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“C-PACE” – A new program to help local businesses finance energy and sustainability improvements
For years people have advocated for North Carolina to establish a program to give local governments another tool to help businesses finance energy and sustainability improvements. Last summer, the General Assembly adopted authorizing legislation, and the North...
Initial Congressional list of tax proposals for municipal bonds – it’s not good
The United States Senate Finance Committee has published a broad list of ideas for tax law changes. Many of the original “Trump Tax Cuts” from 2017 are set to expire this year. Under Congress’s own rules, if those cuts are to be extended, then Congress needs to impose...
What will happen to construction costs in 2025?
Going into a New Year, everyone has an interest rate prediction. We thought we’d look at expectations for construction costs instead. Aided by the 0.5% Federal Reserve cut in the Federal funds rate in November, the second such cut of the year, Q3 of 2024 saw the...
Happy New Year! A list of annual reminders
As we get to the start of 2025, we offer this list of items to keep in mind as you plan for new capital projects and manage your existing projects. Here are a few things to think about at least once a year: Do something with unused financing proceeds. Why pay...
Unsolicited advice on a local government finance work plan for the new State Treasurer
Brad Briner will be our new North Carolina State Treasurer starting in January. Naturally (for us) we thought we’d offer some completely unsolicited advice for how the Treasurer’s office, through the Local Government Commission, could make life better for the LGC’s...
Our new State Treasurer
Learning about our new State Treasurer – Brad Briner won the election to succeed Dale Folwell, who did not seek re-election. Briner was the Republican candidate, and he’ll take over in early January. You can read more about Briner and some thoughts on issues facing...
The LGC calendar for 2025
We now have a schedule for the 2025 meetings of the Local Government Commission. We thought a table might be handy. In addition to the meeting dates, this table shows the application due dates. We’ve also noted the dates 45 days prior to the meeting dates...
Financial oversight by elected officials
Usually people run for county or municipal office because of their interest in government activities or programs – they want to advocate for schools, or parks, or affordable housing. Some have a general sense of wanting to give back or be involved in what’s going on...
Borrowing in anticipation of FEMA reimbursement
North Carolina local governments are all too familiar with FEMA’s role in reimbursing local government costs of natural disaster remediation. We know that FEMA is good for the reimbursement payments (so long as you follow their rules), but it can take years to receive...
Tackling Downtown Parking – Lessons from Knoxville
The role of parking as it relates to a growing downtown has always been a topic of debate, regardless of the community you call home. We’ve written about the dangers of using valuable land for surface parking in the past but have also acknowledged that parking is...