We called it once-a-generation legislation when Congress passed it in 2021. The American Rescue Plan Act provided $1.9 trillion across the nation to restrengthen from the global pandemic that hurt so many communities. For their part, the cities and towns of North Carolina got about $1.3 billion -- and there's an important deadline coming up with it…

While disagreement is a fact of life, and indeed it happens in the government space, there's a lot of potential in resolution. On this episode, we look at how local governing boards across North Carolina can tap into that together. Commit to Civility is a certification course from the N.C. League of Municipalities that explores the dynamics of disc…

At a recent gathering of North Carolina municipal leaders, discussion briefly fell on a viral form of accountability activism from the public: “First Amendment audits," performed by citizen "auditors," with whom many local governments have had unforgettable experiences. Styles and practices of auditing vary, but generally in this context it’s the t…

Municipal Equation over the years has covered the challenges and successes of local law enforcement in a variety of ways. Today, we hear from the League of Municipalities’ in-house Shield Services experts – Tom Anderson and Joe Graziano, both of whom help agencies through the times, able to cite their own experience on the clock as sworn officers –…

Government communications, specifically the kind meant to connect with a diverse mix of everyday people, are always evolving in their reach, variety, and challenges. “I’ve been in the government communications side of things for 12 years, and it has changed dramatically over time,” said City of Hickory Communications and Marketing Manager Dana Kami…

You’ve heard of “artificial intelligence,” or AI, in one sense or another; we’ve been reckoning with the concept through books, movies and academic discussions since its earliest mentions in the 1950s. When you hear about it today, though, it’s typically in the context of “generative AI,” the rapidly evolving web-based tool that humans are using ri…

When a city's or town's governing board adopts a comprehensive plan -- a big document meant to guide or manage growth and other elements of the locality's future -- it's a pretty big deal. Sure, municipalities across North Carolina have them, with insistence from state law. But for an individual city or town, it's a tremendous feat to complete such…

Recently, during a visit to North Carolina by municipal officials from the country of Moldova, they and fellow municipal officials from around Wake County discussed possible "sister city" arrangements, to learn from one another and possibly create mutual resource opportunties. But sister-city arrangements can form for a number of reasons. On this e…

When you think of downtown alleys, what comes to mind? Bad associations, maybe? The place to avoid at night? Ever since childhood, Americans have had the general impression that alleyways are dark, dirty, dangerous -- the right setting for noir crime stories. And that might sometimes be the case. But some U.S. cities are starting to embrace their a…

Welcome to a special LIVE episode of Municpial Equation, NCLM's podcast about cities and towns adapting to change, recorded in December with a panelists about HOW public art is achieved, with expert voices from the realm of local government. This episode was recorded at the N.C. Local Government Budget Association's winter conference. Special thank…

The Town of Cary was recently recognized as one of the top three places to work, nationally, in terms of local government. What does that mean? How is something like that achieved? We speak with Cary Manager Sean Stegall to learn what they're doing differently. Municipal Equation is the podcast about cities and towns adapting to change, from the No…

As various public and private services adapt to evolved consumer expectations, local governments around the country are themselves adapting with in-house "digital service teams" to deliver in a modern, convenient way. In fact, these teams are becoming ubiquitous. But let's back up. What is a digital service team in the context of local government? …

We talk with Lena Geraghty of the National League of Cities about in our cities and towns, and how municipal leaders can play a role in making it as good and inclusive as possible.

Let's take a tour around this state we love so much. On this episode of Municipal Equation, NCLM's podcast about cities and towns adapting to change, we explore how municipalities from the mountains to the coast are programming their American Rescue Plan allocations -- federal funds with transformative potential, and recipient cities are acting in …

Cities and towns so good that vacations become permanent stays. On this episode of Municipal Equation, we talk with VisitNC, the state's promotional and tourism outfit, about its Dream Big in Small Town NC initiative, which aims to connect travelers with the state's alluring small towns -- places so great they're hard to leave, and that's the idea.…

