Kara Millonzi

Kara Millonzi joined the School of Government in 2006. She attained the rank of full professor in July 2017, and was awarded the Albert and Gladys Hall Coates Distinguished Term Professorship in September 2017. She specializes in local government finance law, general county law, and incorporation. She administers the Coates’ Canons Local Government Law Blog, and has authored well over 100 posts on issues related to local government law and finance. Millonzi also administers NC Finance Connect, an online community portal, centered around the topic of local government finance. She has authored numerous publications, including A Guide to Billing and Collecting Public Enterprise Utility Fees for Water, Wastewater, and Solid Waste Services, Introduction to Local Government Finance (3d. edition), and The Governance and Funding Structure of North Carolina Public Schools. She teaches several core finance courses and directs the NC County Attorneys Conference and Fundamentals Workshop and Local Government Finance Officers Conference each year. (A complete list of Kara’s blogs, courses, publication, and other resources are located under the corresponding tabs on this page.)

Before joining the School, Millonzi practiced law with Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault, LLP in Boston and clerked for the Honorable Louis F. Oberdorfer, United States District Court for the District of Columbia. She is a member of the North Carolina State Bar and the Bar of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Millonzi earned a BA in economics, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from the University at Buffalo and an MA in economics from the University of Maryland at College Park. She earned a JD, with highest honors, Order of the Coif, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she served as editor in chief of the North Carolina Law Review.

Fields of Expertise Airport Authorities (Legal) Boards of County Commissioners (Legal) Budget Preparation and Enactment Capital Planning, Budgeting, and Finance City or County Attorneys County and Municipal Finance County Government (Legal and Procedural) E-Discovery Elected Officials (Legal and Procedural) Fire Protection (Legal) Fire Tax Districts Governing Boards (Legal and Procedural) Interlocal and Regional Cooperation (Legal) Local Government Law Municipal Incorporation (Legal and Procedural) Open Meetings Public Enterprise Organization and Financing Public Records Public Records (Tax and Finance) Public School Finance Public Schools Solid Waste Management (Legal) Special Assessments Tax Districts Water and Sewerage Services (Legal)