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Commission approves amended $100,000 Safe Baby Court allocation after debate over supervisor pay
Summary
Cumberland County commissioners on Dec. 15 approved a $100,000 general fund amendment for the Safe Baby Court program after a debate over a $5,000 supervisor supplement; commissioners approved a friendly reallocation and then adopted the amended budget by roll call.
Cumberland County Board of Commissioners on Dec. 15 approved an amended $100,000 general fund budget for the Safe Baby Court program after a contentious discussion about additional supervisor compensation.
Commissioner Wiley Potter questioned whether the $5,000 supervisor supplement was appropriate, saying the commission should be cautious about adding ongoing pay for what he described as supervision of one additional employee. Finance Director Jennifer Turner said the supplement was requested by Judge Amanda Worley and that other counties sometimes pay a supplement for supervisors; Judge Worley was not present at the meeting. Commissioner Tom Isham said he shared Potter’s concerns. Commissioner Colleen Mall said that because the request came from the judge there was insufficient information in the meeting to judge the workload. Commissioner Terry Lowe said he was concerned but did not want to deny funds that would help children served by the program. Commissioner Wendell Wilson proposed a friendly reallocation to address the concern.
Potter moved, seconded by Lowe, to move $5,000 from the supervisor compensation line to an “other supplies and materials” line; that amendment passed 12–4 with one pass (yeas: Hyder, Shanks, Threet, Seiber, Davis, Lowe, Wilson, Cooper, Maxwell, Potter, Isham, Gibson; nays: Sherrill, Baldwin, Holbrook, Mall; pass: York). The commission then adopted the amended $100,000 Safe Baby Court budget amendment by unanimous roll call vote.
According to the minutes, the grant tied to this budget amendment is extended through June 2028. The minutes record that Finance Director Turner indicated no other county departments receive this specific supervisor supplement and that the supplement was made at the judge’s request.
The commission recorded the adoption but no representative from the court system was present to address implementation details at the meeting. The minutes do not specify operational changes or an implementation timeline beyond the grant extension date.
