Beaufort County Commissioners Asked to Support the Referendum Process | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Beaufort County Commissioner Stan Deatherage will present a resolution to the Beaufort County Commissioners, for their passage, that will signify their willingness to provide their citizenry the opportunity to directly participate in the democratic process on certain issues, whereby large sums of money are obligated for public capital projects.

Resolution in Support of the Democratic Concept of Referendums

    Whereas, in North Carolina, the referendum process is a democratic procedure, as stipulated by North Carolina General Statute 159-49, for the electorate of a local government to directly pledge its respective governing body the taxing authority in support of bonds that would constitute a substantial obligation, and,

    Whereas, a substantial obligation of funding always creates a civic strain, whereby a community will need to borrow heavily from a Fund Balance ("Rainy Day Fund"), immediately raise taxes or secure appropriate financing, or both or all three, and,

    Whereas, The spending, or borrowing of large sums of money, which almost always raises taxes, and always raises the constant strain of extra expenditures verses revenues on hand, thereby being a cause of concern for the fiscally prudent members of the electorate for that local government, and,

    Whereas, Bond Referendums are always the perfect procedure to democratically test the fiscal will of all voting taxpayers on their perception of the prudence of any public project - fiscal and otherwise - which, furthermore, obligates that citizenry to participate in understanding just what their local government does, therefore,

    Let it be resolved that the Beaufort County Board of County Commissioners do hereby understand the precepts of the public's participation in the democratic process of bond referendums, and, therefore, will always pledge to allow for the public's input by ballot on substantial obligations of the public's money.

    Written by Commissioner Stan Deatherage for passage by the Beaufort County Commissioners on November 4, 2013.