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Swain County approves budget amendments, appoints recreation board member and schedules special meeting on chairman pick
Summary
The board approved budget amendments including funds for sheriff body cameras and health department grants, appointed a recreation advisory member and scheduled a special session to resolve procedural questions about a chairman appointment.
Swain County commissioners on Sept. 30 approved several administrative measures including a budget amendment to fund sheriff body cameras and to correct prior allocations for fire departments, accepted health department grant funds, appointed a member to the Recreation/Park Advisory Committee and scheduled a special meeting on a contested chairman nomination.
In the morning administrative reports, the tax collector reported year-to-date ad valorem collections of $2,740,953.13 and total year-to-date revenues of $3,177,092.53. The Tourism Development Authority presented first-quarter revenues and expenditures and noted a year-to-date surplus for its period.
A budget amendment to support sheriff body cameras and address prior-year allocations to local fire departments (equal $15,000 allocations and a $30,000 correction for one town—ire department) was moved, seconded and passed by voice vote. "This will correct that, and going forward it is in as two separate numbers now," county finance staff said when describing the adjustment.
Commissioners also approved a health department budget amendment that incorporates grant funding for in-home assistance programs and healthy-promotion activities. The motion to accept the health grants carried after the county clerk called for a vote.
On appointments, the board voted to appoint Steven Rowland to the Recreation/Park Advisory Committee. The board also discussed a chairman appointment process after receiving a Republican executive committee recommendation naming three candidates (Phil Carson, James Douthat and Mike Drinkwater); commissioners raised statutory and procedural questions about appointing a sitting commissioner to the chairman post. To resolve the legal uncertainty, commissioners scheduled a special, open meeting for next Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. to address the chairman selection.
The meeting concluded with new-business items including a multi-commissioner discussion about traffic congestion and parking tied to a tourist train event; commissioners asked staff to coordinate with event organizers to prevent blockages that could hamper emergency response.
