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Residents urge immediate return of health department funds, citing child poverty and urgent needs
Summary
Several residents told the Halifax County Board of Commissioners during public comment that roughly $6 million originally intended for the county health department was not accessible and urged commissioners to appropriate funds immediately to restore services and address high local poverty and poor health outcomes.
Several Halifax County residents urged the Board of Commissioners on June 1 to immediately restore funds they said belong to the county health department.
"We are one of the poorest counties in the state and 41.6% of all the children in Halifax County live in poverty," said James Mills of Scotland Neck, who told commissioners he was asking them to "appropriate the $6 million" that he said had "fallen through the cracks." Mills said subsequent information suggested the amount could be higher and stressed the urgency of restoring the money to the health department.
Monday Robinson of Enfield told the board the health department is "critical infrastructure, just like our water systems and roads," and urged the money be returned promptly so the department can continue front-line services including transportation and animal control functions she said the department still performs in parts of the county.
Donna Patterson also pressed for the funds to be restored and asked that some support be directed to animal-control needs, including a low-cost trap-neuter-return clinic to address a local feral-cat problem.
Board officials did not take action on the floor during the public comment period. Chair Vernon J. Bryant said later that the matter will be discussed in closed session at the request of the county attorney to preserve attorney–client privilege and to seek direction; he did not announce a timetable for any formal appropriation.
Why it matters: Speakers framed their pleas as a restoration of money intended for the health department rather than a request for new spending. They tied the funding directly to immediate public-health needs in a county the speakers said faces persistent poverty and poor health outcomes.
What's next: The board moved into closed session at the end of its regular agenda, and the county attorney said the health-department funding question would be part of that confidential discussion. Any formal appropriation would need to be adopted in open session at a later meeting, consistent with statutory requirements and the board's regular agenda schedule.
Sources: Public comment remarks to the Halifax County Board of Commissioners, June 1, 2026 (speakers: James Mills; Monday Robinson; Donna Patterson).
