BOC has a humdinger of a meeting | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This article originally appeared in the Beaufort Observer.

Two big holes blasted in the Gang of Four's jail plans

    The December meeting of the Beaufort County Commissioners was a humdinger.

    Once again, nominal Republican Al Klemm deserted his party and sided with the minority of three Democrats (Langley, Booth and Belcher) to give the Democrats control of the chairmanship. Jerry Langley was re-elected on the same 4-3 vote as last year, with the board's three Republicans (Brinn, Deatherage and Richardson) voting for Richardson whilel Langley, Booth and Belcher voted for Langley. Klemm broke the tie, voting for Langley. Klemm was immediately rewarded by the Democrats by being re-elected Vice Chairman.

    Here's the video of the "action":



    But the real news of the night came during the Public Comments section of the agenda. Donna Lay raised serious questions about the legality of the method the Gang of Four is planning for paying for a new jail. According to County Manager Randell Woodruff the plan is to borrow the money to build a new jail and sheriff's office without submitting the bonds to a vote of the people.

    Lay pointed out that Article 5 Section 4 of the North Carolina Constitution provides: "The General Assembly shall have no power to authorize any county, city or town, special district, or other unit of local government to contract debts secured by a pledge of its faith and credit unless approved by a majority of the qualified voters of the unit who vote thereon, ..." She went on to say that she understood that current state law allows the issuance of debt without a vote but that the original intent was to use such financing for projects that would "pay for themselves," by generating revenue or the increase in the tax base paying off the debt. Translating the legal meaning of "a pledge of its faith and credit" means the taxing authority of the county as backing for the bonds. "There is no way that I have heard that you can build this jail without using tax money and if you use the taxing authority of the county the Constitution requires a vote of the people," she said. The Gang of Four (Langley, Booth, Belcher and Klemm) sat stone-faced and none responded to counter Mrs. Lay's contention.

    Lay also pointed out to Al Klemm: "You, sir, ran for office as a Republican. You claim to be a Republican. A fundamental Republican principle is to support and defend our constitutional rights. So I want to ask you, Mr. Klemm: Why did you vote to deny the people the right to vote on this issue? Klemm did not respond. But in an email newsletter he sent out recently he said the reason he did not support letting the people vote on the issue was because "there is no way it would pass..." a vote of the people.

    Here's her presentation:



    The second bombshell was delivered by Beaufort Republican Party Chairman Keith Kidwell. He opened his comments by asking the Commissioners: "Have you ever heard of the National Institute of Corrections (NIC), a division of the U. S. Department of Justice?" He got no response. So he went on to review what the NIC says about building new jails. He noted that they outline the proper steps that should be taken in the planning process, noting that one of the crucial points NIC makes is that the community should participate in the planning process. He also advised the Gang of Four, who are moving ahead with hiring an architect, that NIC provided consulting services and suggested it would be wise to use that resource since they would be unbiased because they would not be making any money from what was recommended as is the case with the architects the Gang of Four has been using. He concluded his comments by saying:

    You have not taken any of the steps indicated by the National Institute of Corrections which say these steps are vital to building a jail. No you have not done any of them, as a matter of fact one commissioner I meet with most recently, told me that all we were going to get was his "Best Guess" and if we build too big? "If we build it they will come". Well sirs my best guess is this is not the best way to decide what our needs are when spending as much as 30 million dollars of taxpayer's money, believe me gentlemen this is not "the field of dreams" and you are not Kevin

    Costner.(referring to the actor in the movie Field of Dreams).

    Here is the video of Mr. Kidwell's presentation:



    Later in the meeting, Commissioner Stan Deatherage offered a motion that the design proposals for the jail that are currently being solicited be reviewed and scored by the entire Board. That motion was defeated—you guessed it—by a 4-3 vote with Klemm again siding with the Democrats against the three Republicans who voted for the motion.
Go Back


Leave a Guest Comment

Your Name or Alias
Your Email Address ( your email address will not be published)
Enter Your Comment ( no code or urls allowed, text only please )




Governor McCrory Works to Build Additional Support For North Carolina’s Military Installations During Trip to Washington County Commissioners, Government, Governing Beaufort County Butterfield Staff Eschews Switch to Obamacare


HbAD0

Latest Governing Beaufort County

North Carolina's Rate Bureau has requested for 2024 an annual increase of 42.2%, whereby North Carolina's Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey has exhibited a great willingness to take a firm stand against such an exorbitant increase.
I reckon one could always argue that ignorance rests in the eyes of the beholder, but, I'm not taking that bet ... not in these Orwellian times, when so few of our fellow travelers know so little of what is real, and far too much of what otherwise might be terminally fake.
There were numerous local professional and educational opportunities showcased on Wednesday at the Beaufort County Job and Resource Fair.
Please click on the link to access the agenda for the Monday, February 12, 2024 City Council meeting
The Beaufort County Board of Commissioners will hold a special called meeting with the Beaufort County Board of Education on Wednesday, February 7, 2024 at 3:30 PM at the Professional Development Center located at 845 Pierce St, Washington, NC.
The Beaufort County Board of Commissioners will meet at 121 W. 3rd St, Washington, during the following times for their annual Planning Retreat:

HbAD1

The Beaufort County Board of Commissioners will meet in regular session on Monday, February 5, 2024 at 5:30 PM in the boardroom located at 136 W. 2nd St, Washington, NC
This morning’s update included very minor changes to timing of today’s forecasted impacts.
This afternoon’s update from the National Weather Service (NWS) included another increase in the forecasted wind conditions for Beaufort County.
This morning’s update from the National Weather Service (NWS) included an elevated threat of severe weather, to include the possibility of tornados, as well as an increase in the forecasted wind conditions.
Our office is continuing to monitor an approaching cold front that is expected to bring high winds, elevated water levels, rain and the potential for severe storms to our area Tuesday and Wednesday. Forecast details for Beaufort County can be found below.
Please click on the link to access the agenda for the Monday, January 8, 2024 City Council meeting.

HbAD2

Our office is currently monitoring the forecast of an approaching cold front that is expected to bring windy conditions, rain and the possibility of severe storms to eastern NC on Tuesday.

HbAD3

 
Back to Top