The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (FRA), signed into law by President Biden on June 3, 2023 includes changes to two social services programs administered by county governments in North Carolina – the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.  The information in this post may be helpful to local practitioners who work with these programs directly, serve the affected populations in other ways, or who wish to better understand how the changes ma

Aimed primarily at new residential developments, the “builders inventory” property tax exclusion (GS 105-277.02) arrived in 2015 and is becoming more popular across the state with each passing year.  While I’ve previously blogged about the basics of this exclusion here and

Aimed primarily at new residential developments, the “builders inventory” property tax exclusion (GS 105-277.02) arrived in 2015 and is becoming more popular across the state with each passing year.  While I’ve previously blogged about the basics of this exclusion here and

State law requires North Carolina counties to administer and provide a number of social services and public assistance programs described in Chapter 108A of the North Carolina General Statutes, including (among others) Work First, Food and Nutrition Services, Medicaid, child protective services, adoption services, adult protective services, and guardianship services.

State law requires North Carolina counties to administer and provide a number of social services and public assistance programs described in Chapter 108A of the North Carolina General Statutes, including (among others) Work First, Food and Nutrition Services, Medicaid, child protective services, adoption services, adult protective services, and guardianship services.

It’s budget season, which triggers perennial issues related to the budgeting process and substance of the annual budget ordinance. Some of these are addressed in past posts. This year I’ve had several inquiries about how specific a budget appropriation can be. Examples include the following:

It’s budget season, which triggers perennial issues related to the budgeting process and substance of the annual budget ordinance. Some of these are addressed in past posts. This year I’ve had several inquiries about how specific a budget appropriation can be. Examples include the following:

In the past few years, allegations against county departments of social services have formed the basis of lawsuits against some North Carolina counties and drawn attention in the press. In the wake of substantial media coverage on North Carolina’s social services system, some people have wondered who is responsible for evaluating the performance of a county department of social services (DSS) director. This blog post answers that question and offers some recommendations for county boards of social services on the DSS director evaluation process.

In the past few years, allegations against county departments of social services have formed the basis of lawsuits against some North Carolina counties and drawn attention in the press. In the wake of substantial media coverage on North Carolina’s social services system, some people have wondered who is responsible for evaluating the performance of a county department of social services (DSS) director. This blog post answers that question and offers some recommendations for county boards of social services on the DSS director evaluation process.

It’s increasingly common for county tax collectors to collect taxes for municipalities in their counties.  Five years ago I discussed in this blog post how interlocal agreements can authorize these arrangements.  Below, I dive a bit more deeply into the details on how such agreements should be crafted.