Beaufort County Government's General Meeting Agenda: Monday, May 7, 2012 | Eastern North Carolina Now

The Beaufort County Board of County Commissioners Will Meet to Discuss the County's Business

    The Government of Beaufort County meets every month for at least one general meeting to discuss and act on the county's business. Beaufort County employs the county manager form of government which stipulates that the board of county commissioners allow the county manager to set the agenda, and bring issues before them.

    The Beaufort County Board of County Commissioners will meet to discuss a variety of issues in their general meeting on Monday, May 7, 2012. This is the eleventh general meeting post-budget, when the Beaufort County Commissioners, by a vote of 5 to 2, raised your property taxes by 6%.

    The most essential item to be considered this month may well be the discussion of the ongoing issue of economic development, or lack there of, in Beaufort County.

    To that end, Commissioner Hood Richardson will ask for: "Discussion and copy of revised economic development annual report by EDC Director." Commissioner Stan Deatherage will ask for the passage of: "Resolution to End Corporate Welfare in North Carolina and Beaufort County." At the bottom of this post offering the the Beaufort County Agenda is this aforementioned resolution in its entirety.

 Beaufort County Board of County Commissioners General Meeting Agenda
         Monday, May 7, 2012.
   Beaufort County Administrative Building, Commissioners’ Meeting Room
       121 West Third Street, Washington, North Carolina

5:00 p.m. Call to Order by Chairman Langley
             Invocation & Pledge of Allegiance
             Consideration of Consent Agenda

5:10 p.m. Public Comments

5:20 p.m. Debra Ragland, Beaufort County 911 Communications
             Consider proposal to purchase / install backup 911 system

5:30 p.m. Vann Lewis, McDavid Associates, Inc.
             Update on Water Line Extension Project

5:45 p.m. Jimmy Daniels
             Proposed Golf Cart Ordinance for Cotton Patch Landing

6:00 p.m. Stacey Harris, Environmental Health
             Request to purchase a replacement vehicle (unbudgeted)

6:05 p.m. Mark Finlayson, Executive Director, NC Highway 17 Association
             NC Highway 17 Association update, budget and audit

6:15 p.m. Break
Beaufort County Commissioner's staff (above) at a retreat to discuss a number of pressing issues (from left to right: county manager, Randell Woodruff - county CFOA, Jim Chrisman - county attorney, Billy Mayo.     photo by Stan Deatherage
6:45 p.m. Bobby Parker, Tax Administration
             Monthly Tax Collections Report
             2012 sales ratio for all 100 counties
             Tax Refund Request

7:00 p.m. Tim Osborne, Director, Pamlico Counseling
             Report update on child support collections

7:10 p.m. John Pack, Director, Beaufort County Emergency management
             Regional hazard mitigation plan
             Award REP for narrowbanding project

7:20 p.m. Al Powell
             Police Athletic League

7:30 p.m. Commissioner Robert Cayton
             Health Department

7:40 p.m. Commissioner Al Klemm
             Chocowinity solid waste and recycling center

7:50 p.m. Commissioner Hood Richardson
             Status of time card system
             Monthly jail report from state
             Weekly jail report
             Discussion and copy of revised economic development annual report by EDC Director

8:00 p.m. Commissioner Stan Deatherage
             Resolution to End Corporate Welfare in North Carolina and Beaufort County

8:10 p.m. Reassignment of transfer station contract

8:15 p.m. Economic Development Commission structure and by-laws

8:15 p.m. Consideration of property Lease / Agreement with U.S. Cellular

8:30 p.m. County Manager's Reports

Resolution to End Corporate Welfare in North Carolina and Beaufort County

   Whereas, Corporate Welfare, for example: providing financial incentives to one business entity to the detriment and exclusion of another, is anti-free-market in construction and intent, and,

    Whereas, Corporate Welfare as an inducement to relocate industry is the worst possible reason for a business entity / corporation to relocate from one location to another, and basically is no different from other forms of corporate exclusion of competition, not unlike the outlawed "pay for play" scheme that was endemic within the radio broadcast / music industry of the early 1960's, and,

    Whereas, the greater weight of all known history of offering financial incentives / Corporate Welfare for corporate relocation is balanced greatly in favor of the eventual nonsuccess of these endeavors, and,

    Whereas, here in Beaufort County, we need only look to the significant and abject failures of business entities / corporate relocators: Bonny Products, Miller Harness and Amilite Glass and other lesser significant Corporate Welfare fiascos, and,

   Whereas, the financial incentives of Corporate Welfare is specifically designed to provide financial reward to lesser productive free-market pseudo participants to the detriment of productive real free-market participants, who have surrendered their financial resources, at the direct threat of police power, to directly benefit the government favored industrial relocator, and,

    Whereas, Corporate Welfare is tantamount to Corporate Socialism giving unsophisticated politicians, and their sycophants, the direct ability to pick corporate / business favorites, thereby destroying the capitalistic necessity of free-markets, and,

    Whereas, county governments will find it hard to limit their part in the competition for the mostly temporary benefits of the so-called "job creation," brought on by the North Carolina Department of Commerce and the misguided politicians that support such market destroying behavior of picking economic winners with public money, and,

    Whereas, the State of North Carolina and the County of Beaufort would be far better served if they were to husband their scarce resources: to correct its flagging education system, which has become an education industry to the benefit of the few, and is way off course from its intended purpose, and furthermore to bolster public infrastructure, and if it is possible, after correcting these failing public systems, to reduce the exorbitant taxes upon this public, rather than reward economic winners by taking from one to give to another, therefore,

    Let it be resolved, that the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners do hereby request that the State of North Carolina end its part in the Corporate Welfare relocation of wealth, and furthermore, that the State of North Carolina redouble its efforts to do what governments are charged to do, rather than to pick the economic winners and losers in their contrived "pay for play" redistribution of wealth scheme that is their well placed hindrance to the proper functioning mechanisms of free-markets.

    Written by Beaufort County Commissioner Stan Deatherage and submitted to the Beaufort County Board of County Commissioners, North Carolina, for passage on May 7, 2012.