Like in other fast-growing states or regions, housing affordability can be a difficult, sometimes persistent, issue for North Carolina communities. Wilmington, in the southeast, is no exception, but it's among cities working on the issue with priority and results that are expanding local options. On this episode, we ask Mayor Bill Saffo, chairman of the NC Metropolitan Mayors Coalition, about the nature of the issue in his area and how local efforts and partnerships have made a difference.

The League's Municipal Equation podcast closes out 2025 with a through-line on the year, with takeaways from monthly episodes and their common feature of people working as one to advance all. Since its inception, Municipal Equation has been about idea-sharing and exploration of local government's many interesting stories. We'd like to thank all of our expert guests and you for being such a supportive and responsive audience with great feedback and ideas for future content. Together, we released our 100th episode this year! Municipal Equation is available through your preferred podcast service.

We've had many great occasions on this podcast to highlight different ways local governments maintain warmth and trust with the community. For our 100th episode, coinciding with Thanksgiving week, we chat with the Town of Davidson about its Shop With A Cop program underway right now, in which local police officers give children from economically disadvantaged families an unforgettable holiday experience. Other towns have similiar initiatives; Davidson walks us through how theirs works, how its supported, and the community ripple effects that show it's more than just a holiday feelgood concept.

This historic, fascinating and expansive world of municipal clerks is the focus our latest episode. Folks who believe clerks mostly just serve to prepare agenda packets and record council vote outcomes might be surprised by how far and wide the job goes. It's one of the most public-facing roles in town hall; generally, the clerk is the one employee that law requires municipal governments to have. Municipal Equation traveled to Cherokee recently for the annual conference and 50th anniversary of the NC Association of Municipal Clerks to record perspectives, wisdom and nuance that people might not realize about the profession. Learn more about the NC Association of Municipal Clerks: https://www.ncamc.com/

Cary Town Manager Sean Stegall is on the podcast discussing his new book, "Top of the Arc: Cocreating a More Innovative, Adaptive, and Effective Local Government." From the book's promotional materials: "Instilling a 'people first' philosophy, Stegall and the elected Cary Town Council are reshaping local government through collaboration, experimentation, innovation, and adaptation. Cary remains an exceptional place to call home, an inspiring destination for visitors, and a compelling case study for helping keep cities strong."

We're joined by Stephanie McGarrah of the NC Department of Commerce for a discussion of resources to rebuild homes that Hurricane Helene damaged or destroyed in the North Carolina mountains exactly one year ago. We cover the Renew NC initiative, its Single-Family Housing Program (https://renewnc.org/), and other relief, including free assistance that NCLM offers, for the people of western NC.

As with other episodes of Municipal Equation, this one originated from a casual, hallway conversation with a local government official. In this instance, podcast host Ben Brown was chatting at a League event with Mayor TJ Cawley of Morrisville, who'd noted the progress there in a major project to essentially build a downtown from scratch, as Morrisville up to this point hasn't had one. The idea is to create that convergence of residence, business variety, fun and identity that can bring locals together and give outsiders a new destination. Several years ago, we'd looked at how Kannapolis re-energized from hard times in part by remaking its downtown district, and so we brought Morrisville leaders onto Municipal Equation to ask how they imagined their project (a public-private pursuit called Morrisville Town Center), how they've involved the public, and how they intend to fill it with a distinctly local vibe.

Are electric vehicles, or EVs, right for your municipal fleet? They've surged in everyday popularity over the past 20 years and now are available from most of the mainstream automakers. Increasingly, governments and agencies are bringing on EVs, and peers are researching the merits. But EVs have evolved a lot, and it's easy to talk about them in general conversation with outdated info. So, we reached out to an expert to better understand today's context and possibilities with municipal government use. On this episode, guest John Bonitz of the NCSU Clean Energy Technology Center helps us out with questions about EVs, market points, costs, infrastructure needs and more. Notes: John Bonitz, NCSU Clean Energy Technology Center

Public leaders often find themselves in situations of disagreement -- and that's not inherently bad. "Effective leadership isn't about avoiding disagreement," says Matt Lehrman, a civic facilitator and past CityVision keynote speaker. He adds: "Disagreement isn't just natural; it's necessary." On this half-hour episode, Lehrman of Social Prosperity Partners circles back with Municipal Equation to go over the overarching importance of a shared sense of purpose and effective communication points so leaders can discuss disagreements and other intersections productively and fulfill the reality that our communities' people depend on it.

One of Municipal Equation's favorite topics to cover is the kind of partnership and idea-sharing that can make success easier for everyone. When the City of Marion learned about a commerce-boosting concept that seemed to work for other cities, they tried it, and it worked for them. When the City of Sanford learned about it from Marion, they tried it, and it worked for them, too. In this instance, it was two cities in separate parts of the state with the initiative to directly trade know-how, and it went so well that Sanford circled back and helped Marion with resources. On this episode, we dig into that idea-sharing, how it started, and how it all worked, joined by leaders from both cities to hear about the GEM program in Marion and the RISE program in Sanford and how they've worked with residents to create a more vibrant local business scene. Marion's GEM program Sanford's RISE program https://www.nclm.org/