Beaufort County delegation reopens appointments to Beaufort-Jasper Water and Sewer Authority, approves new three-person slate

The Beaufort County legislative delegation reopened questions about its Sept. 18 appointments to the Beaufort-Jasper Water and Sewer Authority on concerns that municipalities’ recommendations were not fully considered and that the authority had longstanding management and capital problems. After public testimony from board members and nominees, the delegation voted to replace the previously approved slate and approved a new three-person slate, and it established a subcommittee to handle contested appointments in the future.

The new slate approved by the delegation included Rob McPhee, the county’s nominee; Andy Kinghorn, a current Beaufort-Jasper board member; and a finance-oriented nominee identified in discussion as Kilpatrick. The motion to place that slate on the delegation’s roster was moved, seconded and approved in a recorded roll-call/hand vote the chair summarized as carrying by a 4-2 margin.

Delegation members said they reopened the matter after receiving calls from municipal leaders and others who said their recommendations were not reflected in the Sept. 18 action. "I personally think that we should strongly take heed to what the county and what the city recommended," one delegate said during debate, urging that the delegation respect local input. Another lawmaker pressed for fuller comment from the nominees before the delegation finalized appointments.

Several board members and nominees described years of deferred capital work, management turnover and efforts to rebuild the authority’s operations. Andy Kinghorn, a sitting board member who spoke to the delegation, said the authority had reestimated capital needs and was preparing a roughly $100 million bond to address projects and plant upgrades. "We came up with the realization that we were way short on the amount of money that we needed," Kinghorn said, describing a consultant-led process that led the board to revise capacity and impact fees and to hold developer "huddle" sessions to solicit input.

Greg Padgett, identified as the authority’s chairman in this cycle, told the delegation the board experienced a decline during the COVID-era and that new leadership and staff hired since May 2023 had improved responsiveness. "Verna Arnett came on in May '23. We have turned things around," Padgett said, crediting new staff and more inclusive planning for recent progress.

Nominee Rob McPhee, identified by the delegation as the county’s appointee, described his 33 years in public service and engineering background and said the board had been "very disengaged" before recent changes. "It was government at its worst," McPhee said of the prior period. He asked to be reappointed to continue the reforms.

Delegates also aired concerns about specific technical and financial topics raised in testimony: the expansion of the Purisburg plant to add capacity for peak irrigation demand, changes in how capacity/impact fees are charged over the life of a development project, and the potential costs of federal environmental mandates. A board representative said compliance with an EPA-directed PFAS rule could require about $100 million in capital work at two plants and add roughly $6 million to $7 million per year in operating costs.

Arguments over process surfaced repeatedly. Several delegates urged that the delegation honor municipal and county recommendations as "home rule" deference, while others pressed that the delegation has the statutory authority to make the final decision on appointments. One delegate summarized the legal framework: under state statute the municipalities may recommend nominees, but the delegation has the ultimate appointment authority.

After the appointment votes, the delegation moved to create a hearing subcommittee to provide a focused venue for contested selections and to produce recommendations to the full delegation. The motion to form the subcommittee was seconded and approved by voice vote.

The meeting closed after brief additional discussion and a public-service announcement; the delegation did not announce further formal votes on other items. The delegation’s action replaces the prior slate and directs staff to provide the delegation with the municipal recommendation documents cited during the debate.