Voters to cast ballots on county manager question

By Lynn Hotaling and Carey Phillips

Area voters chose in 1992 to retain the elected manager system. Jackson is currently the only county in North Carolina where the chairman of the board of commissioners is also elected to serve as the full-time county manager and oversee day-to-day governmental operations.

The issue has been controversial for almost a decade. During a 1992 referendum on the structure of county government, voters approved expanding the Board of Commissioners from three to five members but rejected an appointed manager.

That set the stage for the unusual situation that occurred in 1994. County voters elected four Republican part-time commissioners and a Democrat chairman, who was also the full-time county manager.

The Republican-controlled board voted along party lines to change to the appointed manager form of government in November 1996.

Citing a 1931 statute passed specifically for Jackson County, then Chairman Dan Robinson and county Democrats sued the Board of Commissioners to block the change. Superior Court Judge Don Bridges ruled in favor of the Democrats in May 1997, but his decision was overturned by the N.C. Court of Appeals in August 1998. The Court of Appeals ruled that more recent state statutes took priority over the 1931 law and gave the commissioners authority to change the structure of county government by resolution.

After the Court of Appeals ruling, the Board of Commissioners removed Robinson as county manager and hired Rick Honeycutt of Franklin as interim manager.

That board appointed a search committee to screen applicants for a permanent manager.

Before that process was complete, however, county voters in November 1998 elected five Democrats to the board. One of the first actions of current county commissioners was to pass a resolution that rescinded the previous board's decision to move to an appointed county manager. Elected commissioners' Chairman Jay Denton has served as the county's top administrator since taking office in December 1998.

The question is back on the ballot because a majority of members of the present Board of Commissioners campaigned on a promise to "let the people decide" the issue. In fact, commissioners initially voted to hold a referendum on the issue in March 1999 in order to put the matter to rest as soon as possible. After looking at the cost associated with special elections, however, commissioners decided to combine the county manager referendum with the November 2000 general election.

Even getting the question on the ballot proved controversial. County attorney Raymond Large told commissioners in August that, in his opinion, the appointed/elected county manager issue could not properly be put to the voters. Commissioners, reiterating their desire to seek public input on the matter, voted to move forward with the referendum. The state Board of Elections did not challenge the commissioners' decision, and Jackson County voters will again vote on the matter.

Labeled "Jackson County Structure Proposition," the question reads: "Should the structure of the board of commissioners be changed from the present structure with the chairman of the board serving as the county manager to a county manager plan which would provide for a full-time county manager to be hired by and serve at the pleasure of the board of commissioners?"

Those who favor retaining an elected manager would vote "no," and those who support an appointed manager would vote "yes."

While individual commissioners are not unanimous with regard to supporting either an elected or appointed manager, four of five have indicated they will accede to the choice of the people. Though the referendum cannot be binding, Commissioners Stacy Buchanan, Conrad Burrell, Roberta Crawford and Franz Whitmire have all pledged that their votes as commissioners will reflect the outcome of the referendum.

"Whatever the people say, I'll support that. This is democracy in action," Whitmire said.

"I'll listen to what the people say and vote as the people do. That's what we promised," Crawford said.

"That's why we're having this vote and letting the people make the decision," Burrell said. "That's what we promised."

Commissioners' Chairman and County Manager Denton said he had not decided how he would vote.

"I'm not ready to make a commitment," Denton said. "But I've always supported the will of the people. By my very nature I will lean toward supporting the will of the people."

With regard to their personal feelings on the question, Whitmire and Denton are advocates of an elected manager.

"I favor an elected manager, but I'm not campaigning for that. My opinion is that it works fine, and the people chose it in 1992. With an elected manager, the people decide. If the board has an elected manager, the people can vote him out every for years," Whitmire said.

"If elected, the county manager has to answer to the people and be responsible to the entire population and not just to a small board of five," Denton said. "I deal directly with the public in all decisions, whether large or small."

Buchanan favors an appointed manager, he said.

"From day one when I started running I've said I think we should have a professional, appointed county manager," Buchanan said. "I'd like to stress that people should think about not only right now but the future." The decision made by voters about the county manager question will "lay the groundwork for county government for a number of years," Buchanan said. Crawford declined to state a personal preference.

"I really don't have an opinion," she said. "I can work with either one," she said. "It's real interesting. You don't know until the votes are counted how it's going to come out."

Back to Archive: 10/26/00.