The General Assembly’s crossover deadline has come and gone, so now is a good time to pause and take stock of pending legislation affecting public purchasing and contracting. Bills proposing changes to our state’s public contracting statutes include authorizing design-build … Read more
The North Carolina General Assembly adjourned on June 18, 2011 and will reconvene next month on July 13th. When it reconvenes in July, the legislature will only consider a narrow list of bills, namely redistricting, election laws, legislative appointments to boards and commissions, … Read more
A tornado has ripped through Coatesville, damaging its water and sewer system, tearing the roof off of town hall, destroying the police department’s vehicles, and leaving tons of debris in its wake. The town declares a state of emergency and … Read more
Paul Purchaser is putting the final touches on his first Invitation for Bids (IFB) for Carolina City, and he’s trying to figure out when he has to place the advertisement for the IFB in the newspaper. He knows the formal … Read more
Have you heard of U.S. Communities? What about National IPA? Or HGAC? WSCA? TCPN? NJPA? This alphabet soup of organizations (and others like them) can provide North Carolina local governments with purchasing flexibility and efficiency through an exception to the … Read more
Your county needs to buy 5 new law enforcement vehicles costing $30,000 each, and the sheriff tells you that he prefers a specific make and model with certain options. The sheriff also tells you that he knows that a neighboring … Read more
NOTE: This post has been updated to reflect changes enacted by the General Assembly in 2015. Is your local government still using 10-year-old desktop computers? Do you need to buy new anti-spyware software? Or do you need to update your … Read more
As anyone who has been involved in a construction project knows, construction almost always involves unexpected costs. The North Carolina General Statutes give local governments the flexibility to address these costs through change orders. G.S. 143-129(e)(4) says that the bidding … Read more