Candidates for Lenoir County Commissioners At-large Linda Rouse Sutton, Steve Saint Amand, Tiffani Koonce-Crawford, and Chad Rouse answered some frequently asked questions. There are two seats up for the At-large race. Neuse News will host an Election Night Results Show on Facebook LIVE on Tuesday, November 3rd at 7:30 pm. The show is sponsored in part by Brooks Poole, Realtor.

Recently the Lenoir County Economic development office folded into the Global TransPark. Does this benefit Lenoir County, why or why not?

Rouse Sutton says…

“Actually we created an economic department together and in doing so we are coming from a regional aspect Lenoir County, Wayne County, and Greene County will be working closely together. Harald Thomas will be working with Greene County and, of course, Mark Pope will sort of be seeing it overall and Keely Koonce will be for Lenoir County.  A group effort to work for all three counties. By them knowing the strengths and weaknesses of all three counties it will really be helpful. So if Greene County doesn’t have what someone needs, Harold Thomas can work in tandem with Keely and Mark to see if Lenoir County is a better setting or if Wayne County would be a better setting. So if someone comes to town and say Greene County doesn’t have what they are looking for, it’s a partnership with the state. It’s one of a kind partnership that’s not been done before and so I think it will definitely strengthen our opportunities. Because there is so much interest in the GTP at this time.”

Saint-Amand says…

“I see the Lenoir County Economic Development Office folding into the GTP as a positive for Lenoir County for several reasons. This serves as a cost-saving measure and allows Lenoir County to have a professional staff on-site at the GTP at all times. I see this as nothing but a positive. Also, if something is good for the GTP, then it will have a direct positive impact on Lenoir County. It also creates a better partnership between the GTP and Lenoir County. This will allow for better networking with Greene County and Wayne County due to a new regional partnership. Again, this only benefits Lenoir County moving forward. The ultimate goal is to bring in other surrounding counties to join in our regional partnership so we can develop into a stronger economic force much like the Triangle and Triad areas.”

Koonce-Crawford says…

“The Economic Development office merging with the Global TransPark does wonders for Lenoir County. It helps with job creation which has already started as well as attracting a diverse workforce. It can also help with economic wage gap disparities in Lenoir County as long as we ensure that our residents in Lenoir County are skilled and have access to these jobs. Finally, as the County Manager has stated the GTP also creates international economic opportunities. It's definitely a win for our community.”

Chad Rouse says…

“I would say yes, and I graduated from here. In 1990 when I graduated, the Global TransPark was announced. That was 1990 and it’s now 2020 and we do have a lot of things happening out there. I feel more confident now because of the familiar faces my same age are taking charge and they want to see it grow because they’ve heard it and they’ve seen it. Now it’s going to grow and the county being apart of it directly will give us a strong footing in how it develops.”

Lenoir County recently completed a salary study for its employees showing that many staff members aren’t paid as much as their counterparts in other local governments. How can we improve the pay scale for Lenoir County employees?

Rouse Sutton says…

“One of the reasons that we did the study was because we wanted up to date information to include looking at not only the salary but benefits provided. In completing this salary study we did realize that we are low in some areas and we’re a little above market rate in just a few, not much but some. We had hoped to start implementing that by phases this year before covid-19 hit. Our plan is to begin implementation in fiscal year 2021/2022. I think our employees are our biggest asset and we want to continue to retain the best and the brightest and we can begin that plan by moving forward with the plan.”

Saint-Amand says…

“The current pay scale for county employees is a major issue that needs to see positive results immediately. It has always bothered me to see our best and brightest leave Lenoir County for neighboring counties over a large salary difference to obtain a job. This hurts Lenoir County on so many levels. I am an advocate of a pay increase for our county employees. I know we are in a tough health and economic situation at this time due to Covid so immediate implementation of pay raises may not be able to be done; however, this issue needs to be addressed. I do not believe in raising property taxes further to achieve this objective. However, I do believe we could be more efficient with our current monies to free up additional funds for our county employees.”

Koonce-Crawford says…

“To improve the pay scale for the employees we can make sure that there is absolutely no waste within each department. We have to be meticulous and look at every single dime. Surely, our department heads can be trusted but there is nothing wrong with checks and balances. If it means performing random audits, which I am not sure if they already happen or not, but they need to be done. Money could be found that could go towards employee salaries. For example, there are detention employees and law enforcement that work a lot of overtime due to staff shortages. If that overtime pay for a few employees would get calculated at the end of the budget cycle, the finances may exist to slightly boost salaries instead of paying a few employees twice their salary because of shortages.”

