NCLM News Center

The backbone of our state is our cities. And the backbone of our cities is our managers. It’s a task taken up by a select group of dedicated, community-minded public servants. Some days, its strategic steps, planned and plotted and pursued with a long-term vision of what a city can become. Other days, it’s just the immediate—just the crises. “Depends...

“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way—things I had no words for.” This quote, from artist Georgia O’Keefe, neighbors so many like it on the seemingly priceless value of art and its powers of communication, representation, unification, introspection, and everyday pleasantry, so much that nothing, not even government, can...

After months of listening sessions, Legislative Policy Committee meetings, and finally electronic voting by member cities and towns, the NC League of Municipalities approved its Legislative Goals for the 2023–24 legislative biennium. From 408 municipal goal proposals submitted through this process, falling into 50 distinct subject matter areas, 155 cities and towns approved a top 10 list of goals...

Succeeding in initiative after initiative, Neisler closes his presidential term having made a significant impact on the NC League. Per usual, Kings Mountain Mayor Scott Neisler takes the humble road. “I just hope that maybe I did something this year that affected the League in a positive way,” he says, reflecting on an NCLM Presidency that achieved almost nothing but...

A citizen-driven process of preparation and prioritization, Apex’s ARP projects are designed for long-term impact. The American Rescue Plan offers a generational opportunity for our municipalities, not just to recover from the pandemic, but to thrive well into the future. It is this forward-looking aspect of the ARP that is most consequential. How best can we utilize this money to...

If there are two events that best sum up the NC League of Municipalities, they are CityVision and the Town & State Dinner. Combined, these occasions encapsulate NCLM’s mission of supporting, convening and advancing our member cities and towns. Both featured in this issue, these gatherings are flagship League events. We are fresh off of our fifth Town & State...

NCLM’s regular legislative update webinars keep members informed on the most pressing happenings at the General Assembly. If the COVID-19 pandemic reinforced one idea throughout society, it is that necessity is indeed the mother of invention. That adage was seen in how people adjusted to the loss of the ability to meet and converse in-person, especially in large gatherings, with...

It was all about connecting, communicating, and celebrating the many great outcomes North Carolina has experienced with local-state teamwork. More than 500 elected and staff government officials filled the Raleigh Convention Center on Wednesday, Feb. 22, for the fifth installment of the League’s popular Town & State Dinner, uniting municipal and legislative leaders for relationship-building, the talking-through of various timely...

Three Full Days of Valuable Content, Networking, and Fun It’s the central most exciting and engaging annual event specifically designed for North Carolina’s municipal elected and staff officials. The NC League of Municipalities’ CityVision conference is back for 2023, with three full days of valuable content, more than 20 engaging speaker sessions, four tracks geared toward local government issues, and...

Over the last few years, the housing affordability crisis has brought increased scrutiny to local land-use regulation. In the eyes of some critics, zoning is a primary culprit explaining the increase in housing prices. It’s a narrative that ignores the simple economics of supply and demand: that more people want to be closer to the amenities found in cities...