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By NICOLE CARTRETTE Once considered the outsider on the board, Commissioner James Prevatte moved into a position recently that he may not have thought was possible a year ago. Known for casting votes against the majority on such major issues as the budget, the first term commissioner was elected the chairman of the Columbus County Board of Commissioners by a unanimous vote of the board Monday. Commissioner Ricky Bullard moved and Commissioner Ronald Gore seconded the motion to elect Prevatte to the leadership role. Commissioner Amon McKenzie then offered a motion to appoint Commissioner Bill Memory vice chairman. That motion also passed with a unanimous vote. “I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation for a unanimous vote of this board,” Prevatte said just before presenting Commissioner Sammie Jacobs with a plaque upon his completion of his year as chairman. “It’s a pleasure to have this – it gets tougher to do this each time,” Jacobs said. “Sometimes it may have sounded like we (Prevatte and I) were bickering but we were not really bickering like it may have seemed,” Jacobs said of the new chairman. He pointed out that is how the decision process works. At one point during the night, as Prevatte was moving through the agenda, he looked to Jacobs sitting in Prevatte’s old seat to the left and jokingly said: “See how fast it moves?” “You didn’t have as much opposition from the left,” Jacobs replied with a grin. Some of that past tension between the two is part of why Prevatte was surprised at the unusually quiet vote. “I knew some of the commissioners would support me but I didn’t know it was going to be unanimous,” the retired assistant city schools superintendent said. “I really didn’t do any politicking,” Prevatte, who has served on the board for three years, explained. The new chairman said he intends to “work toward having a cohesive board” but does not intend to compromise his beliefs. “If I believe in something and strongly believe in it, I am going to continue to push for it,” he added. “You can’t out vote six people,” he explained, but added he would work toward better explaining his ideas and selling his opinion to others. As for his leadership style, it is evident Prevatte is ready to make some changes. In the past, pre-agenda meetings were held early enough in the week so that the agenda was ready to be prepared and sent on Thursdays. Prevatte said it was better for the clerk, gave the board more time to look over documents and allowed the public and press the opportunity to know what was coming up at an earlier time. That all changed under the past administration, which pushed for packets to be delivered at a later time –Friday afternoons. Prevatte said he would like to see the traditional policy reinstated and has already asked interim County Manager Leo Hunt if he will agree to hold the pre-agenda meetings on Wednesdays. “It gives us a day and a half more to prepare everything,” Prevatte explained. Prevatte also said keeping all commissioners informed, not just a few, is one of his goals. “If it is brought to my attention for consideration, each one of the commissioners needs to have the same information,” Prevatte said. He added that better communication is needed about what department is sending out what information to the board. He said the board gets information from the clerk, from the attorney and administration. Sometimes it is the same thing at a later date from a different person. “(Those) three bodies need to work together,” he said, “so we don’t get flooded with the same information.” He said if it is something that needs the board’s attention before a meeting, “then so be it,” but there is no need for additional copies of the same information. Prevatte seemed optimistic about his new role, despite what some may see as a pressing time to be chairman. The county has had a great deal of turnover in management in recent years and is now faced with finding a new manager. Prevatte said several applicants have been interviewed and some are possibly very good candidates but some did not have the experience the board wants. “Some that we looked at had some excess baggage and things like that,” he explained. “We want to select the best possible candidate for Columbus County,” Prevatte said. “What we are looking for is someone who has some experience in county government.” He said money is an issue the county will likely face in the search. “Some who would be willing to come want a very large salary and Columbus County finances are very shaky,” Prevatte said. Being optimistic, he said, “I think we are going to get there.” For now, Prevatte is focused on communication and putting forth an open door policy when it comes to county matters. “I value the input of all the citizenry and the media,” Prevatte said. “When the final decision is made, I will make the decision based on my convictions. “Sometimes attitudes and egos need to be altered to reach decisions,” he said of the board, but praised it for the variety of views it offers. “That’s what makes it a good board – seven people with seven different opinions and my job is to try to gel the seven,” Prevatte said. By state statute the board reorganization takes place at the first meeting in December of each year. Chairmen have traditionally had the final say in what is included on the board’s agenda. That custom raised ire earlier this year when three board members said their requests were not being included in the agenda and began bringing up topics for discussion at the end of agendas. That disagreement and others over the number of votes needed to change board policy led to discussion over the board’s lack of a uniform and adopted rules of procedure. With budget talks nearing, the board agreed to put off further discussion on examining the rules and adopting any new rules until a workshop could be held after the budget was adopted. That workshop, to also include discussion of changing employee retirement and benefit policies adopted in September 2006, is tentatively scheduled for mid-January.
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