Board of Commissioners - Regular Meeting

Good evening and welcome to the Board of Commissioners regular meeting for June 15th, 2026. I will call this meeting to order. If you all will please stand with me for the Pledge of Allegiance and then remain standing for the invocation.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

And I would like to welcome up Dean Rucker from Coldwater Baptist Church for the invocation. Thank you for joining us.

Yes, and on behalf of my entire congregation, thank you for your service, your dedication, your example. We truly appreciate you. Father, thank you for this evening and thank you for these leaders. And we ask a special blessing upon them as they lead the citizens of Cabarrus County. Lord, your word says in 2 Samuel 23 in verse 3, that the one who rules justly over people in the fear of God is like the light of morning at sunrise. And so, Lord, we ask you to help these commissioners to bring sunrise in our lives. We know they face hard and difficult, challenging decisions. And so we pray you'll give them wisdom and help them to lead with justice. Father, when they are tired, we pray that you will encourage them, help them to lead and deliberate and make decisions with kindness, with courage and compassion. And Father, we pause to thank you for this great country, the United States of America, as we celebrate 250 years of freedom. Continue to bless our country. We pray you'll bring our troops home soon and safe, and that you'll bring unity and peace across the land and all over the world. Thank you for these leaders, those that serve in our county and in our country. And Lord, we desperately need the light of sunrise. So we pray for that tonight. In Jesus name. Amen. Amen.

Thank you, sir. All right. Commissioners, I assume that you have read the minutes. I do need a motion to approve the correction of minutes as presented. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? All right. That carries 5-0. And then I need a motion to approve the agenda, including the changes on page 47. So moved. All those in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? All right. That carries 5-0. We will move on to item C, and this one is active living and parks designation of July as Park and Recreation Month with Byron Hagler. Good evening. Thank you for joining us.

Thank you so much for having me. Commissioners, in celebration of July being Parks and Recreation Month, We'd like to share a brief video highlighting the places, programs, and experiences available throughout Cabarrus County. For residents and patrons who may not have had the opportunity to visit our parks and facilities, this video provides a glimpse into many ways the Active Living and Parks Department serves the community. We also want to recognize our incredible communications department for creating this outstanding video and helping showcase the impact of the parks, programs, and the staff.

Some think of parks as an extra, a bonus, good if you have the time to go. But there's so much more than that. They're where kids gain confidence, families connect, health is achieved and maintained. Parks provide a quality of life you can feel in your head, heart, and soul. Without parks, you lose opportunity, you lose community. Parks aren't just an extra. They're essential. And here in Cabarrus County, they're a big part of how we serve our community every day.

They did a fantastic job. With that, I would like to read the proclamation. Whereas parks and recreation is an integral part of communities throughout this country, including Cabarrus County, and whereas parks and recreation promotes health and wellness, improving the physical and mental health of people who live near parks, and whereas parks and recreation promotes time spent in nature, which positively impacts mental health by increasing cognitive performance and well-being, and alleviating illnesses such as depression, attention deficit disorders, and Alzheimer's. And whereas Parks and Recreation encourages physical activities by providing space for popular sports, hiking trails, swimming pools, and many other activities designated to promote active lifestyles, and whereas Parks and Recreation is a leading provider of healthy meals, nutrition services, and education. And whereas parks and recreation programming and education activities such as out-of-school time programming, youth sports, and environmental education are critical to childhood development. And whereas parks and recreation increases a community's economic prosperity through increased property values, expansion of the local tax base, increased tourism, the attraction and retention of businesses and crime reduction. And whereas parks and recreation is fundamental to the environmental wellbeing of our community. And whereas parks and recreation is essential and adaptable infrastructure that makes our communities resilient in the face of natural disasters. And whereas our parks and natural recreation areas ensure the ecological beauty of our community and provide a place for children and adults to connect with nature and to recreate outdoors. And whereas the U.S. House of Representatives has designated July as Parks and Recreation Month, and whereas Cabarrus County recognizes the benefits derived from parks and recreation resources, now therefore be it resolved by the cabarrus county board of commissioners that july is recognized as parks and recreation month in cabarrus county adopted the 15th day of june 2026. thank you thank you

anniversary of American independence. And this is going to be presented by Vice Chair Ian Patrick.

