Comments for An update from the front | Eastern NC Now

Kabuki theater continues at the City Council meetings as pre written motions are prepared by "employees" for the members to read like the rubber stamps they are.

These preprepared motions are Not basic, they contain propaganda? Why do that? Isnt a vote on a straight up issue enough?? Nope because they "employees" want to "manage" our opinions. So why doesnt a Council member ask, WHO wrote this preprepared Motion for me to read? Who, not which Dept? Does the Council member ever stop to think...why am I reading this insertion of propaganda? Why dont I just NOT read that part? Or is the Council under pressure to conform?

Sooo not only that but now taxpayer are buying cell phones for th Council at $60 each per month. Do we also pay for cellphones for the CM, the City Attorney, the Dept heads too?

TAXPAYERS Want To Know!
Also, isnt the County now being sued for activities of Social Services?

Commented: Wednesday, January 14th, 2026 @ 10:28 am By: Washingtonian

David: The last city council was definitely a "team," and while I am not privy to how the last city council built that "team", it was a "team" nonetheless when they raised taxes 28% in one year.

Beaufort County is 314 years old, and that 28% tax raise for any government "team" within this county, those with the statutory police power of taxation; that exorbitant tax raise must be a record raise ... And it was unconscionable, governmentally feckless, and an incredible sign of gross incompetence.

Nick Fritz and Company will continue to have my unyielding support as long as they endeavor to discover and remedy the local corruption of waste, fraud and abuse.

Commented: Monday, January 12th, 2026 @ 4:24 pm By: Stan Deatherage

David, that is the way democracy works. We have a three to two split on the city council, and it is hardly the first time that has happened in Washington. We had a corrupt tax-and-spend regime, the Sadler Sadsacks who were tossed out of office by the voters. Two remnants of that machine are still in place and will oppose the efforts of the Tax Cut Team to straighten out our city. We can expect that. One of those Sadler Sadsacks doesn't even live in Washington, and if he had any integrity he would run in Greenville where he really lives. The Sadler Sadsacks are never going to come toward those who have been elected to clean up the city, and the latter would be betraying their voters if they moved toward the Sadler Sadsacks. Everybody singing Humbaya is not going to happen and should not happen given the chemistry of this council. WE are fortunate that the evil corrupt Sadler machine is history.

Commented: Monday, January 12th, 2026 @ 2:55 pm By: John Steed

Nick if you cant get the various City Depts to reply to you, what hope is there for the rest of us??? You are in a position of authority, so Do something about it. That is what we elected you for!

Commented: Saturday, January 10th, 2026 @ 10:47 am By: Befuddled

We here at Eastern North Carolina Now are certainly happy that Mayor Pro-Tem Fritz submits posts to this publication, just as happy as we would be if anyone of Mr. Fritz's writing ability would do the same.

Commented: Saturday, January 10th, 2026 @ 10:43 am By: Stan Deatherage

Nick, because of all the resignations and retiring of old council members, its difficult to judge if there is still a secret Cabal in Washington Govt. But know this, if it still exists, its M.O. is to wear you down, tire you out, and make you give up on getting any answers. Dont say it cant happen to you, because it can. At which point of course you will become just another rubber stamp for whatever the CityManager and his loyal employees want you to do and think.
As a Council member, maybe you should stop being so NICE with them. Demand results or you will call them out at public meetings!

Commented: Saturday, January 10th, 2026 @ 8:52 am By: Washingtonian

Auditor, you are certainly correct that this information is held inside the city's books. Auditors can not add or delete information, only verify and perhaps reorganize. The problem is that the books are not open to the public. Since November 4th, I've requested three simple bits of information several times: 1. If any debt has been added during this fiscal year, and what our current total debt is. 2. What percentage of the budgeted amounts has been spent in each fund and how much we are below budget. 3. If we wanted to pay off any debt, how much is unrestricted and available for us to do so. When I asked Greenville for this information I received it in a few hours. I have yet to receive it from Washington.

