The Special Closed Meeting and the Post Game Show
The Beaufort County Board of County Commissioners met in closed session with our attorney, Neil Yarborough, to discuss, as possible defendants, a lawsuit that could continue to cost the Beaufort County taxpayers a considerable amount of money. As most of you know, I am a Beaufort County Commissioner, and I did sit in that closed session that lasted one hour, and thirty or more minutes. I cannot divulge the merits, or the discussion of that meeting, due the county's attorney client privilege, however, I can report the comments by Neil Yarborough to the press.
The aforementioned infamous lawsuit was enjoined against the Beaufort County Board of County Commissioners and therefore, the taxpayers of Beaufort County for over 2 millions dollars, but was awarded instead the much lower figure of 756,000.00 by a jury of their peers in Beaufort County Superior, with William Griffin the presiding judge. Beaufort County was ordered to pay a portion of that money, with 412,000.00 still owed as of this article.
After an less than successful judgment in the North Carolina Court of Appeals in Raleigh in 2007, the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners elected to go before the North Carolina Supreme Court, with their mainstay attorney, Neil Yarborough, in the point position. On August 28, 2009, the
North Carolina Supreme Court, in a majority vote, entered a judgment that Judge William Griffin gave improper directions to that jury of the definition of the word "needed," and sent the case back to Beaufort County to be retried in Superior Court.
After nearly four years of jockeying for position and soaking the Beaufort County tax payers for well over 350,000.00 of legal fees (for the moneys it took to bring suit against the commissioners / taxpayers and the money it took to defend it), the Beaufort County Board of Education is no closer to receiving the balance of the judgment, whose award now appears to be in error. The problem now appears from information reported in the other periodicals within the county of Beaufort is that the North Carolina Association of School Boards will continue to finance this School Board's continued legal misadventures to further the credibility of the other 115 school boards across North Carolina right to continue to sue their county commissioners, and therefore, their taxpayers to further insatiable need for money that remarkably, they will, more often than not, spend very poorly. That's my considered opinion after thirteen years of very close observation. Here below are the comments rendered, on behalf of the Beaufort County's Government, by the Commissioners' attorney, Neil Yarborough, made October 1, 2009:
"After conferring with my clients, the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners, I regret that the North Carolina Association of School Boards has chosen to support and fund the Beaufort County Board of Education in continuing a lawsuit that will end up costing taxpayers; just because that state association desires to support other statewide lawsuits, like Beaufort County's, where the school board sues for more money than the commissioners feel that they need."
Attorney Yarborough continued that he had been told that the aforementioned petition could be filed as early as October 2, 2009, and "such an action will put the Beaufort County Commissioners at risk of defending this petition."
Attorney Yarborough continued by embellishing his previously statement, "While the Board of Education’s legal expenses will be paid by the North Carolina Association of School Boards, the legal expenses to defend the County Commission will be borne directly by the taxpayers."
"Furthermore, the lawyers representing the State Boards of Education, who are sponsoring this local Board of Education, wish to create an atmosphere that will foment more litigation between both parties."
Attorney Yarborough continued, "The North Carolina Association of School Boards, through their lawyers, are re-stirring this lawsuit, that we thought was settled, and the end result will be an additional, unnecessary expense to the Beaufort County taxpayers."
Our attorney finished by stating, “The Beaufort County Commissioners are willing to stop this thing right now and not seek the 412,000.00 if the Board of Education will stop the petition. They believe it is time to work cooperatively, for the benefit of the children of Beaufort County, and quit spending money on legal expenses that must be entirely borne by the Beaufort County taxpayer.”
After digesting Attorney Yarborough's comments to the local press is there any wonder as to whom the county commissioners represent as the only major taxing authority in Beaufort County? This is a position that I have taken seriously, and at this moment in time, to some extent, the balance of the county commissioners are representing the interest of the those who pay the freight in Beaufort County - the taxpayer.
It was always the interests of the majority of the county commissioners to represent the interests of the taxpayers to the extent that a message must be sent to the local school board: If you are going to sue the commissioners, and therefore, the taxpayers for large sums of money to coverup for your recent, and thus continued, excruciatingly poor management decisions, we are going to make it as painful as possible to collect.
To that end, we have been successful. Some of you may question that wisdom, believing that we should not be sending that money out of Beaufort County in the pockets of overpaid attorneys, and on one level, I do agree, however, with the broader view that I possess, I will not be pushed into a corner, and to the extent I represent the taxpayers of Beaufort County, be robbed of not only their money, but my principles.