whereas the year 2026 marks the 250th year of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, wherein the people declared with one voice that all men are created equal, and they are endowed by their Creator with unalienable rights, including the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, And whereas calling upon the supreme judge of the world, they rejected despotic rule and pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to defend self-governance. And whereas this anniversary provides an opportunity for Americans to reflect on and renew our commitment to the ideals upon which our country was founded, And whereas this historic milestone invites all to learn more about our nation's history, celebrate our shared heritage, and inspire current and future generations to embrace the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship. And whereas throughout 2026, Americans across the nation will participate in celebrations recognizing America's 250 year journey as the best country on earth. Now, therefore, be it proclaimed that the Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners hereby recognizes and commemorates the 250th anniversary of the United States of America and encourages all residents to observe this historic occasion by reflecting on our nation's history, honoring those who have served and sacrificed for our freedoms, and participating in activities that celebrate the enduring ideals of liberty, self-reliance, and civic responsibility. God bless these United States of America. Opted this the 15th day of June, 2026.

All right, commissioners, I need a motion and a second to approve the proclamation as presented. So moved. All right, all those in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? That carries 5-0. Thank you. The next proclamation I have is going to be presented to us this evening by Sabrina Berry for Juneteenth.

Whereas Juneteenth commemorate each year on June 19th marks the day in 1865 when Major General Gordon Granger arrived in Gaveston, Texas and issued general order number three informing the last remaining enslaved African Americans in the Confederacy that they were free more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. And whereas this historic day represent the effective end of chattel slavery in the United States and symbolize the triumph of freedom, justice, and the American ideal that all men are created equal. And whereas the emancipation of millions of African Americans were achieved through the courage and sacrifice of Union soldiers, black and white, who fought to preserve the Union and end the institution of slavery, along with the unyielding determination of abolitionists underground railroad conductors, and formerly enslaved leaders such as Frederick Douglass. And whereas, it was President Abraham Lincoln who issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, and who championed the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which permanently abolished slavery throughout the United States. And whereas the work of abolish was further carried forward through the efforts of legislators in Congress and state legislators who passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and laid the foundation for the 14th and 15th Amendments, securing citizenship, equal protection, and voting rights for African Americans, a legislative legacy rooted in the conviction that the promise of American freedom must extend to all people. And whereas Frederick Douglass, a towering figure in the fight for freedom, worked tirelessly alongside civic and political leaders to advance the cause of liberty and full citizenships for African Americans, leaving a legacy that continues to call this nation to its highest ideals, and whereas the Frederick Douglass Foundation of North Carolina and community partners are hosting a state-wide celebration on June 20th, 2026, in Raleigh, North Carolina, to commemorate the holiday with music, drama, multimedia, presentations, and statements from elected officials. and whereas Sabrina Berry, serving as Western Regional Coordinator for the Frederick Douglass Foundation of North Carolina, has helped organize and promote Juneteenth observance and civic engagement throughout the western region of the state. Now therefore, the Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners do hereby proclaim June 19th as Juneteenth throughout Cabarrus County, and declare that Juneteenth is recognized as a day of profound historical significance the fulfillment of a promise written in law by those who believe that freedom was not a privilege but a birthright. We honor the memory of President Abraham Lincoln and all those soldiers, abolitionists, legislators, and everyday citizens of every race who fought, sacrificed, and died so that millions might be free. We celebrate the extraordinary legacy of Frederick Douglass and other Black leaders whose voices, courage, and perseverance helped bend the arc of American history towards justice. Today, Cabarrus County and the Frederick Douglass Foundation rejects all modern forms of human trafficking, exploitation, and affirms that every resident in this county deserves the full and equal pursuit of happiness under the law. Approved this 15th day of June 2026.

Thank you for reading that, Sabrina. All right, and I need a motion to approve that proclamation as presented.

So moved. Second.

All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? No. All right, that motion carries 4-1. All right, let's move on to human resources recognition of Assistant Fire Marshal Doug Steele on his retirement from Cabarrus County Emergency Management Department with Jason Burnett and Jacob.

Good evening, Commissioner.

Good evening.