On this episode of Municipal Equation, the podcast about cities adapting to change, we talk with Mayor Hugh Credle of Weldon, N.C., to learn how his small town is thinking big with the help of the river -- the Roanoke -- running just alongside its limits.Av NC League of Municipalities

In April, during his acceptance speech as the new president of the N.C. League of Municipalities, Kings Mountain Mayor Scott Neisler emphasized that public service can be fun, that we can enjoy ourselves in working together, knowing our communities and their histories, charting how they've changed over time and what the future calls for. On this ep…

In 2017, the City of Greensboro logged more than 40 vehicle crash fatalities, at the time a high mark that rattled officials enough to explore ways toward safer travels. This led city officials to a global movement in the form of a scalable initiative called Vision Zero. On this episode, City of Greensboro Transportation Planning Engineer Lydia McI…

It seems inconsistent: pandemic-related, record-level job losses while employers report their own hardships in finding workers. But that’s the nature of what analysts have called one of the strangest labor shortages in memory. Nationally, employers have reported too-tight talent pools or general hard times retaining staff. While much of the labor-s…

The Town of Boone appears to be the first in North Carolina to have shifted from fossil fuels to 100 percent renewable energy for its municipal facilities, and many years ahead of its own timeline for doing so. But how? On this episode of Municipal Equation, the League’s podcast about cities and towns adapting in the face of change, we talk with Bo…

North Carolina cities and towns will receive $1.3 billion in federal American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds in 2021 and 2022. That is a staggering number, and it encompasses just a small piece of the ARP. More funds will be sent to North Carolina counties. Still more is going to the state itself. Never before has money flowed directly to our cities and t…

A new program from the North Carolina League of Municipalities is convening frank talks with municipal officials about racial tensions and inequities in our communities. Learn how DIRECT (Diversity, Inclusion & Racial Equity for Cities & Towns) works for better lives through best practices and historical knowledge. Mark your calendars -- on Feb. 1,…

Audio companion to the North Carolina League of Municipalities' fiscal year 2019-20 annual report. Produced by the League's Communications team.

Iowa Watershed Approach

What could aliens and flying saucers mean to a community and its government? Like, for real. Whether you believe we've actually been visited by interplanetary travelers or whether simple, Earthly explanations cover the sightings and stories, no community has a stronger association with extra terrestrials and UFOs than Roswell, New Mexico. On this e…

Calling climate change an intimidating issue may be understating it. It's massive, right? Being so global and often pulled into intense debate, climate change may have us individuals feeling helpless against it. But there are local-level approaches for making a difference, and municipal governments are sharing best-practices with one another to tha…

Superheroes exist. Yes, in real life. Just like in the comics, they wear masks and uniforms, they nab bad guys, and they spread peace across the city. On this episode, we talk to a couple of them, and their stories are absolutely amazing. Thanks to Sgt. Clint Ferguson and Officer Damon Cole for making this happen. Sgt. Clint Ferguson and Deadpool h…

It's one of the biggest federal projects going, and it affects all of us. What do we need to know about the 2020 Census? It's different from any in the past. How private is the information being collected? What's it's used for? And how can we be sure it's accurate? We're joined by the U.S. Census Bureau, the National League of Cities, state governm…

After a little downtime, we're back -- and let's pick up with a fun one. On this episode, we continue our quest for ways to better connect with or figure out the city you're in -- whether it's your hometown or a place you've never been before. Here, we're documenting and learning the secrets of the city through street photography, as guided by nota…

The FCC's map of broadband availability in the U.S. is a basis for policymaking, funding decisions and planning to close service gaps for communities. But what if we told you that map, as many can testify, is pretty inaccurate? How? Why? What's the fallout, here? As fast internet service increasingly solidifies itself as necessary infrastructure, i…

A little while back, we began talking with police chiefs for a video series on what they're doing to tackle the surging opioid problem locally -- and sat upright at the different approaches of chiefs Tom Bashore in Nashville, N.C., and Bill Hollingsed in Waynesville, N.C. They're seeing results, even as one of the chiefs said this approach initiall…

