Changes to Municipal Service District (MSD) Authority

<p>[UPDATE: Additional changes were made in 2016. Those changes are summarized here: 2016 Changes to Municipal Service District (MSD) Authority]</p> <p>In the state budget bill, S.L. 2015-241, the legislature made a few changes to municipal service district (MSD) authority. An MSD is a defined area within a municipality in which the unit’s governing board levies an additional property tax in order to provide projects or extra services that benefit the properties in the district. (Counties have similar authority, referred to as county service districts.) A service district is not a separate government. It is simply a mechanism whereby a local government may raise money to pay for services or projects from those property owners that most directly benefit from the services or projects. (Click here for more information on MSDs.)</p> <p>Under general law, a municipality may define one or more service districts for any of the following functions:</p> Beach erosion control and flood and hurricane protection works Downtown revitalization projects Urban revitalization projects Transit-oriented development projects Drainage projects Sewage collection and disposal systems Off-street parking facilities Watershed improvement, drainage, and water resources development projects <p>(There are a few additional authorized purposes for certain municipalities. See G.S. 160A-536.)</p> <p>The most common municipal service districts are established for downtown or urban area revitalization. A municipality may establish one or more downtown revitalization districts in its central downtown area. It may form an urban area revitalization district in an area that meets any one of these criteria: (1) it is the central business district of the municipality; (2) it consists primarily of existing [...]</p>