Caswell Commissioners debate emergency purchasing authority and oversight, no cap adopted

County staff presented a draft emergency purchasing policy at the Jan. 5 meeting intended to provide a mechanism for immediate purchases when convening the board is impractical. The draft would delegate authority in sequence to the county manager, deputy manager, the board chair and the vice chair and would require a post‑facto board resolution justifying any emergency purchase.

The county attorney advised the draft language reflects North Carolina case law requiring an emergency to be "present, immediate and existing" rather than merely anticipated. Staff described prior instances—such as a significant water‑system or boiler problem—where waiting for an emergency meeting would have caused further damage or delays.

Commissioners split on whether the policy should include a fixed dollar cap. Multiple members proposed a $25,000 cap for budgeted emergencies (with a lower threshold noted for unbudgeted items), while others said any cap should be low or that emergency purchases should always require rapid board action to preserve transparency. Several commissioners expressed discomfort with delegating large dollar authority to staff during off hours.

No vote on a final emergency‑purchasing policy or a specific dollar cap was recorded; the manager said staff will proceed only with the board’s further guidance and that, absent the policy, staff can still call an emergency meeting when necessary.