I'll start off by saying thank you. I know. We thank a lot of this individual, so we collectively decided to provide him with something to commemorate his service. But good evening, County Manager, Commissioner, staff, those in attendance. I'm going to read my speech because it's a lot, and there's a lot in the history of this individual that I'll never be able to remember. So this evening we recognize and honor Mr. Doug Steele on the occasion of his retirement after nearly 50 years of dedicated service to the fire service, emergency medical services, emergency management, fire prevention investigations, and public safety. Doug's career began in March of 1976 after graduating from basic firefighting classes. From that beginning, he built a career defined by service, professionalism, leadership, and an unwavering commitment to protecting others. Doug became an EMT in 1978 and in 1980 graduated from only the second paramedic class in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. At the time when paramedicine was still developing, Doug was helping shape the future of the advanced pre-hospital care. He worked his way through the volunteer fire service, serving as a firefighter, lieutenant, assistant chief, deputy chief, and training chief. He was a charter member of the West County Paramedic Association in Erie County, Pennsylvania, and later served as deputy paramedic chief and deputy chief of the Connaught Lake Ambulance Service. Doug's dedication earned him nationally certified paramedic designation, recognition as an outstanding young man of America, and in 1988, the honor of being named paramedic of the year in the state of Pennsylvania by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. His career also included service as a flight medic for the Center of Emergency Medicine in Pittsburgh. While excelling operationally, he continued his education and graduated from Edinburgh University in 1983 with a degree in fire safety. In 1997, Doug moved to North Carolina and began working with Carolina's Medical Center as a ground transport medic for Med Center Air. In May of 1998, he joined the Concord Fire Department as a fire inspector and fire investigator. Doug quickly became a cornerstone of the department. In 2004, he became Concord Fire Department's first nationally certified fire investigator and was promoted to the lead fire investigator with the City of Concord. During his time with Concord, he conducted plan reviews and inspections for some of the largest and most recognizable facilities in our region. those such as Concord Mills and its acre stores and tenant spaces, surrounding restaurants and hotels, and major projects at Charlotte Motor Speedway, including Ford Tower, the Grandstand Renovations, the Dirk Track, including its garages, bathhouses, and office facilities. Doug's expertise reached beyond Cabarrus County, where he was selected to represent the City of Concord on a newly formed NFPA 610 Fire Safety at Motorsports Venues Subcommittee. Through that work, he collaborated with fire and EMS professionals from major sports venues across the country and helped establish nationally recognized fire safety standards for racing facilities. He also helped him develop and implement special event safety ordinances for the city of Concord, laying groundwork that continues to protect the public at large scale events today. Then, in May of 2026, as Doug has humorously described it, he crawled under the perimeter fence and defected to the county. Thankfully for Cabarrus County, he did. For nearly 20 years, Doug has served in Cabarrus County Fire Marshal's Office and Emergency Management Division, becoming one of the most respected and knowledgeable public safety professionals in our region. One of his most significant contributions has been his leadership in nuclear emergency preparedness with the McGuire Nuclear Response Program. Doug became the county's primary instructor and specialist for nuclear response training exercises, training more than 400 personnel every two years, including law enforcement, fire, EMS, rescue, social services, transportation, and other county municipal partners. He successfully led multiple FEMA graded field exercises and evaluations and EOC evaluations. His expertise has also led to appointments on the North Carolina Emergency Management Nuclear Training Committee, Nuclear Equipment Committee, where he helped standardize training and radiation screening equipment across North Carolina nuclear counties. Doug also developed and directed a countywide juvenile fire sitter program. Working with fire departments, law enforcement, juvenile justice, and the district attorney's office to identify, educate, and help juveniles exhibiting dangerous fire setting behavior, that program changed lives and helped prevent tragedies that may never be fully measured as it still does today. Throughout his career, Doug has been deeply involved in fire prevention, emergency management investigations, and public safety planning. He conducted plan reviews for county schools, county facilities, commercial buildings, industrial inspections, expansions, and downtown redevelopment projects across Cabarrus County. Doug has conducted more than 700 fire investigations, including major commercial fires, residential fires, vehicle fires, attempted homicide cases, homicide by fire prosecutions. His professionalism and expertise help bring answers to victims, accountability to offenders, and closure to families during some of their most difficult moments. When you look at Doug Steele's career, the accomplishments are remarkable. But those who have worked beside him know what truly sets Doug apart, and it's not just his resume. It's the person behind it. Doug has been a mentor, a teacher, and a trusted advisor. And to stand ahead in difficult situations, he's been a friend to me. Doug has led grief counseling programs at his church. He's been a person that other people can call for experience, perspective, and problem solving, and simply a friend to talk to. He approached public service not as a job, but as a calling. For nearly five decades, Doug has dedicated his life to protecting people he may never meet. Because of his work, buildings are safer, emergency responders are better trained, events are more prepared, investigations are more professional, communities are more resilient, and countless citizens across Pennsylvania and North Carolina are safer today than they otherwise would have been. Doug, on behalf of Cabarrus County Government and the countless people whose lives you have impacted throughout your career, thank you. Thank you for your leadership, your professionalism, your mentorship, and your lifetime of service to a career dedicated not only to responding to the emergencies that could have occurred and did occur, but preventing the countless tragedies that, because of Doug's work, never did. Please join me in congratulating Mr. Doug Steele on an extraordinary career and a very well-earned retirement. And on behalf of Cabarrus County, I'd like to present Doug with a plaque commemorating his service Again, honoring your years of faithful service to the citizens of Cabarrus County through your dedication, professionalism, and commitment to fire prevention, countless lives and properties have been protected. Your legacy will endure for the safety of this community, a career dedicated not to the fires you see, but the tragedies that you never will. Congratulations. I'll give Doug an opportunity to speak.

