In a previous post, we discussed the requirement for local governments to send a notice of a proposed borrowing to the “Legislative Joint Committee on Local Government.” This notice is to go to the Committee at least 45 days before consideration of a borrowing by the...

We now have the official 2020 calendar for meetings of the Local Government Commission. We thought a table might be handy. In addition to the meeting dates, this table shows the dates 28 days prior to the meeting, because, generally, the Commission staff wants a...

          If you’ve been thinking about having a referendum for bonds or sales tax in your community, you should know that the calendar for Spring 2020 will be different than it has been in prior years. In 2020, North...

There are over 3200 dams in North Carolina, and many of these are owned and maintained by smaller entities that may not have the resources to take care of the dams the way they need to be taken care of. And so after time, an inspection may show that the dam needs...

We wrote previously about problems affecting the staffing and operation of local government finance departments across North Carolina. The LGC and its staff have grown increasingly frustrated with local governments that can’t keep their books and records in good order...

We’ve written before about the phenomenon of “Green Bonds,” the idea of borrowing money for environmentally beneficial projects and attaching the “green” label. The idea is that environmentally conscious investors would be willing to pay a little extra for bonds,...

Every local government financing can benefit from the active participation of the city, county or town attorney. Sometimes the attorneys, however, don’t know how best to carry out their role. Here are our notes about how you, as a local government attorney, can...

Arts and cultural community organizations are popping up in hometowns all across North Carolina. These organizations can stimulate economic development and community involvement while providing arts and cultural experiences for residents of all ages. Arts centers are...

At the close of last year, Liz Farmer of Governing Magazine wrote about trends in the municipal market. Her article, “Three Ways Tax Reform Has Affected the Muni Market” focuses on how new tax legislation implemented in 2018 has affected the overall muni market, while...

My first job in high school was as a lowly “dump girl” at Nordstrom. Hired to work Nordstrom’s Anniversary Sale at the famous South Coast Plaza mall, girls who “ran dump” were tasked with rapidly restocking the sales floor with copious amounts of tried-on clothing so...