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At-a-glance: Martin County commissioners approve tax change for Bear Grass fire district and several routine renewals and appointments
Summary
The Board approved a set of unanimous, mostly routine actions including a Bear Grass Fire District tax increase, renewal of five non-emergency ambulance franchises, multiple board appointments and grant acceptances, and a resolution supporting Vidant funding for eastern North Carolina.
At its June 12 meeting, the Martin County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved multiple routine but consequential items in addition to the adopted county budget.
Key votes included:
- Bear Grass Fire District tax increase: The Board approved raising the Bear Grass fire district levy from $0.045 to $0.065 per $100 valuation to support equipment maintenance and replacement (motion by Commissioner Joe Ayers; second by Commissioner Elmo "Butch" Lilley).
- Non‑Emergency Ambulance Franchise renewals: The Board renewed five non-emergency ambulance transport franchises — Coastal Medical Transport; Innerbanks Medical Transport; MedEx Medical Transport; Midway Medical Transport; and Roanoke Medical Transport — continuing the county’s five-company cap for non-emergency transport.
- Board and advisory appointments: The Board approved a slate of appointments and reappointments across the EDC, Jury Commission, Social Services Board, Tourism Development Authority, Martin County Women’s Council and Council on Aging. Tammy Spence was appointed to the Williamston ETJ Planning Board/Board of Adjustment, and Jimbo Peele was appointed to the Martin Community College Board of Trustees.
- CDBG Program compliance plans: The Board adopted the required compliance plans and policies to support the county’s 2018 CDBG Neighborhood Revitalization (CDBG‑NR) grant program, including procurement, fair housing, anti-displacement, Section 3 and language access policies.
- Water merger/regionalization grant and contract: Martin County accepted a $50,000 State Reserve grant to study potential water system merger/regionalization with the Town of Williamston and approved a proposal from McGill Associates to perform the feasibility study. No commitment to consolidate systems was required by accepting the grant.
- Memorandum of Understanding with NC DHHS (Rylan’s Law): The Board approved the annual MOU that outlines performance standards for county social services offices; DSS Director Letecia Loadholt reported strong audit performance and said some measures had been adjusted to emphasize growth metrics.
- Resolution supporting Vidant Health funding: The Board approved a regional coordination resolution urging maintenance of state funding for Vidant Health. Commissioners voiced concerns about Vidant’s internal issues but supported the resolution as a statement of regional interest in preserving health resources for eastern North Carolina.
The meeting also included multiple budget amendments (see separate coverage) and routine administrative business. All items in this roundup passed by unanimous votes unless otherwise noted.