First of all, thank you, Jacob, for the kind words that you had and the mentorship you have provided to me and the friendship that you and Jason Burnett have both exhibited during my time here with the county. Thank you to the board. Kelly and your predecessor, Mike, have been a lot of help to me over the years the different things that i brought to you guys and some of it i'm sure you rolled your eyes and shook your heads a few times but i appreciate the support that you've provided and the guidance that you guys have provided as well to the fire chiefs of the concord fire department and the staff there the friendships have been immeasurable some of you that know me know that i had a medical incident about a year ago while doing a fire investigation on the county building that was set on fire and before I was even transported from the scene by ambulance Jake Williams the chief of the Concord Fire Department sent an engine company to meet me at the hospital Our squad, 410 crews met me down there and stayed with me until my family arrived, which was a defining moment for me. That was touching for me. As Jacob said, I've done a lot of stuff here with emergency management, all the different storm events, the floods, the ice storms, the tornadoes. I was the one on the front line for all those. um it was uh i was able to help a lot of people in a lot of different ways and that was was huge for me the building inspections and investigations were just another part of that basically I tell people I've been here long enough that when I started with the Concord Fire Department, we went out and did hydrant flows for the Concord Mills Mall and had to herd the cattle out of the field so we could flow the hydrants because there were no buildings there, just farm fields. So we brought all that out of the ground. The administration from the city of Concord flew me all over the country to visit with different contractors and stuff that were building those buildings so we could get a firsthand look at them. so we could add our safety measures within the state of North Carolina and the city of Concord and the county and make those buildings as safe as we could. That was a remarkable feat on Brian Hyatt's part and the people with the city of Concord. So again, these people helped make this possible. I mean, I couldn't have done any of this by myself. There's just no way. We did a lot of work with the fire department, the fire services, our squad for 10 people were out there with me in the middle of the night, in the middle of the storms, in the middle of Christmas day. So I wouldn't have to be by myself on these fire scenes. which when we come to do the investigations are at the point where they're the most unsafe. The buildings are damaged, they're unstable, and we can't be in there working by ourselves. And the guys from the squad were the ones that were there with me. helping me dig through this stuff and and process these fire scenes we have had tremendous support from the sheriff's department through all this and the times that we worked with them and fire investigation cases that led to some successful prosecutions that really needed to happen we had some people out there that that caused some bodily injury to others in the community And I guess for the first time in about 50 years, I'm about to be a citizen, a taxpayer, a citizen, and a civilian. That'll be a strange role for me. I'm used to being called out in the middle of the night, in the middle of the day, and going to all these calls and missing people. family events birthday parties graduations and all the other things that have happened over the years so my family will enjoy just being able to see me once in a while but again thank you all for for your time and for your support during my career thank you

We thank you so much for all of your service, sir. All right, so we will move on to another recognition of Sarah Kenny on her retirement with Sheriff Shaw. Good evening.

Good evening.

Thank you.

