The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1959-05-15
COUNTY
REPORT
DAVID Sys1Ick
Dare County Commissioner,
Atlantic township

have never been one to beat
around the bush, and after five
months as county commissioner
l want to set one thing straight.
At the time of the primary
election a year ago there was a
general lack of confidence in the
way county affairs were being
handled. Witness the fact that a !
non-native newcomer to politics
named Stick could defeat an es-
tablished office-holder named Per-
Iy for County Commissioner from
Atlantic Township.
There was more than a lack of !
confidence, however. There was a f,
widespread feeling that all of the
Commissioners We're either ineffi-
cient or dishonest, and that all the
people had to do to get good gov
eminent was to boot out the old
crowd and put in a new one.
Well, boot out they did, and in
we went, so what happened?
To begin with, we soon learned |
that many county operations were
in real mess, that the financial
situation was even worse than we
had expected and that many i'm
portant and necessary functions
were not being taken care of prop
erly. Undoubtedly there was inef-
ficiency, and possibly some dis
honesty. But l am convinced now
that there was another underlying
reason, and one which still exists;
for our new Board not only has
failed to straighten out some of
the important parts of the mess
we inherited, in certain instances
we have watched it get more
messy still.
The reason is simply this: 1t is
impossible for five Commissioners
from different parts of Dare
County, no matter how intelligent |
or honest or sincere they may be,
to properly manage the affairs of
the county, under a system which
calls for them to meet and resolve
all county problems in single
day each month.
In none of the six regular meet
ings we have had to date has our
Board been able to properly dis
pose of the regular routine mat
ters before us, let alone become
familiar with the different phases
OF county government, or investi-
gate the new matters brought to
our attention. /
In our last meeting, for exam
pie, we were in session from 9:15
am. until 5:45 p.m.-the last pos
sible moment when Commissioners
Edwards and Fuller could leave to /
catch the ferry to Hatteras Is
land-yet here was our record.
I've were not able to study |
the regular report on the status of
the budget as submitted by the
County Accountant.
I've did not have time to con-
slider any of the regular reports
submitted by heads of various
departments.
3.-We received the recommen-
dalton of the Dare County We'll
fare Board for the 1959-6O Welfare
budget and spent an hour or so
discussing the proposed budget
with the Welfare Board. But be-
cause there were numerous other
questions we wanted answered,
and because there was basic disa-
greement on the budget needs of
the department, we failed to pre-
pare separate Welfare budget of
our own for submission to State
authorities, as is required by law.
4.-ln preparing a new jury list
each of US had gone over the list
for his own Township in advance
OF the meeting, and had made de-
Lotions to the best of his ability.
But we did not have time to study
the new list as whole, with the
result that when we finally drew
jury list we found many names
still in the jury box which should
not be there at all, including peo-
pie not living in the county, wom-
en- with minor children, and elder
ly people who were too ill to
serve.
5.--We had already received, at
our homes, detailed report from
the Dare County Board of Educa-
ton requesting our approval of
certain transfers in the current
budget. We could have approved
the recommendation by a simple
motion and let it go at that, but l
for one had serious reservations as
to the propriety of at least oro IF
the transfers, and we needed to
spend enough time with represent
atives of the Board of Education
to get the answers to some oues-
tons. We did not have the time.
and we therefore took. no action on
the request.
O. We were to have reviewed
and approved the specifications
Tor certain contract bid forms re-
]