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Beaufort County commissioners adopt regional digital‑inclusion plan, approve shelter aid and school reimbursement amid heated child‑welfare debate
Summary
At its Feb. 9 meeting the Beaufort County Board of Commissioners adopted the Mid‑East Regional Digital Inclusion Plan, approved $12,000 from contingency for the Zion Shelter & Kitchen and signed reimbursement #14 for Washington Elementary School construction; the session included extensive public criticism of county child‑welfare practices and a resolution asking the state legislature to review oversight.
Beaufort County commissioners met Feb. 9 in the county boardroom in Washington and approved multiple administrative and programmatic items while fielding prolonged public criticism of Department of Social Services practices.
The board voted to adopt the Mid‑East Regional Digital Inclusion Plan, a multi‑county strategy developed with support from BAND‑NC and NC State, and approved a motion to issue reimbursement request #14 for Washington Elementary School construction, sending $3,092,546.40 in invoices (state share $2,497,849.73; county share $594,697) to the chairman for signature. Finance Director Anita Radcliffe told the board the paperwork had been vetted and that Hite & Associates and school staff had reviewed the supporting invoices: "We have all the supporting documentation here." The motion to allow the chairman to sign the reimbursement and submit the grant request passed without recorded objection.
During the public‑comment period more than a dozen residents described long‑running grievances with child‑welfare interventions and called for greater oversight. Several speakers alleged removals of children and failures in case management; one known family‑integrity advocate urged the board to consider statutory reforms. Commissioner Stan Deatherage introduced a resolution asking Beaufort County’s state legislators to pursue changes that would increase oversight and judicial due process around child‑welfare removals; board members debated the wording, whether to route the issue through the state association of counties, and whether the complaint was about local practice or state law. County Manager Brian Alligood reminded the board that current statutes and court review govern many child‑welfare actions and that state agencies perform oversight.
The board also approved a $12,000 contingency allocation to Zion Shelter & Kitchen after Darwin Woolard described an expanded program of meals and non‑congregate winter sheltering. Woolard said the group “serves about 100 people every day” through its kitchen and warming‑station work; commissioners added a condition for receipt of the funds that the shelter accept county oversight and provide receipts. The meeting ended after a closed session on land acquisition; no further public action was reported.
What comes next: the board asked staff to follow up on the Tyson Point shoreline grant request (possible county support or a Mid‑East application) and to provide documentation on the county’s outside‑agency funding; the DSS/legislative resolution also was forwarded for further consideration after edits and debate.
