County Legal Authority to Fund Non-Mandated Social Services Programs

<p>State law requires North Carolina counties to administer and provide a number of social services and public assistance programs described in Chapter 108A of the North Carolina General Statutes, including (among others) Work First, Food and Nutrition Services, Medicaid, child protective services, adoption services, adult protective services, and guardianship services. These mandated programs and services are funded through a combination of federal, state, and/or county dollars (in varying proportions depending on the program or service). In addition to funding these mandated programs and services, each county also has statutory authority to create and fund optional, non-mandated social services programs. This post discusses that authority.</p> <p>Foundational Considerations</p> <p>Before addressing social services funding, it’s important to consider two basic requirements for spending public funds.</p> <p>First, every expenditure of public funds must satisfy the North Carolina Constitution’s “public purpose requirement.” See N.C. Const. Art. V, Sect. 2(1).  In order to satisfy this requirement, the expenditure must (1) involve a reasonable connection with “the convenience and necessity” of the unit of government (e.g. serve a legitimate aim of government) and (2) must benefit the public generally, as opposed to primarily benefitting a particular individual or private entity. My colleague Kara Millonzi discusses that requirement in much more detail in this blog post.</p> <p>Second, a county must have statutory authority to spend public funds for a particular public purpose. See  N.C. Const. Art. V, Sect. 2(2) and Art. VII, Sect. 1. “[A] county has no power to appropriate funds unless authorized to do so by the General Assembly.” Hughey v. Cloninger, 297 N.C. 86, 88 (1979).</p> <p>Authority to Levy [...]</p>