The COVID-19 public health crisis is giving rise to an unprecedented economic crisis. Economic activity across the nation has slowed considerably, and many small businesses—which were operating successfully only one month ago—are now struggling to survive. As their bills pile up but no revenue comes … Read more

Economic activity can be disrupted by any number of unanticipated emergencies, ranging from natural disasters to virus outbreaks like COVID-19. When these events threaten the survival of small businesses, the owners may turn to government for assistance. One legal and effective way for a government … Read more

Along the eastern seaboard, the intensity and frequency of severe weather caused by tropical storm systems and hurricanes is expected to increase. Most recently in North Carolina, Hurricanes Matthew and Florence caused severe damage to private property and public infrastructure. As similar storms ar … Read more

Economic development appropriations pursuant to G.S. 158-7.1 have long required a properly-noticed public hearing prior to approval. When the appropriations involve business location incentives, the notice and hearing requirements take on constitutional significance as a result of North Carolina Sup … Read more

Why would you, as a local CED professional, hesitate to bring in a federal or state program to your community? Why do some federal and state programs struggle to recruit and maintain local partnerships? Many federal and state programs rely on community-based partners to implement and/or deliver serv … Read more

We often hear “measure what matters,” usually in the general context of discussions about what you are measuring. The Federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is considering an important change in how we measure inflation rather than generally what we measure when it comes to a number of signif … Read more

Do you have a revitalization project that is a local government priority? Did you know that local governments can obtain real estate development feasibility analysis by UNC graduate student teams at no charge? Since 2012, UNC faculty and staff associated with the Development Finance Initiative at th … Read more

Last week, both the Senate and House of the North Carolina General Assembly included an extension of the state’s Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit (HTC) in their budget bills, allowing the credit to continue until January 1, 2024. The fact that both chambers included the extension in their budgets … Read more

One of the better and more practical resources on community collaboration that I have utilized over the years is a little monograph published by the Wilder Foundation titled Collaboration: What Makes it Work (authors Paul W. Mattessich and Kirsten M. Johnson). I’ve long appreciated the practical adv … Read more

What could make the difference between a water or wastewater utility making it through an event like Hurricane Florence with relatively few impacts, and one that has major, lasting problems? Imagine two North Carolina utilities, just over the county line from one another, with the same assets that a … Read more