This handbook in the Local Government Board Builders Series is intended for elected officials in North Carolina cities and towns, and for persons interested in election to municipal office. It explores the nature of cities and towns in the state, including how they come into existence, how they are run, and how they are financed. It also covers the work of the mayor and council, including the organization of the council, council meetings and actions, and potential liabilities of a mayor or council member. See the Local Government Board Builders Series webpage for other books in the series and related School of Government publications (https: //www.sog.unc.edu/resource-series/local-government-board-builders-series-0).

This book tells a fascinating story on municipal finances for local government practitioners with rich examples, global practices, and good and bad experiences the authors gained in decades of field work.

The Routledge Handbook of International Local Government conducts a rigorous, innovative and distinctive analysis of local government within a comparative, international context. Examining the subject matter with unrivalled breadth and depth, this handbook shows how different cultures and countries develop different institutions, structures and processes over time, yet that all have some features in common – the most obvious of which is the recognition that some decisions are better made, some services better delivered, and some engagement with the state better organised if there is structured organisational expression of the importance of the local dimension of all these factors . Thematically organised, it includes contributions from international experts with reference to the wider context in terms of geographies, local government modes, recent developments and possible further lines of research. It has a wide academic appeal internationally and will steer a course between the two dimensions of mono-jurisdictional studies and ‘cataloguing’ forms of comparison. The Routledge Handbook of International Local Government will be essential reading and an authoritative reference for scholars, students, researchers and practitioners involved in, and actively concerned about, research on local government.