Your accusation of my ignorance or deception is curious. I do not claim to be anything more than a citizen-representative reporting back to my fellow citizens. While I am certainly not a municipal accountant, and I suspect neither are the other 99.99% of residents and former city councilmen and mayors, I have a rudimentary grasp of finance and accounting. Like most, I rely on the high-paid director of finance, the finance department, and the expensive outside annual audit for information. When none of that information is supplied expeditiously or intelligibly, I have little recourse except to become suspcious and seek outside opinions. If you have this skillset, I highly encourage you to investigate and I would greatly appreciate your feedback.

My goals are pretty straightforward. I want to lower our property tax rate and naturally the budget is a fairly big part of that. The audit is inordinately important to me because I cannot get these numbers from our finance department and I'm trusting that I will get them from the auditors.

I do not leap to the conclusion that things are nefarious. The state auditor said that sloppiness is far more common than graft. What I am saying is that this information has been elusive. I cannot speak to past experience or history, I can only speak to my personal experience since November 4th. And I intend to continue relaying that experience openly to all who care to hear about it. I appreciate your reading and I appreciate any advice and criticism.

Commented: Friday, January 9th, 2026 @ 6:03 pm By: Nick Fritz

Auditor, there has been lots of funny business going on by the defeated regime, and there is little doubt the records left behind are a mess. It would not be surprising if there was a lot of shredding going on during their way out. The remnants of the outgoing regime resisted getting qualified people in to look into their mess, but there is now a very highly qualified person in interim city manager Bobby Roberson to start picking up the pieces. Bobby has a very thorough understanding of local government. One thing that needs to be looked into and clawed back is the corrupt golden parachute given to the old city manager.

Commented: Friday, January 9th, 2026 @ 3:58 pm By: Concerned Taxpayer

The manager “shall appoint & suspend or remove all city officers & employees… except the city attorney” ... in accordance w *PERMISSION* by the council.

- The manager hires, as long as the council permits it
- The council sets the rules, & can change who hires what.
The council can legally:
- Take hiring authority back.
- Assign hiring authority to an interim manager or even to an existing Dept Head.
- Create a new position and choose who fills it
- CHANGE THE STRUCTURE so that certain positions report directly to the council.
The council is not locked into the default structure.

There is no statute that says the council must wait for a manager to act.
They are not powerless.
The idea that the council could only act on three positions is incorrect.
The idea that they were “powerless” without a manager is incorrect.
The idea that they had no authority to initiate anything is incorrect.

Commented: Monday, January 5th, 2026 @ 10:34 pm By: Befuddled

SOURCES say: A Municipal charter cannot override or diminish authority granted to CityCouncil under NC state law. The charter operates w/in the framework of th GeneralStatutes, not above them.
Under G.S. 160A‑67,146,148
-“govt & general managemt of th city shall b vested in th CC.”
-CCouncil has th authority to “create,change,abolish,&reorganize” offices,positions, depts,&agencies.
-the CM administers th govt undr th general direction&control of CC.

Statutes make clear:
The council is th governing authority.
Th managr is th administrator.
The managr’s powers come from council,not th othr way around.
Council’s authority doesnt disappear when th manager position is vacant.
The charter-section simply describes a council‑manager form of govt,where th council sets policy& th CM carries out admin duties. It doesnt transfer th council’s statutory powers to CM,nor does it
require “all executive action” to pass through a CM.If attempted,it would b invalid bec a charter cant contradict stateLaw

Commented: Saturday, January 3rd, 2026 @ 12:23 pm By: Befuddled

Thank you so much for the updates!

Commented: Friday, January 2nd, 2026 @ 10:26 pm By: Jann

This is an excellent and timely report from Nick Fritz. Washington and Beaufort County truly stand at the threshold of long-term success—if we can align around the right leadership and a shared vision.
I strongly believe in synergism. If our City Council, County Commission, and Economic Development Commission could work in concert rather than in silos, we could make meaningful progress for both the city and the county. Consider the assets already in place: within a 30-mile radius of Washington, there are approximately twenty-five boat builders. Our airport was once positioned to become a drone development center for the East Coast—what happened to that opportunity? With our waterfront, natural beauty, and quality of life, Washington should be an attractive bedroom community for Greenville.
So what is the primary obstacle? In my view, it is our school system. Private and charter schools can play a role, but the real need is a return to strong, efficient public schools—strategically loca

Commented: Friday, January 2nd, 2026 @ 10:09 am By: Buzz Cayton