News-Record.com

DATE: Sunday, January 25, 2004
HEADLINE: BOARD CLASHES ON JAIL, GUNS

GREENSBORO - The Guilford County commissioners spent much of a Saturday morning meeting arguing, foreshadowing what could be a testy year for their board.

In between making their policy on incentives for new businesses more generous and declining to have a citizens committee study the county's ordinance on firing guns, quarrels dominated the commissioners' annual retreat.

They argued about bonds. They argued about whether to study building a new jail. They argued about giving minority-owned businesses more opportunities to win county contracts. They argued about each other.

The meeting is traditionally where the commissioners set budget priorities for the year. This year, they could face the usual hard decisions about the county's budget against the backdrop of an election that could change the political complexion of their board.

The commissioners' first debate of the morning involved a $300,000 study of the county's jail and courthouse needs.

It is intended to determine how the county can reduce crowding in its two jails, and whether a new jail or jail/courthouse complex is needed, where to build it and how. But many commissioners believe it is a foregone conclusion that the study will recommend building an expensive new jail, a project Sheriff BJ Barnes has pushed for years.

Some Democratic commissioners believe that the county should first try to reduce the populations of the existing jails, primarily by not detaining people charged with minor crimes such as drug possession.

"If BJ Barnes, our sheriff, has anything to do with this study, I think the bottom line is, we're going to build a new jail in his honor," Commissioner Melvin "Skip" Alston, a Democrat, declared after Maj. Deborah Montgomery's presentation on the study.

"We're all about doing what's right for Guilford County," Montgomery retorted.

Commissioner Billy Yow, a Republican and close ally of Barnes', started arguing that inmates are in the jails because of judges' decisions.

Steve Hayes, a trainer in the county's Social Services Department whom County Manager Willie Best had brought to the meeting as one of two "facilitators" for the commissioners, rose to intervene. Commissioners Chairman Bob Landreth waved him off.

Neither facilitator was heard from again.

The commissioners next debated economic development incentives, a subject of much interest this month. Two companies are expected soon to request grants of tax dollars from the commissioners in exchange for new factories and offices that could employ 1,300.

In preparation for those requests, the county's business recruiters want the commissioners to make their policy on incentives more generous. The county's Community Development Department director, Rob Bencini, outlined the new policy Saturday.

Until now, the commissioners could opt to pay companies up to $1,000 per job created, if the jobs pay wages 15 percent higher than the county average or better.

The new policy would apply only when the county's unemployment rate is 4.5 percent or higher. It would allow the commissioners to pay $2,000 per job for the first 100 jobs and $1,000 per job thereafter. In addition, the jobs would have to pay just 90 percent of the county's average wage.

Yow argued that the new policy would reward companies for creating jobs that might not necessarily go to Guilford County citizens. Commissioner Steve Arnold, a Republican, argued that "people and private enterprise are the best economic development engines we have," not incentives.

The commissioners voted 9-2 to adopt the new policy.

Next, discussion of a proposed $20 million parks bond raised Alston's ire. He has criticized the bond for, among other reasons, including
$1.5 million for an athletics complex north of High Point proposed by developer Ed Price.

Though Bencini and the leaders of the county's Parks and Recreation Commission and Open Space Committee attended Saturday's meeting to brief the commissioners on the bond, Wade moved to postpone discussion of the issue because Price was not present.

Alston objected. "We need to go ahead and discuss the bonds, and stop trying to delay so you can build support for this one project," he said.

Wade insisted the commissioners vote on her motion to postpone the discussion and told commissioners Vice Chairwoman Carolyn Coleman, who was leading the meeting in Landreth's temporary absence, that she wanted to "call the question," or end debate.

Coleman tried to call for a vote, but Alston argued, correctly, that "calling the question" was a motion that required a second and its own vote. "I've got more debate," he said.

"I will have order, Mr. Alston," Coleman warned him. "We're going to vote to cut off Mr. Alston's debate," she announced, drawing laughs.

"For how many months, Ms. Chairman?" asked Commissioner Mike Barber.

The commissioners voted 7-4 to postpone discussion of the bond, but Alston continued to argue.

"Mr. Alston, respect us! Am I going to have to remove you from the house?" Coleman said, with the slightest of smiles.

"Ain't got anyone big enough in the county to do that," Alston muttered. "Or bad enough."

The parks officials were allowed to speak briefly; they all generally said that the commissioners should allow citizens to vote on the bond. Later, two other proposals failed.

Barber proposed that the commissioners appoint a committee of homeowners, hunters and law enforcement officials to study revising the county's ordinance on firing weapons in public.

The issue created controversy recently after a county resident asked the commissioners to increase limits on firing weapons.

Barber said that Yow, who has opposed any change in the ordinance, had agreed earlier this week to create the citizens committee. But on Saturday, Yow voted against it.

"You suggested the committee!" Barber yelled at Yow after his proposal failed 5-6.

Moments later, Barber cocked his fingers like a pistol, pointed at Yow and whispered: "Pow!" Yow shrugged.

Then Yow proposed to split the Community Development Department in two.

Under Yow's proposal, a planning department would be created, headed by a licensed planning director, to handle land-use issues, and building inspections and permitting. Bencini has no experience in planning and defers to his employees who do.

Yow would have Bencini continue to lead a "community services" department, which would handle issues such as economic development, parks, and water and sewer-line extensions.

Yow's effort to have Best study the idea failed by a 6-5 vote.

The commissioners ended by agreeing that Best should bring them two proposed 2004-05 budgets in May, one with no net increase in the county's property-tax levy and one with increases for what Landreth called "basic necessities."