Madam Chair and Commissioners, appreciate you having me here tonight. It's always a pleasure to recognize someone that's retiring and take a moment to talk about what they contributed to this county, to the agency that they work for, and the many other things that go unnoticed that they do each and every day. So tonight, it's my pleasure. Sarah, you want to come up? uh to introduce sarah kenny she's a record specialist in our civil division and records division and sarah's been on a unique 12-year journey to say the least so 14. i'm sorry i don't mean to shortchange um thank you that's what i mean see what sarah does she keeps it straight uh but but in may of 2012 you're right the math adds up too she accepted a shared position with cabarrus county between the cabarrus county sheriff's office and the fire marshal's office so she started out assisting with fire alarm permits concealed carry permits and and just being there to make those things move and happen behind the scenes So you fast forward about five years, Sarah then transitioned into a position totally over at the sheriff's office where she continued to work within the records and civil division, helping out in a lot of different areas, doing a little bit of everything from concealed carry to legal records, documents that needed to be sent to other counties and work with other counties. So a very critical role. Sarah also did this while technology was changing very rapidly. and she was a trooper throughout it all always adapting and and finding out what now she needed to do and how she could step in and help out and continuing to make things happen as she still does up until this very day and making sure that renewal notices get mailed out that folks get the the documents they need and and have requested from the sheriff's office so a big big part of that what began as a three day a week assignment involved into a 14 year career. So she's been super dedicated through the years of change and modernization, Sarah remained a dependable and valued member of the Sheriff's Office team. There's no doubt that a lot wouldn't have gotten done without Sarah's help. All her supervisors are in the back of the room supporting her and loving on her tonight. So Sarah will retire on June 30th of this year. We thank her for her years of service and wish her her happiness, good health, and many blessings as she begins this exciting new chapter. And I have to say personally, I'm gonna miss Sarah so much because a lot of times Sarah and I pass in the hallway. We ride the elevator together a lot. and what you see is always there a big smile she she does her job she she loves on folks and always friendly and personable and in this day and age that's not as common as it used to be as we all know so i'm just so proud of her uh sarah i want to say congratulations her husband is here tonight as well and so as i like to tell all retirees um he's he's yours now so you can you get lists together and you can boss them around full time now. So there we go. But Sarah, thank you so much for your dedicated service to the county and we appreciate you so much. So congratulations.

I will say, starting out as a teenager, I would have never thought I would work for a sheriff's office. But I have come to appreciate these men and women that keep us safe and the things that they do and how they accomplish it. And I have enjoyed my 14 years, and can't thank them enough.

Thank you, Sarah.

Ms. Sarah, we have a little clock for you. You can't leave without your retirement clock. So Commissioner Patrick is going to come down here and give it to you. We thank you so much for your 14 years of service.

Thank you.

All right. So there is one thing that I wanted to mention as well. So Cabarrus County was recognized by the North Carolina Department of Labor for the 10th consecutive year of outstanding work in accident prevention. So we got this little nifty plaque. So we're going to hang this up, too. So that's very good. Ten years, no accidents. All right. So we will move on to informal public comments. Miss Ariadne, how many we have?

We have 21 public comments. We will start off with Ashlyn Berry.

good evening madam chair and members of the board of commissioners my name is ashton berry and i have been a teacher at odell elementary for 10 years i also had the privilege of serving as the 2021-2022 cabarrus county schools teacher of the year being a ccs teacher is a unique experience our district is special and our reputation precedes us At conferences across the state and country, fellow educators usually find me to mention that they've heard of CCS and they're eager to learn more about how we achieve our success. They say things like, your growth index is crazy in CCS. How do you do that? What are you doing over there? Can we come watch? Our district's dedication to inspiring minds, engaging hearts, and shaping futures really does set us apart. One of my friends encouraged me to share what makes a typical school day at Odell special with you all tonight. There's a lot to choose from, but I think the one that stands out the most to me is co-teaching with our multilingual learner teacher, Diana Tirado, to support our fifth graders at Odell who are still learning English. I'm a reading teacher, and together we co-teach through a push-in model so our students don't have to leave the classroom in order to receive their language services. Through collaboration and our intentionality, we've supported students who speak up to 12 home languages in one classroom. and they don't have to miss any instructional time. This push-in model is unique to Cabarrus. We are trailblazers, and districts all around us want to learn more about our ML program so they can replicate it. Part of a letter one of our students wrote us says, dear teachers, I just wanted to say thank you so much for everything you've done for me. When I first came to class and didn't speak English, you were always patient, kind, and supportive. You helped me learn and feel more confident every day. That student passed her EOG this year with flying colors, by the way. But here's the thing, we're not unique, me or Ms. Tirado, not in CCS at least. This kind of impact happens all the time in our district. Every teacher I know in Cabarrus has a letter like this tucked away somewhere because the education that we offer our students is world-class and it sets the stage for a more prosperous Cabarrus County overall. As teacher of the year, I learned that operating a school district as large as ours is more complex than I ever realized. There's a domino effect of decisions that have to be made in order to make successful programs like the ML program possible. I was given a new vantage point with information that I didn't have before and lots of things that made more sense to me as a result. This is where the power of a conversation comes into play. I don't have all the answers that this board might seek about the budget but the truth is that our district leaders are eager and willing to discuss any line item of that budget with you with more transparency if you wish. My ask is that this board considers coming back to the table to have these discussions with open minds and hearts. Our value is that we are educating the vast majority of students in Cabarrus County at our local public schools. Our deliverables are the 35,173 young lives prepared for any future they can dream up. And your return on investment is a better tomorrow for Cabarrus than we have today. Thank you.