Chad Rouse says…

“First thing we don’t do is pay for pay studies I don’t like pay studies, I hate pay studies. Why are we paying for something when we already know there is a problem? The government as a whole loves to pay someone to tell us that we aren’t being paid enough. We did a pay study knowing we didn’t have the money to pay people to begin with. So we just wasted the money all the way around. We have county employees who need to be paid. The same time, how do you weigh that and who do you weigh it took. You also have to look at other people’s tax base and what they are spending their money on. We can’t compare ourselves to other counties. As an employee myself, you have to be comparable to where you live. It’s hard to tell a city or county employees we can’t give you a raise when department heads are making six figures. There should not be a 30-40% pay gap between the department head and the next in line. That’s a little crazy. As far as finding the money, we need to find raises, find pay raises but we need to tear that budget apart. Benefits really affect everything we do. If I pay you $80,000 a year, but you have no health insurance and you have to pay that yourself, you are no longer making $80,000 a year. If you add a family member to that, you aren’t even coming close. Why do we always go to the same companies? Who does the outsourcing? Make the companies fight to want to be with us. If you look the city and county employees together, why not combine them to fight for better packages? To shop as a group instead of two separate entities. At the end of the day, it’s the employee who is affected.”

Lenoir County recently in an emergency meeting voted to remove a Confederate statue from the Visitor’s Center to the Wil King Memorial site. What do you see as the correct balance between historic preservation and cultural sensitivity?

Rouse Sutton says…

“I think anytime something like that occurs that you have to really be honest and open with yourself and look at the situation through someone else’s eyes who might come from a completely different cultural background and I think there has to be sensitivity on both parts. And people just need to sit down and talk about it because when you talk and communicate you understand where everyone is coming from and it levels the playing field. I think when we really listen and we see how others might think in a different way than we do. To me, there is no problem that there can’t be some kind of compromise that benefits everybody. I think we need to do more of that.”

Saint-Amand says…

“I fully understand this is a sensitive topic. The key is to be respectful of both sides and find common ground. Being a former history teacher myself, I certainly can see where people on both sides of this issue stand. We must preserve history and be culturally sensitive at the same time. I believe we can do just that provided we always broach the subject matter with an open mind for fairness and tolerance. I think moving the statue to the Wil King Memorial site was a good compromise.”

Koonce-Crawford says…

“History should always be preserved, but history that could be viewed as offensive in any way belongs in a museum or private setting for onlookers to choose if they would view it or not. We all must practice empathy in matters such as these, remember that we all have different perspectives, and it is a choice to allow those differences to tear us apart as a community.”

Chad Rouse says…

“As a history buff I love history but the bottom line is I’ve been here all my life and I’ve never read the statue. That’s laziness on my part. It was on tax-payer property, paid for by tax dollars. It wasn’t set aside to be a special memorial or historical park but now it is. It’s in a place that pays reverence to the battle and how many people died in that battle on both sides so that’s where it belongs. I’ve done a lot of traveling like Gettysburg which is huge, but it’s a national park that recognizes the battle on both sides. Everybody has their own opinion but the bottom line is the south lost. We are a union and the way we remain a union is to be together, not apart”

Do you believe Lenoir County government adequately funds the Lenoir County Public School System? How could this be improved?

Rouse Sutton says…

“I think with the resources that we have available that we do a good job. Having served on the school board that you always wanted and need more money, but having been on the other side of the corn you have to be realistic and look at things not just from one perspective but a whole perspective to include the health department, EMS, DSS just various departments. When I was on the school board the only aspect I had to look at it from was education. But now I have to look at it from the whole picture including all the departments.”

Saint-Amand says…

“As a former educator with Lenoir County Public Schools, I am pleased with the role our county commissioners have with regards to funding public education. An excellent public education system is critically important for Lenoir County to achieve what all of us should want for our kids, which is a better future. The county commissioners fund our major technological efforts in our public schools. The 1:1 program and having stem labs in every middle school are only two examples of what our county commissioners have done to work with our local school system to improve the educational opportunities of our children.”

Koonce-Crawford says…

“I believe that the board funds the Lenoir County Public School system as best they can with the funding that they have. We must continue to make sure that we fund the schools equitably and we must have balance. Other departments should not be funded more than the school system. Proper investments in education and school infrastructure protects our future generation and future economy. The board currently has a liaison that stays in contact with the school board. Dialogue should happen not only with the school board but also parents, staff, and students. It is their needs that must be met so we should talk to them and evaluate their needs continuously to see if any adjustments are necessary.”

