Caldwell County commissioners vote to assume governance of DSS and local health department

The Caldwell County Board of Commissioners voted on July 27 to adopt a resolution transferring governing authority for the county Department of Social Services (DSS) and the local health department from standalone boards to the board of commissioners, converting those bodies into advisory boards.

County Manager Shane Fox framed the move as a statutory option to “modernize our human services delivery model” and said the change would eliminate operational silos and bring monthly updates from DSS and health to the commission. Fox cited state law enabling the change and outlined three statutory pathways for counties considering governance reorganization. "Our objective is... to eliminate operational silos and establish a direct line of public accountability," Fox said during the presentation.

During the board discussion before the vote, Chair Church told residents the state would continue to fund DSS and provide guidance: "We're not taking the place of the state of North Carolina. They still are going to fund DSS," he said, arguing the county should have more say in how local tax dollars are spent. A motion to adopt the resolution was made and carried by voice vote.

The change will make the Board of Commissioners the governing body for the two agencies, with existing board members serving as advisory committees under the new structure, the manager said. Fox and commissioners emphasized that day-to-day operations for both departments are not proposed to change immediately, but governance and oversight would shift to create more direct county-level accountability.

The resolution does not alter state funding or the state’s statutory responsibilities. The board did not provide a roll-call tally in the meeting transcript; the motion passed by voice vote.