SENSIBLE ARGUMENT FOR INCREASING NUMBER OF COMMISSIONERS..... Time to move forward with expanding county board In a few weeks, if all goes according to plan, the four sitting Onslow County commissioners will select one person from a field of more than a dozen to fill the seat vacated by Commissioner Lionell Midgett who died on Nov. 23. Because Midgett was a Republican, by statute the person eventually chosen to become the fifth commissioner must be a registered Republican and reside in the county. The commissioners’ job will not be easy but the deep slate of those expressing interest in serving the citizens of Onslow County has names of people whose resumes show previous tenures of elected office or positions of leadership. This person will not be elected by the voters but rather by four commissioners — all Republicans. Those commissioners ultimately could appoint someone who would go on to unseat them in the 2016 election. The ironies and spectacle of unintended consequences are rich. After a fifth commissioner is selected and the board gets to get back to full strength, they need to continue moving Onslow County forward. But it’s not easy being any type of elected official particular at the county level. I know that firsthand from when my father was a commissioner in Pennsylvania. His evenings and sometimes days were filled commissioner meetings, workshops and other various board obligations that seemingly left little time for him to do anything else. He would tell me a “simple drive to the grocery store to fetch a gallon milk turns into a 2-hour trip because of the number of people who want to bend your ear.” As an elected official, it comes with the territory. Lehigh County, Pa., where my father served, is a densely populated county — with 355,000 residents squeezed into 349 square miles — unlike Onslow County with a citizen base of around 184,000 people spread over 909 square miles. In Lehigh County, they do with seven commissioners; down here, we do it with five. I believe the time has come for Onslow County to increase the number of county commissioners from five to seven. This is not a new idea nor is it the first time this subject is being discussed. In 2009, the sitting county Board of Commissioners consisting of Chairman W.C. Jarman, Vice-Chairman Paul Buchanan, Barbara Ikner, Lionell Midgett and Bill Keller drafted a resolution to expand the board from five to seven seats. The resolution never became law when it got bogged down in legal wrangling by the Supreme Court over minority representation. Somehow, leaders from the minority communities felt increasing the number of at-large commissioners would disenfranchise their constituents. If the board were to be expanded, this faction wanted the county to be divided into districts and abolish the at-large structure currently in place. As a result, the resolution died on the vine. Fast forward to 2014, when the idea of expanding the board by two additional members is stirring discussion inside the local GOP precinct meetings. Three of the five commissioners who drafted the 2009 resolution are currently seated on the board. Keller, who lost his bid for re-election in 2012, is the current chairman of the Onslow County Republican Party and has submitted his name for consideration to fill the vacated seat. The responsibility of being a commissioner extends beyond just attending a monthly workshop and public meeting. In addition to serving as commissioners, each of the elected officials has duties that extend to other boards. Chairman Buchanan serves on six boards; Vice-Chairman Ikner on three; Jack Bright on four; and W.C. Jarman sits on the Airport Advisory Commission. Midgett sat on six. So two additional commissioners would lessen the workload of the current board while giving more people a chance to serve and represent all citizens of Onslow County. “What’s that you say, McHugh, are you advocating increasing the size and cost of government?” That’s a fair question so let me address it. Many counties in North Carolina that have populations similar to Onslow County already have seven-member boards. They are Davidson with 163,364 residents; Gaston with 207,506; and Johnson with 172,570. Duplin and Carteret counties have more commissioners, six and seven, respectively, while Jones and Pender each have five. So might you say the cost of adding two more commissioners would be an unnecessary burden on an already overburdened taxpayer? That’s not necessarily so. Each commissioner earns $12,178.92 annually and a $400 monthly travel allowance, according to Onslow County Manager Jeff Hudson. Hudson responded in an e-mail when I asked what adding two commissioners to the board would cost the citizens of Onslow County. He replied, “We do not anticipate a measurable increase in administrative costs.” Of course, the voters would have the final say. A referendum would have to be placed on the ballot for the voters to decide. If the referendum passed, then the board could be structured where every two years a couple of seats would come up for election. I think the late Commissioner Midgett summed up this debate best. Here are his words, taken from a March 2009 commissioners meeting discussing the merits of expanding the board: “Seven heads are certainly better than five. It gives us an opportunity to have better coverage and representation in the county.” I agree with Lionell. Swa n sboro resi d ent Mik e McHugh is an advertising account executive with The Daily News. Readers can email him at mike. mchugh@jdnews.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Dec 2014 10:34:44 +0000
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