It is no secret that rural North Carolina, and rural areas of the United States generally, have struggled over the last few decades with trends that have imperiled the economic future of towns, surrounding unincorporated areas and the residents living in both.
The loss of manufacturing and agricultural jobs, population loss and urbanization, and a lack of infrastructure investment have...
Challenge is what defines success, the saying goes.
Covering part of what would become one of the most difficult periods in modern American (and world) history, the League’s recently released Fiscal Year 2019–2020 Annual Report puts forth an impressive sequence of accomplishments and supportive data to prove, once again, that we can face the challenges successfully together.
In considering the hardships,...
A new continuous learning platform with on-demand courses.
Anyone serving in municipal government knows how time-consuming and knowledge-demanding it can be. That’s how it goes. And it’s why you, crossing experience with enthusiasm to serve, are perfectly suited for the job.
Mayors, council members, and the like also know the importance of continued learning and keeping rhythm with the broader pulse,...
The process may have been different, but the result will look very familiar to members of the N.C. League of Municipalities.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to use remote meetings and voting via the internet, city and town officials in mid-January approved a new set of Municipal Legislative Goals for the 2021–22 legislative biennium and did so with...
The longest-serving member of the League of Municipalities’ legal team has been presented the North Carolina Judicial Branch’s highest award. Gregg Schwitzgebel, the League’s associate general counsel, received the Friend of the Court honor in December, with accomplishments summarized in a press release from the Administrative Office of the Courts marking the occasion.
The award recognizes Schwitzgebel’s “instrumental role in...
Over a century ago, the N.C. League of Municipalities was formed, first and foremost, as an advocacy organization, to promote policies that would keep North Carolina cities and towns financially strong, vital, and allow for them to reflect the visions of their local residents.
The League has changed a lot over the years, and continues to evolve. Those changes include...
Mark-Anthony Middleton guides Durham into its next chapter, asking, 'Who's not being heard?'
To hear Mark-Anthony Middleton speak—whether it be as a councilman for the City of Durham, on his radio show, or during his ministry at Abundant Hope Christian Church—is to settle into an authoritative space, one between dissent and discussion, protest and policy. It’s an area of balance....
Sylva, Webster, Dillsboro, and the rest of Jackson County have developed into one of the state’s premier destinations. In an area surrounded by beautiful towns and counties, how did their approach to tourism win out?
Sylva and the whole of Jackson County are enjoying a level of tourism unprecedented in their histories. Each year sees a precipitous rise in visitorship....
Halloween is a big deal to communities across North Carolina. How to proceed in 2020 offered no easy solutions.
Sure, local government and Halloween have crossed paths before: extra oversight from police, facilitating community events like trunk-or-treat, or even setting policy on the hours of trick-or-treating. Sometimes town councils even pass ordinances to move it to a night other than...
Lawsuits, extensions, pandemics, and uncertainty defined a 2020 census that may still have some storylines to write yet.
Barring wildcard changes, the 2020 Census counting is done, and has been since mid-October.
At the time of this writing, there was some question as to whether the deliverables—the new state-by-state population tallies to be reported to the president—would be accurate and ready...
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