Author Archives: Amanda Nicole Stratton

Regionalization isn’t just about mergers and consolidations. It’s shared equipment and personnel, emergency communication plans, joint purchasing agreements, bulk service contracts, and so much more — and chances are, your utility is already doing some version of it.

Join the UNC School of Government Environmental Finance Center for an open, practitioner-focused discussion where local government water and wastewater utilities can share what they’re already doing, explore what they’re considering, and get honest feedback from peers facing the same challenges. The SOG EFC will open with a brief presentation drawing on findings from its recent legislatively directed study on regional partnerships, framing the wide landscape of collaboration options available to utilities.

But the heart of this session is your experience. We want to hear what’s working, what’s stalled, and what questions you haven’t been able to answer yet. We’ll also use this time to begin building a network of utilities committed to learning from one another on this topic. The SOG EFC will be gathering input on what resources, tools, or ongoing support would be most useful as you navigate partnership opportunities.

Whether you’re deep into a regional arrangement or just starting to think about it, come ready to talk, share ideas, and ask questions.

Who Should Attend? Utility staff, managers, finance staff, and elected officials who want to share their experiences with others and learn more about regional partnerships

When? May 21, from 9am-11am on Zoom

How? Register now at https://unc.zoom.us/meeting/register/nQvsEkZOR-OPMCvUSCMMgA

Join other WNC communities to share successes, lessons learned, and ongoing challenges in the wake of Hurricane Helene. Register now, as space is limited! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ridge-to-river-rebuilding-for-resilience-wnc-tickets-1980390042929?aff=oddtdtcreator

“This bulletin provides an overview of notable changes that the General Assembly made to the laws related to planning and development regulations during the 2025 legislative long session. The changes are organized by topic, covering such areas as zoning (including down-zoning), infrastructure, amendments to 2024 Helene-recovery legislation, environmental regulations, the State Building Code, and local bills of interest. Like earlier summary bulletins in this series, this one includes a checklist to help local governments ensure that they are complying with amended state law.”

Download your copy here: https://www.sog.unc.edu/publications/bulletins/2025-north-carolina-legislation-related-planning-and-development

Starting February 9, Renew NC is offering a prescreening opportunity to help potential applicants, such as local governments or nonprofit organizations, prepare for the upcoming launch of the Commercial District Revitalization (CDR) Program and the Community Infrastructure (CI) Program. While not required for program application submission, prescreening is strongly encouraged. The process provides an opportunity for interested local governments and nonprofit organizations to identify and develop a CDBG-DR project in a technical assistance environment.

More information on the Community Infrastructure Prescreening found here.

More information on the Commercial District Revitalization Program Prescreening found here.

“The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission have entered into a $290 million Good Neighbor Agreement to support Hurricane Helene recovery efforts in Western North Carolina. The agreement — the largest of its kind for the Forest Service — will speed up recovery efforts, create new jobs, reduce overall costs and strengthen communities impacted by the hurricane.”

Read more here.

LFNC is a fellowship program that aims to create the next generation of local government leaders in North Carolina. LFNC places recent college graduates in high-impact positions in local governments across the state to work on transformative community projects. Fellows receive up to three weeks of training prior to placement and ongoing training and support from the UNC School of Government. Currently, 70% of local government leaders in North Carolina are eligible to retire, and our program is designed to prepare the next generation of local government leaders! Check out this video to learn more about the fellowship program or view this interview on CBS This Morning! 

The deadline to apply is March 6 – the application takes less than ten minutes to complete, and you do not have to commit to the program until after you have been accepted as a potential host site. You can access the application here. Thanks to our philanthropic supporters, significant subsidies are available to jurisdictions with demonstrated need. The final subsidy amount will be determined by the total applicant pool. The cost to host a full-time fellow could be as low as $10,000.  Please navigate to these links to access an informational flyer, a slide deck for elected officials, and a frequently asked questions webpage for you to consider. Please contact the program’s director with any questions at russell@sog.unc.edu. 

The program will host optional virtual informational sessions for interested governments on the following dates. You can add the times to your calendar by clicking the links below. 

Wednesday – March 4, at 12 pm 

Thursday – Feb 19, at 2 pm 

Recycling Infrastructure: Proposals are being accepted now through February 20, 2026 at 5:00pm for the first phase of this grant opportunity. Due to the recent winter storm, the deadline has been extended to allow communities more time to complete proposals. https://www.deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/environmental-assistance-and-customer-service/recycling-and-materials-management/programs-offered/grant-opportunities/helene-recovery-recycling-infrastructure-grant#Whenareproposalsdue-19620

Streamflow Rehabilitation Program: Round 1 deadline has been extended by 2 weeks due to ongoing FEMA site assessments. New deadline is February 20, 2026. https://www.ncagr.gov/divisions/soil-water-conservation/programs-initiatives/strap/strap-applications#Whoiseligible-14564

Water and wastewater systems were among the most impacted infrastructure in WNC during Helene. As rebuilding happens and we look towards creating resilience during future events, finding ways to work together feels more important than ever. This blog post outlines the authority given to local governments and public authorities when thinking creatively about how to be best prepared when they need to rely on neighboring utilities and provides tools and practical examples for doing so.

Building More Resilient Water and Wastewater Systems Through Interlocal Partnerships – Coates’ Canons NC Local Government Law

As local governments recovering from Helene face not only the potential for an uptick in building permit requests but also a shortage of building inspectors, this new resource from UNC School of Government faculty member, Obed Pasha, highlights some promising ways to meet timeliness requirements. With these findings, local governments in recovery mode may be able to leverage the insights from other North Carolina jurisdictions as they look for ways to make it all happen in the post-Helene environment.

https://www.sog.unc.edu/publications/reports/promising-practices-timely-completion-building-inspections-north-carolina

In the aftermath of Tropical Storm Helene, local governments in the impacted areas of North Carolina had an unprecedented number of challenges. Seeing the great needs of governments in the region, a partnership was born in an attempt to align resources, identify gaps, and have a coordinated strategy for helping. Southwestern Commission, Land of Sky Regional Council, High Country Council of Governments, Foothills Regional Commission, Western Piedmont Council of Governments, Centralina Regional Council, GROW NC, the Western Carolina University Local Government Training Program, the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, the North Carolina League of Municipalities, and the UNC School of Government decided that an essential element would be a platform where both partners and local governments could go to identify funding sources, training calendars, contact information, and a resource library. From this, the NC Local Government Disaster Recovery Portal was created.

An additional element for successful coordination identified by the partner organizations was a navigator role. So, let me introduce myself. I am Amanda Stratton, Western North Carolina Recovery Navigator. As someone from (and living in) Asheville, I witnessed firsthand what happened when Helene hit. As someone with a decade of local government experience, I knew what local officials were facing. Joining the School of Government and our partner organizations in supporting the region in recovery is a great honor, and I look forward to keeping this portal up to date with relevant and useful information. If you see anything missing or have additional questions, please reach out to me. When you aren’t sure who to contact or where to look for information or resources, consider the portal and myself a first stop.

Amanda Stratton | astratton@sog.unc.edu | 919-445-0501