State Board of Elections allows county manager question to stand

By Lisa Majors-Duff

The issue caused concern among a majority of board members last month when county attorney Raymond Large informed them that no statutory authority exists for the board to "poll" the public on the issue of how to choose a county manager. Since the question would not alter the structure of the board and since the board has the power to hire a professional county manager, state law says the county cannot spend money on such a referendum, he said.

Jackson is the last of North Carolina's 100 counties to elect its county manager at large as part of a five-person board. In addition to serving as chairman of the board, Denton, a former biology teacher at Smoky Mountain High School, is employed by the county in its lead administrative position.

Against the advice of their attorney, commissioners voted 4-0-1 (Denton abstained) to approve the wording of the county manager question Aug. 18, saying they were bound by campaign promises made in 1998 to allow the vote. It was then that the current board unseated the previous board, which had instituted a professional county manager system of government in November 1996.

That action was delayed for nearly two years by a lawsuit filed by Democrat Dan Robinson of Cullowhee and financially backed by other county Democrats. They claimed the Republican-controlled board, whose resolution changing the form of government prevented Robinson from serving as the county manager, violated a 1931 local law that outlined the duties of the chairman of the board.

Board members at the time claimed more modern legislation allowed their action, a claim upheld when the N.C. Court of Appeals overturned a lower court's ruling in favor of Robinson and the county's Democratic Party.

The action of the board in its 1996 resolution to hire a professional county manager was in direct opposition to a vote on the issue held in 1992, when the question of whether to elect or hire the county manager was asked at the same time as a question of whether or not to expand the board from three to five members. The board expansion passed, but the voters said by a 53 percent majority that they preferred to elect their county manager.

The promise four out of five current board members made to constituents during the campaign was to allow the people to decide, again by referendum, if the county manager should be elected or hired.

Large was unwilling to approve the wording of the latest referendum, and he suggested that the 1992 vote on the question was improper as well. Jackson County Board of Election's Supervisor Lisa Lovedahl-Lehman then requested board members supply written approval of the question. With the exception of Chairman Denton, all commissioners signed and returned the approval document, she said.

In other business last week, Denton reported that due to computer problems and revaluation work, county tax bills were not expected to be mailed until early this week, a month behind schedule. A Sept. 30 extension to pay has been added to the bills, said finance director Darlene Fox.

Board members approved a one-year teleworking pilot program, which will allow two Department of Social Services employees to work at home. Commissioners did not indicate if other departments heads would be permitted to extend similar benefits to the county employees they supervise.

Commissioners also approved the continuation of work on a $3 million grant being written in a cooperative effort by county government, Southwestern Commission, Tuckaseigee Water and Sewer Authority, Economic Development Commission, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the Whittier Sanitary District. A feasibility study conducted by McGill Associates of Asheville this summer returned positive results, Steve Eller of Southwestern Planning said.

The grant will be written to the N.C. Rural Economic Development Center for $3,330,000, Eller said. The proposal is to construct a 5,000-gallon-a-day sewer treatment center to service the Whittier Sanitary District, the county's industrial park, the tribe's recreation facilities and Smokey Mountain Elementary School, he said.

In addition to providing further economic development opportunities in the area, the sewer treatment plant would eliminate the problem of failed septic systems in the area, Eller said.

If approved, the grant would require a 10 percent match, of which the Appalachian Regional Commission has tentatively approved $200,000. The remaining local funds - $130,000 - would be divided between Jackson County, TWSA and the tribe, with the EDC offering land at the industrial park for its share. TWSA would most likely operate the system upon completion, said Eller. The grant application deadline is Sept. 30.

A ceremony to celebrate a grant recently awarded to the county has been scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 23, at the Cullowhee Recreation Park. The $250,000 state Parks and Recreation Development Fund grant will officially be presented to Recreation Department Director Jeff Carpenter during Soccer Fest, Denton said, and will be used for construction of the Cullowhee Rec Center facility.

Commissioners approved a $32,765 contract with HMC of Bryson City to pave the Cashiers SRC road. Also approved was a resolution requesting the Department of Transportation conduct a feasibility study on ways to improve N.C. 107 in Sylva. A request for paving a portion of East Piney Mountain Road was forwarded to the DOT.

Those approved for appointment to the Jackson County Council on Aging were health department Director Randall Turpin, DSS Director Bob Cochran and Hoyt Ponder of Cullowhee. New Alcohol Information Center office hours of 8:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday were approved by consensus.

Following a closed session for legal and personnel issues, board members offered the position of safety officer/solid waste technician to Heather LeClair of Whittier.

The next meeting of the Jackson County Board of Commissioners will be held at 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21, at the Cashiers-Carlton Public Library. A special meeting to discuss "Smart Growth" has been scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 28, at 7 p.m. in Sylva.

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