North Carolina General Statutes 115C-530. Operational leases of school buildings and school facilities
Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 115C-530
- Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
- Budget resolution: Legislation in the form of a concurrent resolution setting forth the budget. The budget resolution establishes various budget totals, divides spending totals into functional categories (e.g., transportation), and may include reconciliation instructions to designated committees.
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
(a) Local boards of education may enter into operational leases of real or personal property for use as school buildings or school facilities. Operational leases for terms of less than three years shall not be subject to the approval of the board of county commissioners. Operational leases for terms of three years or longer, including periods that may be added to the original term through the exercise of options to renew or extend, are permitted if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The budget resolution includes an appropriation authorizing the current fiscal year‘s portion of the obligation.
(2) An unencumbered balance remains in the appropriation sufficient to pay in the current fiscal year the sums obligated by the lease for the current fiscal year.
(3) The leases are approved by a resolution adopted by the board of county commissioners. If an operational lease is approved by the board of county commissioners, in each year the county commissioners shall appropriate sufficient funds to meet the amounts to be paid during the fiscal year under the lease.
(4) Any construction, repair, or renovation of the property is in compliance with the requirements of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 115C-521(c) relating to energy guidelines.
For purposes of this section, an operational lease is defined according to generally accepted accounting principles and may be for new or existing buildings.
(b) Local boards of education may enter into contracts for the construction, repair, or renovation of leased property if (i) the budget resolution includes an appropriation authorizing the obligation, (ii) an unencumbered balance remains in the appropriation sufficient to pay in the current fiscal year the sums obligated by the transaction for the current fiscal year, and (iii) the construction, repair, or renovation is in compliance with the requirements of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 115C-521(c) relating to energy guidelines. Construction, repair, or renovation work undertaken or contracted by a private developer is subject to the requirements of Article 8 of Chapter 143 of the N.C. Gen. Stat.. Contracts for new construction and renovation that are subject to the bidding requirements of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 143-129(a) and which do not constitute continuing contracts for capital outlay must be approved by the board of county commissioners.
(c) Operational leases and contracts entered into under this section are subject to approval by the Local Government Commission under Article 8 of Chapter 159 of the N.C. Gen. Stat. if they meet the standards set out in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 159-148(a)(1), 159-148(a)(2), and 159-148(a)(3). For purposes of determining whether the standards set out in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 159-148(a)(3) have been met, only the five hundred thousand dollar ($500,000) threshold shall apply. ?(1997-236, s. 2; 2010-196, s. 3.)