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

One of the tools that local governments utilize in community revitalization efforts are Community Development Block Grants (CDBGs). This U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program provides grants to local governments to fund projects such as affordable housing, infrastructure imp … Read more

In previous CED posts, the definition and benefits and disadvantages of a revolving loan fund structure have been described. For review purposes, a revolving loan fund is often defined as a replenishing source of capital or funding from which loans are made. Some of these same posts describe this fi … Read more

This morning, legislation sits on the President of the United States’ desk that will advance policies and funding for the nation’s water infrastructure. Assuming he signs it, the Water Resources Reform and Development Act (WRRDA) of 2014 will authorize funding for existing and new water, wastewater, … Read more

The Community Development and Block Grant Program (CDBG) is one of the key public sources of funds for community water and sewer projects in North Carolina and across the country. While the amount of funds available for water and sewer projects is not as large as other federal programs such as joint … Read more

Funding sources to capitalize revolving loan funds is the fourth topic in a series on tools local governments can use to assist small businesses. As discussed in Part II of this blog post series, local governments across North Carolina are using revolving loan funds to support their small businesses … Read more

Small business success is one of the cornerstones to the vitality of our communities. A variety of tools are available to local governments interested in supporting their small businesses. In this continuing series of blog posts about how local governments can assist small businesses, we will review … Read more

Kendra Jensen is a UNC-Chapel Hill graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in Public Administration. She is currently working with the Kerr-Tar Council of Governments through the Carolina Economic Revitalization Corps (CERC) Late last month, master barber and Vance County resident and business o … Read more

Tyler Mulligan is a School of Government faculty member. Have leaders in your community been using words like “green economy” and “green jobs?” What role can a local government play in enhancing the local green economy and creating some green jobs? This post explores one possible role: local governm … Read more