MINUTES
STATE
OF NORTH CAROLINA BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS
COUNTY OF HENDERSON NOVEMBER
14, 2006
The Henderson County
Board of Commissioners met for a special called meeting at 9:00 a.m. in the
Commissioners’ Conference Room of the Henderson County
Office Building
at 100 North King Street,
Hendersonville, North
Carolina.
Those present were: Chairman
Bill Moyer, Commissioner Larry Young, Commissioner Chuck
McGrady, Commissioner Shannon
Baldwin and Deputy Clerk to the Board Terry
Wilson.
Absent was: Vice-Chairman
Charlie Messer
CALL TO ORDER/WELCOME
Chairman Moyer called
the meeting to order and welcomed those in attendance. Sissy Rogers requested that each board member
introduce themselves and explain how they had become interested in serving as a
board member. The 25 students present
were attendees at the four high schools, and members of Junior Leadership
Development of Henderson County - Class of 2006/2007. Students present were Casey Allison, Breanna
Holliday, Kaleigh Lund, Caroline Thompson, Michael Ayesh, Brandon Baird, Don
Mayo, Jeff Hill, Whitney Brumfield, Krantz McGlasson, Allison Walden, Leah
Watkins, Felicia Arriaga, Andres Lopez, Brent Coburn, Addie Carr, Kenny
Rodriquez, Patrick Singletary, Lauren Odom, Dexter Blackwell, Kenny Farmer,
Dominique Whiteside, and Leadership Development Coordinator for Henderson
County Chamber of Commerce, Sissy Rogers.
Chairman Moyer explained
that Henderson County
had a County Manager form of government. He stated
that counties are created by the State in North Carolina, and only have the powers
given by the State. Municipalities on the other hand are formed by the people
in a certain area. The primary
responsibilities of the Board of Commissioners are budgeting, taxing, planning
for the county’s needs and enacting local ordinances.
Commissioner McGrady
explained that funding for County services comes from a variety of different sources,
but the largest source of funding comes from property taxes. He discussed some
of the things the County does with that funding. He explained that the Board
adopts a balanced budget for the County each year, which covers general
services and capital projects. He also
discussed some of the volunteer boards that he served on in his role as a
Commissioner, such as Social Services, the Planning Board and the Library Board.
Commissioner Young
discussed some of the services provided by the County. He explained that the commissioners appoint people
from the community to serve on the non-profit boards. He explained that Travel and Tourism is one
of the best in North Carolina funded primarily
from taxes received from Hotels and Motels, Music on Main,
the Apple Festival, and the Garden Jubilee.
They have a magazine placed in various locations to inform the public of
area attractions. Mr. Young reminded the
students that everyone should get a flu shot due to the local counties having
had problems with flu epidemics. Mr.
Young reminded the students of our new facility housing the Department of
Social Services, Veterans Administration, and Health Department and welcomed
them to tour it. Mr. Young also explained
that the yearly tax rate was determined by the budget. Henderson
County has a committee
called Alternative Revenue Task Force that is looking into additional funding
to try to avoid another rate increase.
Commissioner Baldwin
explained that new counties are no longer being formed. However, towns can be created. Towns and cities are controlled by their
municipalities. Planning is very
important. Goals and objectives have to
be set.
The Board also discussed
how roads are handled in North
Carolina, public health issues, the role of Social
Services, libraries and animal services, and the terms of service for
Commissioners. The Board then answered several questions from the students regarding
topics such as Parks and Recreation, the Historic Courthouse, what
Commissioner’s meetings are like, and why people should want to live in
Henderson County versus other counties.
The students were
informed that they could voice their opinions by coming to meetings, emailing
or calling the Commissioners.
ADJOURN
Chairman Moyer thanked
the students for coming and adjourned the meeting.
Attest:
Terry Wilson, Deputy Clerk to the
Board William L. Moyer, Chairman