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Residents question county attorney's pay for acting board secretary duties
Summary
During public comment at the Northampton County Board of Commissioners meeting, a resident said the county attorney was paid for performing administrative duties as acting secretary to the board and asked the board to explain the legal authority and contract basis for that compensation.
A Northampton County resident raised questions at the Board of Commissioners meeting about whether the county attorney has authority under his contract to receive extra pay for performing administrative duties as acting secretary to the board.
Earl Daniels, during the public-comment period, said the county attorney's contract "states, quote, he will shall perform all such legible services and render advice to the county on such occasions and matters as may be requested to properly and adequately represent the county, end of quote." Daniels said he interprets that wording to mean the contract covers legal services and advice, not administrative work.
Daniels said the attorney was paid more than $16,000 from July 22, 2024, to Jan. 16, 2025, for performing the acting-secretary duties and that the county has no job description for that position. "How can one act in the capacity of a position that does not exist?" he asked.
Daniels also told the board he was concerned the arrangement resembled a prior case in which the board later voted to ratify a closed-session action only after the county had already paid for it. "I respectfully request that each board member reread the words contained in your oath of office," he said. "For those of us who attend these meetings, we deserve more than words of appreciation for attending and expressing our concerns. We deserve the actions you were elected to perform. Actions speak much louder than words."
The board did not take a public vote or issue a public explanation during the meeting on the specific compensation arrangement Daniels described. The meeting's conflict-of-interest statement referenced the board's adopted rules and North Carolina law. The transcript records the comment as part of the public-comment period; no staff response from the county attorney was recorded on the public record that evening.
The matter remains a citizen request for clarification; the board may address it in a future meeting or through follow-up from staff.