We revisit the intersection of drones, local government and public need with a trip to Holly Springs, North Carolina, a small town innovating nationally with a pilot project to see commercial food delivery by way of drone. As you can imagine, it's stuffed with logistical and policy questions. Sushi delivery in Iceland Holly Springs press release Ti…

Here's an encore of a favorite: Games Over Gangs. Those dang video games. Can't pull the kids away from them. And there's one city using that to its advantage -- with an innovative partnership that's actually teaching video game development to local youths from a rough neighborhood (yes, they jumped at the offer to become game developers), affordin…

It's summer, and beach towns all along the coast are each receiving thousands and thousands of visitors from across the U.S. Take Atlantic Beach, N.C., for example. It has a year-round population of about 1,500, but in the summer months that number surges to roughly 50,000. How in the world does such a small community -- with limited staffing and r…

Muni Replay! Here's one of our most popular episodes. Meanwhile, we're headed to the coast to record a special live episode, which we'll bring you soon! When you think of downtown alleys, what comes to mind? Bad associations, maybe? The place to avoid at night? Ever since childhood, Americans have had the general impression that alleyways are dark,…

Let's catch up on driverless cars, shall we? Last year, we did a primer on autonomous vehicles and policy implications, but it seems like a lot can change in short time with this technology. What's the latest? How does the public feel about it? What are some example scenarios of how we as people might interact with autonomous vehicles in our day-to…

The local media landscape is pretty fluid right now: extinct or shrunken newspapers, online-only outlets, freshly grown media entities that may or may not be objective. What's all this mean for local government? Is a reliable, objective media purely about watchdog dynamics? What about when local government needs to get its messages out? What happen…

A preview of Episode 51.

For our 50th episode, we're taking a break from the frequent talk of policy, economics and technology to tour the local dialects of the United States, the spoken identifiers of a city or region. Why do people in Chicago, or St. Louis, or the Outer Banks of North Carolina sound the way they do? What's in a voice? And what's happening that's changing…

A preview of Episode 50.

***REBROADCAST with UPDATES*** We've all heard about the hard times that honeybees are going through and the huge implications for us all. But how do cities fit into all this? There's a surprising compatibility between cities and bees, and a role local governments can play. This episode comes just ahead of National Pollinator Week (June 19-25, thou…

Of all the political, economic and cultural concerns of today, the “urban-rural divide” is no slouch. But sometimes it’s oversimplified, devoid of nuance, or turned into an adversarial narrative (i.e. “urban vs. rural”), instead of carefully analyzed for greater-good fixes. On this episode, we delve into a recent report that pulls apart that narrat…

Out on April 17. Thanks.

The people say it's time to close the broadband gap, and really find a way to make internet speeds adequate for the modern age, for everyone, from areas in cities where the service isn't enough, to rural areas that lack access altogether. A new report shows us how to get there. On this episode, we hear from the report's authors along with state- an…

A preview of Episode 47. Look for it April 3.

How do dogs figure into economic development? It's no joke. Ask the analysts who take economic vitals from man's best friend. Ask the industries that profit majorly from pet ownership. Or ask the Town of Benson, which em-barked on a dog-focused project to fetch economic bone-efits. Quartz piece connecting dogs and economic development - Dog elected…

We'll be back with a new episode next week, but I'm also working on a a lot of other episodes and new ideas. I want to hear from you on what should be different about this podcast, as we've been doing it for a couple years now and it's time to solicit comment. Feel free to keep sharing ideas for episodes while you're at it. Thanks. -Ben…

When the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) looks into the ailments of a particular community, it’s safe to assume the concern is infection or some similar local threat to human bodily health. So when the CDC started investigating the youth violence plaguing Wilmington, Del. -- a first-of-its-kind study -- it was different. But not in…

A preview of Episode 45

There's a lot of exploration on part of local government for better community engagement. With such a diversity of communication and preference out there, it seems pretty complex. But what if it isn't? What if the simplest idea -- even one that hasn't been tried before -- is the key? On this episode we check out Detroit, Mich., and its novel creati…