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Public commenter accuses commissioner of profiting from county contracts; commissioner denies wrongdoing
Summary
At the Rockingham County meeting a resident alleged Commissioner Hall profited from a $3 million Shiloh Airport project and lacked vendor records; Hall responded saying the schools and airport boards operate independently and denied any improper activity.
During the Rockingham County Board public comment period, citizen Doug Ozzley said public records show a commissioner — identified as Commissioner Hall — had performed a $3 million project related to Shiloh Airport and lacked the vendor records expected for contractors, which Ozzley described as a conflict of interest under North Carolina law.
Ozzley urged the board to adopt a permanent policy forbidding commissioners or their immediate families from doing business with Rockingham County government. He said the apparent arrangement undermines public trust.
Commissioner Hall responded during the same meeting. Hall said school and airport boards are separate entities that make independent contracting decisions and that allegations implying he had done something improper were wrong. Hall told the commenter he should be ashamed for making the claim and repeated that he had not bid on or done work for Rockingham County proper since his election in 2018.
The board did not vote on any ethics or recusal motion in response to the public comment during this meeting. Commissioners later asked for records and noted the sheriff's office and other county staff had been asked to provide documents related to an off-the-books bank account during the broader meeting, but no formal investigation was launched in public session.
