The February Third Beaufort County Commissioners Meeting | Eastern North Carolina Now

The February Third Beaufort County Commissioners Meeting

BY: HOOD RICHARDSON

I have heard several opinions about Beaufort County commissioners’ meetings from those who watch them on TV.  One opinion, “These meetings give outsiders a bad opinion of Beaufort County”.  Another opinion, “Why cannot all of you be civil and polite, just sit there, vote and go home”.  Another, “Meetings are like watching molasses run, how dull”.

These are political events.  There will always be different opinions.  The Board cannot make informed decisions unless they hear from all sides.  New information is presented by members of the board, the public and county employees.  Meetings are required by law to be open to the public because we are spending the public’s money.  In a democracy the public is entitled to know.  Yes, we are making sausage, so, how much sausage you want.

Providing convenient and economical service for the disposal of construction debris has been an issue for some time.  Construction debris is not allowed at the roll off sites.  The annual fee of $185.00 is paid by each household in Beaufort County.  The fee pays for the disposal of domestic or household trash.  Construction and yard debris is handled differently.  Construction debris is from the demolition of a building, the remodeling of a bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, etc.  Normally, contractors dispose of this material.  However, some homeowners do their own remodeling, demolition and disposal.

There is only one place sponsored by Beaufort County to dispose of Construction debris.  However, there are other commercial operations that dispose of construction debris.  The county site is located off Flanders Filters Road.  Until recently it has been open Monday through Friday.  Residents who work day-jobs have difficulty using the site.  Commissioners opened the facility on Saturday during the past six months and kept records to see how much the public used the facility.  The answer is: Not very much.  Some Saturdays there was no use at all.  In light of this, a decision was made to open the facility on the first Saturday of each month.  Should that be a holiday, it will be open on the second Saturday.  We will run this schedule for six months.  Ultimately, if there is a small amount of public use, the facility will not be opened on Saturday.

While Commissioners are sitting as a board conducting the business of the County, we have no way to know when we are being filmed.  During interviews with County Attorney candidates there was confusion.  We were first informed these interviews were not being filmed.  I visited the control room during an interview.  The control room is more than 25 feet from our meeting room.  I discovered the interview was in fact being filmed.  There has been confusion in knowing when video/audio filming of any meeting in the commissioners’ meeting room is happening.  The worldwide signal of when filming is happening is the light on the camera or in the studio.  I made a motion to have a light installed in our meeting room so all commissioners would know when they are being filmed, or audio recorded.  That motion failed four to three.  The Gang of Four (Fake Frankie Waters, Ed Booth, Jerry Langley and Randy Walker) voted against it.  In doing this they created an open meetings law risky situation.  If filming is subpoenaed, how does the County account for how much of filming is deleted by editing?  How much editing is going on now?  This is another one of those dumb decisions the Gang of Four can so gleefully make.  Now, I will assume I am being filmed 100 percent of the time I am in that room.

I have repeatedly accused the Chairman of the Board, Fake Frankie Waters, who, with the cooperation of the County Manager, of having engaged in a lot of back-room shenanigans.  I continue to accuse them.  Proof of back-room shenanigans came with the events surrounding the half million dollars that was paid to the City of Washington because the Big Cheese (the School Superintendent) would not deal with the City.  When the City realized they were being sand bagged by the Big Cheese they requested a meeting with the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners in order to resolve things.  They were inviting the wrong people.  Every member of the Board is equal to every other member.  The Chairman and Vice Chairman have no special powers other than to conduct meetings.  An invitation to either of them involving Beaufort County business is in fact an invitation to the entire Board.  However, Fake Frankie Waters informed the City of Washington that “the Commissioners would not get involved”.  I was amazed at what Fake Frankie Waters and Jerry Langley’s defense of this unethical act was.  I am paraphrasing.  They said all invitations to them were personal and privileged and were none of the Board’s Business.  

People who are extending invitations and passing information to them under the assumption they are dealing with the Board of Commissioners are being deceived.  I can only wonder at the special privileges that have been handed out and at the decisions that are being made for the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners by these dishonest and unethical practices.  Public be aware that I will make a public issue of every violation of this kind I can find.  I already know of some.  I am looking for more.  If you have an invitation or a request, make sure every Commissioner knows by communicating to all of them.  Going thru county offices or the Chairman and Vice Chairman is not the way to go.

Beaufort County provides cooperating assistance to other counties during catastrophic events.  We get a lot of assistance from other counties when we have emergency events.  This has always been with the approval of the Board of Commissioners or at least notice to the Board if donations paid for by the County are of a minor consequence.  Taxes are used to provide this assistance.  Beaufort County provided assistance to western counties impacted by Hurricane Helene.  Because neither permission nor notice was given to or from the Board of Commissioners, I raised the issue of how much assistance had been given to the western part of the state during the Hurricane Helene emergency.  Staff seemed to take issue with my request by defending their actions.  Again, this is tax money and Commissioners, not staff, are responsible.  I suspect King Fake Frankie Waters gave his approval.  So why do you need a board.  We have Fake Frankie.

We need one more conservative commissioner to reduce spending, reduce taxes and return us to ethical government.  Hopefully that will happen during the 2026 elections.