Days after New Hanover County Board of Commissioners Chairman Jonathan Barfield, Jr. detailed the county’s recent efforts to foster economic growth and support education and public safety in a State of the County address, commissioner Woody White released a response focused on other issues he finds important to the county’s future.
Before he outlined his worries about county spending, growing debt and potential property tax increases, White commended Barfield for his discussion of “our county, and some of the accomplishments over the past couple of years” in the response released on the county’s YouTube channel on Feb. 5. He compared the county’s population growth over the last 20 years, of 61 percent, to a 700 percent growth in debt over the same time.
“That’s a frightening trend, and we need to do everything we can to reign it in,” White said. To reverse the trend, White said commissioners can and should pursue policies that help the county provide the best basic services, like education and public health and safety, at the lowest cost, which in turn allows the private sector to stimulate the economy and create jobs.
As the county plans to prepare a budget for the upcoming fiscal year, White said he will fight to prevent a property tax increase, likely between 3 and 5 cents based on the previous discussions between the board and county staff, proposed to offset mounting debt service obligations.
White’s comments should be part of the discussion while the county prepares a budget, said Barfield, but that is the appropriate time to have the conversation — not during the State of the County address. Barfield said controversy, stirred up by White’s announcement prior to the Feb. 2 address that he would release a videoed response, clouded an important message he was trying to convey to citizens.
“Unfortunately, the media never picked up on the importance of that. [Journalists] were only concerned with the controversy surrounding it as opposed to the true content of what was said, which I think is a disservice to the public,” Barfield said, listing accomplishments like the county’s partnership with Wilmington Business Development to bring CastleBranch to the area and collaboration with the city to request and implement parts of an economic development report prepared by Atlanta-based Garner Economics.
White acknowledged that some people believe he should not have released a response, or detracted from Barfield’s message, but said he feels all viewpoints are important and relevant.
“We’re all part of the fabric of this community. Your opinion, the chairman’s opinions, everyone’s views are of equal importance,” White said. “Speaking up when it matters is important.”
Further discussing what the county can do to reduce a trend toward growing debt, White defended his stance against the catered reception that followed Barfield’s address and his requests that the county travel policy apply to commissioners.
“If commissioners are going to use your tax dollars to buy expensive meals for themselves and attend local charity galas and cocktail parties, or go on trip after trip to conferences in large cities, it demonstrates a larger disregard of fiscal restraint,” White said.
Barfield said he welcomed the robust conversation the board had on the travel policy during the Feb. 2 meeting because it prompted him to go back and tally up daily spending at past conferences he has attended, an exercise that showed he spent less than the per diem caps outlined in the updated county travel policy.
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