Which of these appraisal errors justifies a property tax refund? 1.  Taxpayer is taxed for property that did not have a taxable situs in the jurisdiction. 2.  Taxpayer is taxed for a house that burned the prior December. 3.  Taxpayer … Read more

In a previous post, I detailed how the major credit card companies (Visa and MasterCard) effectively prohibited a local government or public authority from assessing a surcharge on customers who remitted payment of fees, assessments, and sometimes even taxes, by … Read more

An incident involving the police department has riled up the citizens. The manager and the police chief are coming under heavy criticism. Several people have signed up to speak at the regular public comment period at the next council meeting … Read more

Is it lawful for a governmental employer in North Carolina to ask a job applicant about arrests and convictions?  Is it lawful for the employer to do a criminal background check on job applicants?  The answer to both questions is … Read more

Can a city require sidewalks for a development? Can a county charge fees from a developer for parks?  In North Carolina, what exactions are allowed? The short answer: It depends upon the type of development approval and the underlying statutory … Read more

 What justifies a change to a real property tax appraisal in between county-wide reappraisals? The short answer is “not much.”  For a longer answer, take a look at last week’s opinion from the N.C. Supreme Court in Appeal of Ocean … Read more

UPDATE AUGUST 2013: The General Assembly extended the authority for the Newer Special Assessment Method. It was set to expire on July 1, 2013. It is now set to expire on July 1, 2015. The legislature also made a few … Read more

Pat Sprat was elected to the town council but just after being sworn in, a sudden illness landed her in the hospital. Pat couldn’t drive for several months, but was able to keep up with town matters by email and … Read more

It took more than two years, but the ban on video sweepstakes that was originally scheduled to take effect in December 2010 is finally enforceable.   The North Carolina Supreme Court ruled on December 14, 2012, that the ban did not … Read more

The board of adjustment is hearing a hotly contested appeal.  The zoning administrator interpreted a somewhat ambiguous provision in the zoning ordinance to allow a controversial land use.  Irate neighbors appealed that determination to the board of adjustment.  The case … Read more

UPDATE: Spring 2018. This blog has been updated to reflect 2017 legislative changes to G.S. 159-32. It is summer camp registration time at Fun City’s parks and recreation department. Department staff members are processing hundreds of registrations each day. That … Read more

UPDATE August 2013: A new statute, G.S. 105-380, requires a municipality to release property tax liability for any deannexed property that was within the town limits for six months or less before being deannexed, if no notice has been sent … Read more

Here are two terms that people get mixed up all the time:  “employment at will” and “right to work.”  Is North Carolina an employment-at-will state?  Yes.  Is North Carolina a right-to-work state?  Yes.  But those two terms do not mean … Read more

The county zoning inspector received a call from a citizen complaining about a large accumulation of junk in a neighbor’s back yard.  The caller said there are several old refrigerators, some discarded furniture, and “a whole bunch of other junk” … Read more

Exciting news in the world of legislative reporting—the Daily Bulletin is going exclusively online! Since 1935, the School (a/k/a the Institute) of Government’s Legislative Reporting Service has been creating the Daily Bulletin, which includes summaries of every filed bill, amendment, … Read more

If you are looking for a last-minute holiday gift for someone at this time of year, you may want to forego purchasing your friend or relative a gift card at the local video sweepstakes operation (VSO). That gift card may … Read more

Cash economic development incentives are widely used by local governments to induce companies to locate in their jurisdictions. A 2006 survey indicated that more than 40% of North Carolina local governments employ cash incentives for business recruitment. And yet, no … Read more

There is reason to believe that an employee of the city has broken into a pharmacy to steal prescription drugs.  There are reports that a public school teacher has touched female students in a terribly inappropriate way.  It appears that … Read more

UPDATE FEBRUARY 2013: The accreditation rules were amended to change the method by which the Accreditation Board determines whether a department has satisfied the required benchmarks. See 10A N.C.A.C. 48B .0103. This change had been proposed when this post was originally … Read more

Local governments, like many other organizations, place cameras in strategic locations to monitor activities that take place on their property or in public places. Security cameras are used for various purposes, including to apprehend and deter criminal behavior by employees … Read more