitate or replace usual realities.” As the definition suggests, a “synthetic project development financing” (more commonly referred to as a “synthetic tax increment … Read more

A North Carolina city manager’s contract term is ending.  (Or maybe it’s the county manager.  The issues are the same.)  After June 30 she will have no further contract protection.  If she remains employed by the city after that date, … Read more

Property tax exemptions all begin with the question of ownership.  Only certain types of property owners may qualify for a property tax exemption—governments, educational institutions, and religious congregations, to name a few.  If the property is not owned by a … Read more

North Carolina statutes protect most public employee information from public access. Public employees have the right to inspect almost all of the information in the files their employers maintain about them. The statutes do, however, carve a few types of … Read more

In some scenarios, determining land use is fairly simple.  The ordinance permits a donut shop, the owner establishes and operates a donut shop, and the land use is clear.  But land development over time is not always straightforward, and clear … Read more

Cell tower construction is a hot zoning topic.  The proliferation of connected devices has substantially increased the demand for wireless data transmission.  Everyone wants good cell reception and high quality access for their mobile devices.  But no one wants to … Read more

Were I a gambler, I would not have bet on this result.  No, I don’t mean Duke’s glorious trouncing of the Tar Heels on Saturday night.  I mean last Friday’s surprising ruling from the North Carolina Supreme Court that Lumberton’s … Read more

Betty Sue has served on the Caring County Board of Commissioners during politically turbulent times — the civil rights movement, the war in in Viet Nam, Apartheid in South Africa, women’s rights, and the right to bear arms. On these … Read more

An elected member of a North Carolina city council dies or moves away or resigns.  Or a member of a board of county commissioners.  Or a county school board.  A vacancy is created.  The statutes are clear about who picks … Read more

Earlier this week a city official asked this interesting question, “Can we refuse to allow residents who have not paid their property taxes to use city recreational facilities?”  The city that raised the question operates a recreation center with a swimming pool and … Read more

The story goes something like this:  Jones, who is something of an eccentric guy anyway, lives in a relatively good neighborhood. But his house has never really fit into the area. His house looks like a work in progress with … Read more

When I teach about animal control law in North Carolina, I often describe the work as multifaceted. The individuals involved wear various hats – they are animal control officers, animal cruelty investigators, communicable disease investigators, public safety officials, animal welfare … Read more

The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) requires all employers to pay employees time-and-one-half their regular rate of pay for all hours over 40 that employees work in a given week, unless an employee satisfies the FLSA’s salary basis test and … Read more

Hershel Greene runs a small animal hospital out on the edge of town. When the business first opened thirty years ago, he had a large billboard advertising the business installed out by the road.  Herschel had been heavily involved with … Read more

Which of the following statements is true? A local government can reject a construction bid if the bidder does not list enough HUB subcontractors to meet the local government’s HUB participation goals. If a bidder forgets to identify on his … Read more