Madison Little.

Good evening, and thank you for the opportunity to speak with you tonight. My name is Madison Little, and I'm honored to have served as the Cabarrus County Schools 2025 District Teacher of the Year. As educators, we are often asked, what is your why? I like to respond by saying my why is actually my who. It is the girl with Down syndrome whose dream is to cheer for her school, working harder than anyone else to perform on the gym floor. It is the mother calling and pleading for help because the systems meant to support her family have continuously let her down. It is the boy with autism proving that society's expectations do not define him as he creates visual storyboards and shares them with the world. It is a team of teachers celebrating growth they once thought impossible because they were given the tools and resources to help a child thrive. My platform is growth of every child through equitable learning and collaborative support. That belief has been shaped most deeply through my work and passion in special education, where growth often looks different but is no less powerful. The moments I have shared tonight are not rare moments. They happen every single day in Cabarrus County Schools. They happen in classrooms, hallways, cafeterias, buses, athletic fields, and within our special education classrooms as well. They happen because teachers, support staff, administrators, counselors, and countless others show up every single day committed to changing lives. Recently, we have been asked to promise measurable outcomes. We have provided the data and shown the growth. We are producing results that reflect the hard work happening in our classrooms every day, and that continued progress will be reflected. The growth we are seeing is happening because students are receiving the support they need, and in special education especially, that progress is only possible when those supports are sustained. But behind every data point is a child, behind every percentage is a student learning to read, behind every growth measure is a teacher staying after school, and behind every success story is a family trusting us with what matters most to them. Tonight, I'm not here simply to ask for more funding. I'm here to ask for the investment in the future of Cabarrus County, because these are just not financial decisions. They are decisions about priorities. They are investments in children, family, educators, and communities. They determine whether students receive the support they need, whether teachers have the resources to help children succeed, and whether opportunities continue to grow. As District Teacher of the Year, I had the privilege of serving as the teacher liaison alongside our Board of Education. During that experience, I learned the power of listening, seeking to understand, and finding common ground. I learned that meaningful progress happens when people come together around a shared purpose, and when it comes to education, that shared purpose should always be our students. the students families and educators i spoke about tonight are counting on all of us i ask you to continue the conversations seek common ground and work together to make investment decisions that reflect the value we place on our children educators and community because in a few short weeks those students will walk back into our schools and they will arrive with dreams challenges talents and endless potential and they deserve a community willing to invest in that potential thank you

Good evening. I'm Chris Bishop from Harrisburg. I'm here tonight to ask for your vote in support of the transparency resolution in front of the board. Elected bodies such as this have the duty and obligation to inform the citizens of their actions. Providing clear, timely information to county residents is not an option. The residents of Comparis County are entitled to know what the board views as their priorities and where their money is being spent. Recent events such as the patches of HR1 in Congress and the lack of a budget in Raleigh have undoubtedly made budgeting at the municipal level difficult at best. Cuts to education funding and programs such as SNAP, WIC, and Medicaid have a profound impact on the most vulnerable in our community. Put the blame where it lies with those in the majority in Raleigh who for nearly 1,000 days have failed in their responsibility to pass a state budget. How this board deals with these funding uncertainties on top of population growth and inherent increased demands for services and infrastructure must be fully disclosed. Just as an example, I was informed today that there are several open positions in the school system indefinitely being left unfilled as funding is being withheld due to the lack of a state budget. That decision and its impact is not being disclosed to the public. This information should be readily available and easily accessed. Residents have a right to know how decisions are being made and how they will be impacted, what is being funded, what is being cut, and the rationale behind those decisions. I urge you to support this specific transparency resolution and operate with transparency in all your decisions to display to the community your commitment to their well-being, thank you.

