Commissioners don’t want any prying

By NICOLE CARTRETTE
Staff Writer

Requests from the water department have some commissioners boiling.

After a heated debate over whether items should be brought up if they are not on the agenda, Commissioner Amon McKenzie suggested full board approval be obtained before “any investigation” into a county department.

McKenzie was upset over a new board member’s recent request for information regarding the county water districts and adjustments totaling about $96,000.

“People are calling from department areas concerned about their jobs,” McKenzie said. He said one commissioner going into a department “is going to cause an uproar.”

“We have to work together whether we like each other or not,” he insisted.

“I don’t need 2,000 pages of that,” McKenzie declared as he dropped a thick stack of water data and adjustments in front of him. Commissioner Ricky Bullard had requested a copy of the information but all commissioners were given a copy of the documents.

“If there is somebody doing something wrong, then I want to be the first to know,” McKenzie insisted, but continued to argue that no one commissioner should “spot check” without full board approval.

“I asked you for this info sitting right here at this table,” Bullard said, looking to Public Utilities Director Leroy Sellers.

“That’s 3-cents a page”, Commissioner Bill Memory pointed out.

“We operate as a board, not one or two on their own,” Chairman Sammie Jacobs chimed in.

“Haven’t you called the department asking for adjustments?” Commissioner James Prevatte called out to McKenzie.

“Yes, I called the department asking for adjustments,” McKenzie admitted. “When we had all kinds of problems.” He insisted it was because of billing errors and other problems and only asked that they “check things out.”

“Did you get board approval for that?” Bullard asked.

“We need to change our habits and the way we do business,” McKenzie said.

“Mr. Attorney, was this motion an order, resolution, or ordinance?” Prevatte asked as he looked to County Attorney Steve Fowler.

Prevatte then began reading from a county commissioner handbook, which explains a commissioner’s powers and duties. He said that, according to the law, certain types of motions must have full board approval to be adopted.

Fowler was unfamiliar with the law that Prevatte was referring to but said the board can make a practice for itself.

The General Statutes of N.C., section 153A-45, titled “Adoption of ordinances”, reads:

“To be adopted at the meeting at which it is first introduced, an ordinance or any action having the effect of an ordinance (except the budget ordinance, any bond order, or any other ordinance on which a public hearing must be held before the ordinance may be adopted) must receive the approval of all the members of the board of commissioners. If the ordinance is approved by a majority of those voting but not by all the members of the board, or if the ordinance is not voted on at that meeting, it shall be considered at the next regular meeting of the board. If it then or at any time thereafter within 100 days of its introduction receives a majority of the votes cast, a quorum being present, the ordinance is adopted.”