Taxpayers save
nothing in shift

By NICOLE CARTRETTE
Staff Writer

Commissioners’ collectively cut their pay $10,500 but saved county taxpayers $803 – the matching Social Security the county would have paid had it been salary.

The funds won’t go to cut the budget but to other departments.

In an unexpected move Monday night, the four longest standing commissioners turned the tables on three other commissioners who were pushing for a 10 percent pay cut for board members.

Board member Bill Memory offered a substitute motion to Commissioner Ronald Gore’s request for the cut.

Under Memory’s motion, which passed four to three, commissioners will each cut their salary by $1,500 but each will choose a department to receive the $1,500.

Commissioners’ salaries will drop from $1,113 to $988 per month (more than a 10 percent reduction.) It is less than a 10 percent cut for Chairman Sammie Jacobs whose salary drops from $1,353 a month to $1,228.

“That’s just shifting money,” Commissioner James Prevatte declared. “That’s just moving money.” Prevatte added that if commissioners wanted to donate part of their salary to something they should do that on their own like he does.

“I’m not as fortunate as you, Mr. Prevatte,” Commissioner Amon McKenzie replied.

“You get several retirements,” Prevatte declared.

“They just want to outvote us,” Commissioner Ricky Bullard said before taking the vote that only he, Gore and Prevatte opposed.

Columbus County Commissioners have one of the highest salary rates in the state, according to a North Carolina Institute of Government Survey and additional data requested from individual counties by The News Reporter earlier this year.

At $13,361 a year for commissioners and $16,234 for the chairman, commissioners earn more for their public service than commissioners in more than 80 counties, including Brunswick, Bladen, Pender and Robeson.