Ingrid Nurse.

Good afternoon. Commissioners are public officials. You are directly elected by voters and hold a position of public trust to manage government funds, shape local policies, and enforce laws. Because you hold public office, you are bound by government ethic laws and financial disclosure requirements. Therefore, there are specific legal and ethical standards that you must uphold in this public office. So when your electorate asks for public transparency, financial transparency, you are obligated to comply. With all the other things going on in our country and in our county, law-abiding, tax-paying citizens want to know and petition for transparency because it is essential. I am Ingrid for the people, by the people, because I am the people. Thank you.

Minister Laverne Graves.

Evening Blessings. I'm Minister Laverne Graves and I'm here on behalf of Cabarrus County in regards to the shortage, the stoppage and the shortage of the K-Rider system, C-K-Rider system here. The people here need that bus service. They go back and forth to work. back and forth to doctors appointments they needed to go back and forth to job interviews and I just can't fathom how y'all can come to an agreement with Kannapolis to stop certain buses and then modify others when there are people who depend upon that, people with wheelchairs, people with walkers. There's a women and children emergency housing around the green route. And they use that bus. That's the only bus that goes up that route. And without the green bus going there on the weekends, there will be people walking on the highways to get to transit. Not to mention people won't be able to get to work if they go to Walmart, they can't go shop. And then when I met one of the councilmen at one of the meetings, she was unaware of that. So the fact that you can just stop certain buses and modify them and not know what's going on in that area is it's unfathomable. And that's oppression. A lot of people want to lose their jobs. A lot of people, I mean, it's not just a poor thing, it's a community thing. Whether you work here, whether you live here, whether you play here, like the community is going to be impacted by that. And it's supposed to take place July the 1st. And the Lord is not pleased with that. And we know what the Lord says about the oppression. Proverbs 14, 31, whoever oppresses the poor shows contempt for their maker, but whoever is kind to the needy And the thing is, to know that somebody won't be able to get to work. And these are people who make minimum wage. I ride the buses with them every day. I've been experiencing homelessness since February 23rd, 2024. When I make my appointments, I circle them around the bus stops, whether it's a mammogram, a pap smear, we all do that. And of course it always affects the poor people. And the Lord is not happy with that. And it's just, The oppression is deliberately targeting the unfortunate in the world's eyes, but God holds them dear to his heart. The devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but he comes to give us life and give us life more abundantly. Thus says the Lord, if this takes place, prayers will go unanswered. Thank you and God bless.

Thomas Monks.

Good evening, Commissioners. My name is Thomas Monks and I'm a resident here of Cabarrus County. Two months ago, parents, teachers, and community members came before this board with a simple request. we asked you to listen to the people responsible for educating our children. We asked that the school board be allowed to present its budget needs and that communication remain open and that education be treated as the investment it is. Instead, I am disappointed that communication continues to break down. And let's be clear about what that means. It means the teacher layoffs will continue. It means that programs may be eliminated. It means growth needs go unmet in one of the fastest growing counties in North Carolina. And it means students and teachers are ultimately asked to bear the consequences of decisions they had no part in making. When inflation rises, flat funding is a cut. When enrollment grows, flat funding is a cut. When teachers are leaving the profession because other districts offer better pay, flat funding is a cut. Too often we hear that education is our highest priority, but priorities aren't measured by speeches or campaign slogans, they're measured by budgets. And when our county continues to add thousands of new residents while our schools are told to simply make do, that isn't fiscal responsibility. That's passing today's problems on to tomorrow's students and the next generation of taxpayers. Something has to be done, something that has been done, for far too long here in Cabarrus County. Kicking the can down the road doesn't meet the needs of now, let alone of what the future will look like. As a candidate for North Carolina House, I've spoken frequently about the state's failure to adequately invest in public education. But local leadership matters too, and I might argue even more. When Raleigh falls short, local governments have a responsibility to stand in the gap. The question before us isn't whether we can afford to invest in our schools. The question is, can we afford not to? Every teacher we lose costs us talent. Every opportunity we deny a student costs us potential. Every year we delay needed investments costs us more in the future than it would today. Our children get one chance at education. They don't get to wait for politics to work itself out. They don't get a do-over because elected officials couldn't agree on priorities. I urge this board to reopen meaningful dialogue with our educational leaders and commit to funding our schools based on the real needs of students, teachers, and families because the future of Cabarrus County is being built in our classrooms. Thank you.

