Property Disposal Chart

Have you ever had questions about which property disposal method local governments can use to sell a piece of government-owned land?  Or have you wondered what steps are required to sell property by upset bid?  Or have you wondered how a local government may convey property to a nonprofit?   Read more »

A Topless Bar in Our Fair Town?

Paul Proteus, the town manager of Maycomb, leaned back in his chair with a deep sigh. It was a quiet Friday afternoon. All of the week’s crises had passed. The parks staff and chamber of commerce folks just reported that final arrangements for the weekend BBQ festival were complete. The weekend weather forecast was great. The pig cooking was about to commence. All was well with Paul’s world.

His reverie was rudely interrupted by a frantic call from the Mayor. “Paul, I just ran into Malcolm Tucker as he was driving out of town for a meeting in Charlotte. He had some disturbing news. He says he is going to open another one of his topless bars, this time in Maycomb. He drove off before I could get any details. Times may be hard, but we don’t need that kind of business here. Charlotte is one thing, but Maycomb is altogether different. I want an ordinance that keeps these places out of Maycomb and I want it on the books before Malcolm applies for a permit for his sleazy bar. Pull together some material on this and I’ll be in your office first thing Monday morning for your report. Sorry to dump this on you, but we need to hustle on this.”

As Paul senses his weekend of BBQ bliss quickly slipping away, his first thought is a simple one. Can we solve this by simply banning adult entertainment bars altogether? That is certainly what the Mayor wants to do. But Malcolm has sued the town before and surely won’t hesitate to sue again. Would a ban hold up in court? Read more »

To Err is Human, But Probably Not Binding.

Despite rumors to the contrary, tax collectors are human. Sometimes they make mistakes. Can those mistakes ever bind the taxing unit and eliminate a tax obligation? Read more »

Is This a Public Record? A Framework For Answering Questions About Public Records Requests

Responding to requests for public information is an important and time-consuming aspect of the jobs of many local government officials and employees. While some requests are straight-forward, others require analysis and interpretation of the public records law, including its many exceptions. This post provides a basic framework that may be helpful in developing responses to public records requests. Read more »

Zoning and North Carolina’s Fair Housing Act

Suppose that a town council holds a public hearing on a proposal to rezone one of the last vacant tracts of land in the northwest area of town from a single-family residential district to a multi-family residential district. Suppose also that this area of town is comprised predominately of single-family houses on larger lots. The proposal has been made by a developer who has sponsored both mid-range rental complexes and developed subsidized low-and moderate-income housing. A number of the residents in the area of the proposed rezoning attend the public hearing to express their opposition. The council is inclined to vote against the rezoning. Should the council be concerned that such an action might be a violation of North Carolina’s Fair Housing Act (G.S. 41A et seq.)? Read more »

New(er) County Revenue Sources – Local Land Transfer Tax and Local Sales and Use Tax

UPDATE August 2013: The authority to levy the local land transfer tax discussed in this post was repealed by the General Assembly in 2011. The legislature also made changes to the effective date of a new Article 46 local sales and use tax. The Article 46 tax becomes effective on the “first day of a calendar quarter, as set by the board of county commissioners in the resolution levying the tax. In no event may the tax be imposed, or the tax rate changed, earlier than the first day of the second succeeding calendar month after the date of the adoption of the resolution.” Furthermore, a county must give the Secretary of Revenue “at least 90 days advance notice of a new tax levy or tax rate change.” The new tax applies to purchases from printed catalogs only after 120 days’ notice from the Secretary of Revenue of the tax rate change. G.S. 105-466.

As I discussed in a previous post, the General Assembly made significant changes to counties’ sales and use tax authority in 2007 and 2008, pursuant to comprehensive Medicaid funding reform legislation. Specifically, the legislation repealed counties’ authority to levy a one-half cent local option sales and use tax (local sales tax), and made certain other changes to counties’ remaining local sales tax authority, in exchange for the State assuming the counties’ share of Medicaid costs (commonly referred to as the “Medicaid swap”). The legislation further guarantees that each county experience a financial gain from the Medicaid swap of at least $500,000 each year.

The state’s assumption of the county Medicaid share provided financial relief to many of North Carolina’s smaller and economically distressed counties. Local officials from several larger, growing counties did not feel that the Medicaid swap, alone, adequately addressed their needs, though. Thus, in addition to the Medicaid swap, the legislation authorized two new local option revenue sources for counties. These new(er) county revenue sources are the subject of this post. Read more »

The Power to Impose Term Limits?

Suppose a North Carolina county wishes to impose term limits on its county commissioners.  May it do so?  Could a city impose term limits on its mayor or council members?  What about a local school unit?  Could it put term limits on its elected school board members?  Could the General Assembly by statute do it for the county, the city, or the school unit?

No, no, no, and no. Read more »