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Why the third-time-the-charm approach?

Back in December when this item first came up, the commissioners questioned the process used to find a design firm.

Unlike bidding on something like a car or a bunch of lumber, design contracts in North Carolina are usually handled through a "Request for Qualifications" process. Companies are essentially asked to submit their resumes and make a rough outline of the work they would do. Then the county selects the best qualified one and negotiates a price.

The commissioners, lead by Mike Winstead, objected to that idea and cancelled the first round of bidding. They told their staff to bid the project like they would any other commodity.

That process yielded one bid from a Georgia company and a whole lot of grief from North Carolina architects. The architects claim that they can't participate in a straight-bid process because of state laws and their own professional rules. The county staff disagreed.

However, after much discussion, the commissioners voted to reject the bid from the Georgia company and try again a third time. This time, they will use a hybrid process that will select three-to-five companies that are deemed the most qualified. The county will negotiate prices with all of the companies simultaneously and choose the one that offers the best price. That new process should take about six weeks, according to Community Development Director Rob Bencini.

The Commissioners got a report from their purchasing director, Bonnie Stellfox, on the number of firms owned by minorities or women that have landed contract with the county.

In 2004, that total number was about 5.7 percent. Minorities along collected only 2.5 percent of contracts issued by the county purchasing department.

We'll have more to write about this later, but this issue has long been a sore sport for some of the county commissioners. That was so much the case that during in the current budget - at the urging of Commissioners Carolyn Coleman and Skip Alston - the commissioners created a position for a MWBE coordinator within the department.

Stellfox's report didn't please some of the commissioners, including Alston and Coleman.

"Ms. Stellfox, I'm disappointed," Coleman said. "I really thought you were placing a major emphasis on this."

Coleman and some other commissioners asked for more information about the county's hiring efforts.

Of course, some commissioners had their own ideas:

"I want you to know there is not unanimity among the board on this,” said Commissioner Steve Arnold. “I don’t like the notion of a county commissioner berating our purchasing director for following state law."

But Chairman Bruce Davis followed Arnold's comments by telling Stellfox: "This board here feels that those numbers are important to us."

Commissioner Billy Yow then spoke up, questioning how Davis could speak for the board when the commissioners never voted on the minority contracting issue.

"Don't speak for me in public," Yow said.

Alston shot back that the board had voted when it voted on the budget.

"Whites males are getting 93-95 percent of all the contracts. So quite naturally Mr. Yow, being a white male, you don’t want to give that 3 percent back," Alston said. "You don't want African Americans to have that 2 percent. And you don't want white females to have their 3 percent. You want it all."

The Guilford County commissioners Thursday ordered Tax Collector Jenks Crayton to relinquish control of the county's Child Support Enforcement office - resurrecting a contentious issue that had been dormant for a year.

That vote came after a recommendation by County Manager Willie Best.
"The time has come - it's been seven years now - for that department to have its own director," said Best, referencing some of the department's complicated history.

Best said that the department would be separated July 1, when the county's new budget takes effect.

Crayton did not attend the meeting. When reached at home, he said he had no idea that Best would bring his recommendation or that the commissioners would vote on the move Thursday.

When asked if he requested to have the department separated, he said: "Absolutely, positively, not at all."

Crayton said that the department - combining figures from the High Point and Greensboro offices - had the second-highest collection rate in the state.

"I certainly hope this isn't a message from the commissioners that they're doing something wrong. How do you argue with the success that they've had?" Crayton said.

About seven years ago, the child collections division struggled when it was under the control of the county's social service department. Roger Cotten, who was then county manager, asked Crayton to take the division under his control.

Since then, collection rates have risen. However, in 2003 Commissioner Melvin "Skip" Alston charged that Crayton discriminated against minority job applicants to the department. Along with Bruce Davis and then-commissioner Mary Rakestraw, Alston also launched an investigation of alleged management problems in the division.

At the time, other commissioners complained that the three were micromanaging and improperly interfering with the department.

By March 2004, those inquiries had ended, with Best assuring the commissioners that the department did not discriminate against minority applicants. Best also promised to continue to look for ways to improve the office.

The issue has not been aired publicly since.
Republicans reacted hostilely to Best's recommendation.
"Why are we fixing something that's not broken?" asked Republican Commissioner Trudy Wade, who hurled a series of pointed questions at Best.

Best responded that Crayton has done a good job but should be able to devote his full attention to tax collection. And, he said, the child support employees should have a full-time director to whom they can bring problems and concerns.

"This all stems from a couple commissioners on this board having a problem with Mr. Crayton," said Commissioner Linda Shaw, also a Republican. "How many people are we going to have to hire to satisfy two or three members of this board."

Shaw, Wade and fellow-Republican Mike Winstead questioned why the county should add the expense of a new position.

But Davis, a Democrat, said that he endorsed Best's recommendation. Davis said he believed that not having a full-time child support director could lead to problems.

"Managing is more than collecting," he said.

He also suggested that one reason that the department has done so well is because it has gotten help from the state's child support division.

When asked what help Davis was referring to, Crayton said, "I haven't a clue."

Barry Miller, chief of the N.C. Child Support Enforcement Program, said he was surprised by the county's sudden move.

"We have a consultant who provides service to a number of counties, including Guilford, but that's not anything that any other county doesn't get," Miller said. "I'm not quire sure what they're talking about."

The vote was 6-3, with Shaw, Wade and Winstead voting against. Republicans Billy Yow and Steve Arnold had left the meeting by the time the vote was taken.