May a local government or public authority that provides utility or public enterprise services disclose its customer billing information in each of the following scenarios?  (a)  A customer’s relative wants to know if the customer is delinquent on his utility payments; … Read more

May a local government or public authority that provides utility or public enterprise services disclose its customer billing information in each of the following scenarios? (a)  A customer’s relative wants to know if the customer is delinquent on his utility payments;(b)  A prospective home-buyer wants to know the average utility usage by the current owner-customer;

May a local government or public authority that provides utility or public enterprise services disclose its customer billing information in each of the following scenarios? (a)  A customer’s relative wants to know if the customer is delinquent on his utility payments;(b)  A prospective home-buyer wants to know the average utility usage by the current owner-customer;

You’ve just received bids on a construction project estimated (by your engineer) to cost about $2 million.  The lowest bid is for $1.5 million, and the next highest bid is $1.9 million, with the other bids ranging from $2.1 million … Read more

You’ve just received bids on a construction project estimated (by your engineer) to cost about $2 million.  The lowest bid is for $1.5 million, and the next highest bid is $1.9 million, with the other bids ranging from $2.1 million to $2.3 million.  After reviewing the bids, you think the lowest bidder must have made a mistake, but you can’t tell where the mistake is.  What should you do?What you shouldn’t do

You’ve just received bids on a construction project estimated (by your engineer) to cost about $2 million.  The lowest bid is for $1.5 million, and the next highest bid is $1.9 million, with the other bids ranging from $2.1 million to $2.3 million.  After reviewing the bids, you think the lowest bidder must have made a mistake, but you can’t tell where the mistake is.  What should you do?What you shouldn’t do

Article IX, section 7 of the State Constitution directs that the clear proceeds of all fines and penalties collected for “any breach of the penal laws of the State” be given to the public schools.  Cities have been avoiding this … Read more

Article IX, section 7 of the State Constitution directs that the clear proceeds of all fines and penalties collected for “any breach of the penal laws of the State” be given to the public schools.  Cities have been avoiding this direction by decriminalizing violations of their ordinances, but some city attorneys have been concerned that the Court of Appeals put an end to this practice in its decision in Shavitz v. City of High Point, 177 N.C.App.

Article IX, section 7 of the State Constitution directs that the clear proceeds of all fines and penalties collected for “any breach of the penal laws of the State” be given to the public schools.  Cities have been avoiding this direction by decriminalizing violations of their ordinances, but some city attorneys have been concerned that the Court of Appeals put an end to this practice in its decision in Shavitz v. City of High Point, 177 N.C.App.

As I mentioned in my post last week, the Grants Management Common Rule (which applies to all federal grants) requires entities that receive federal grants to establish a “code of conduct.”  This post will address what the Rule says about … Read more