Chad Rouse says…

“Again to answer that question I don’t know. My first reaction to that would be it cost a lot of money to run these schools. Through technology, through employees. That being said though what are we doing we’ve lost population but our schools haven’t decreased. We only combined one. How much money did we save? We closed two schools that we almost gave away to get rid of them. I don’t understand that. Why do we as government agencies give things away? Their budget needs to be torn apart, completely. Interesting fact, when COVID happened I asked the question what were they going to do with the salaries that were no longer being paid to the employees that were furloughed. That money either needed to come back to the county and be put back in the general fund or they needed to hold onto it and put it to the side so if we had a shortfall and that money would be there. The response I got was they were a separate body and they make their own decisions. My response was we give them the money so they are held accountable. It’s about stepping on toes. I’m not trying to be ugly when I say this but we don’t know what challenges we’ll be facing, yet when it comes to money. So the answer of ‘we’re not going to account for that money’ is not a good answer. I always look at the central office, it’s a beautiful building, full of a lot of people. What do all the people do in that building make? What are their salaries? How does that compare to the people who are coming in and out of the schools?”

Our current tax rate is $0.845 per $100 evaluation. Is that rate adequate to support the needs of Lenoir County government?

Rouse Sutton says…

“When I went on the board in 2008 I believe it was, the tax rate was $0.84 and here we are 12 years later and it increased by $0.005 per $100 evaluation. I feel we have done well in providing services for our citizens when you consider the great amount of debt that we had as a result of bond referendums voted on by the people. This debt is getting lower all the time but if we can get back on track with normal circumstances, I feel we will work toward lowering the tax rate. One of the main reasons we have not lowered the tax rate is because we have tried to maintain an adequate amount in our fund balance. Many people do not realize that yes, we do get some reimbursement, for catastrophes such as hurricanes and covid-19. However, many times we don’t get that reimbursement until two-three years later. For example, we are just beginning to wrap up getting reimbursement from some of the hurricanes. For instance, in covid 19 we had to go in and make sure we had sanitizing stations, we had to make sure we could take temperatures and put up screens for various offices, we had to mark off social distancing, but all that has to be paid for upfront. That’s why your fund balance is so very important.”

Saint-Amand says…

“At this time, our current tax rate of $0.845 per $100 evaluation is adequate. However, due to the impact of Covid and possible losses in federal and/or state funding, this could be different in a few months. As I have always understood in the school system, at times we have to do more with less. We must be better stewards of the monies we do have and we must not have wasteful spending. Every dollar is precious. Therefore, our goal should be to reduce the tax burden on Lenoir County taxpayers, not increase our current tax rate. It is my hope and expectation as more industry comes to the GTP, Lenoir County will prosper.”

Koonce-Crawford says…

“In my opinion, if the tax rate gets any higher the board would have some very upset citizens. Surrounding counties average a significant amount less than Lenoir County, so we have an issue but we do not have the tax base because of population decline for a decrease. One solution is attempting to get a sales tax increase passed. The previously proposed sales tax increase was on the ballot in 2018 but did not pass. It could have brought in over a million dollars in revenue for the county. I believe in my heart that Lenoir County residents want what's best for our community. The county could have been more innovative in its efforts to educate the citizens surrounding the details of the increase. It's the 21st century so innovation and digital methods of communication are a must. In my opinion, some citizens just saw the word "increase" and voted no; not realizing that they really wouldn't even have noticed any true financial impact.  Many residents that leave to shop and dine in other areas, pay the 7% anyway versus the 6.75% here in Lenoir.”

Chad Rouse says…

“We have the 12th highest in the state. Twelfth in 100 counties. If you look at our demographics, why? And what are we getting for our money? We already know our employees aren’t getting paid. We are 28% below where they should be. So where is our money going what are we paying for that we are 12th in the state? It’s about again, going through that budget and tearing it down. People ask are you going to raise or reduce taxes? Right now we have to figure out where the money that we have is going. I’m for reduction. At the same time, you can’t reduce something without knowing how you are going to fund the things you have in place. I like sales tax because everyone pays a sales tax. I’m for sales tax, not property tax. Property tax affects only one segment of the population. People who own property. That is it. People go, well that’s usually your more affluential people, well maybe not. When you look at the average household in Lenoir County you are assuming that. I’m for sales tax more than I am property tax. I think we need a decrease.”