Dan Redding.

My name is Dan Redding. I live in Harrisburg and I'm a candidate for County Commissioner. First, I want to express my gratitude to the Board, Interim County Manager Kelly Sifford, and the rest of the team that did all that was necessary to get the LOB across the finish line with the LGC last week.

Thank you.

Next, I want to talk about the constitutional amendment regarding levy limits for property taxes, which will be on the ballot in November. I ask that this Board join a chorus of other counties in voicing your opposition to this bill. Counties of all shapes and sizes have released statements about why they cannot support a levy limit, with the most common reason being that restricting counties in the biggest lever they have to raise funds would inhibit their ability to plan for growth and make responsible long-term budget decisions. Very rural, less prosperous counties like Robeson, Bladen, and Columbus have come out against it, as well as the major metros of Wake and Mecklenburg. Even our closest doppelganger and neighbor, Union, their Board of Commissioners approved a resolution in April that, quote, affirmed their support for local control over property tax decisions. As of this afternoon, I have not found a single local government entity in North Carolina that has come out in favor of this amendment. Why would any county want to cede control over their budget to a state legislature that can't even pass their own budget? Regardless of whether this board decides to oppose or not, I strongly urge you to educate the public on exactly what they're voting on and what the ramifications of a potentially strict levy limit could be. We all would like lower taxes, but no one should know better than this board that's saying you will lower taxes and actually being able to do it are two different things. And it's especially difficult when we have a General Assembly that keeps implementing unfunded mandates while the cost of goods and services are skyrocketing. What other options would we have to fund our local government? Raising the sales tax enough is not feasible. And we know that the funds are not going to come from Raleigh or DC anytime soon. So then where? Or if things go really poorly, what services will be cut? These are questions that the county has to be ready to answer if a strict levy limit is put into place. And it's frustrating because there are tangible things that our General Assembly could do tomorrow to help the most at-risk of property tax increases, yet they have chosen to go this heavy-handed big government route instead. Whether I'm elected in November or not, I want our county commissioners in collaboration with the finance, budget, and tax departments to determine what rate is reasonable for our county. We love the services that Cabarrus provides, and we all want those to continue. And few counties could be more negatively impacted by a strict levy limit than Cabarrus County. Thank you.

Laura Beaver.

I want to thank squad for 10 supplemental train manpower unit that employees 12 full-time and for part-time firefighters in Cabarrus County I submitted a four-year request with respect to squad for 10 that been dispatched to 4802 calls since 2017 they've assisted in search and rescue car accidents hazard calls Hazardous calls, brush fires, vehicle and structure fires, gas leaks, cardiac arrest, fire standbys, no EMS. They cover long shifts for other stations and other transport patients and transport patients to medical facilities. They're self-sufficient with their own vehicles. They offer free CPR demonstrations and provide educational programs at local events during the year. These are the kind of folks that we want to be around us during emergencies. We've had to call 911 a few years ago and the first person who came to our home was a southern man in a pickup truck from Georgeville Fire Department. He checked my husband's vitals and who was a disabled vet. Another volunteer arrived, then the ambulance came minutes later. They didn't leave until my husband was in the ambulance, and they checked to see if I was okay before I left for the hospital. That is the comfort that I needed during this medical attention. I respect county commissioners, but I scratch my head over this decision to potentially cut essential workers. I don't know all the reasons behind it, but I hope these firefighters will not have spent nine years serving our county to only have to go back in the back of a line in the hiring process. or start over as a rookie. The facts that I pulled from the National Volunteer Fire Council. Volunteers comprise of 62% of firefighters in the US. Out of 1.1 million firemen, 635,100 are volunteers. Many local volunteer fire departments are struggling to meet staffing needs. The majority of fire departments in the USA are volunteer. Out of 29,452 fire departments, 18,873 are volunteers. 32 out of 72 firefighters who died in the line of duty in 2024 were volunteers. When you have free time, take food or go to a local station. That includes policemen and EMS. Their jobs come with PTSD, stress, anxiety. They spend hours away from their families. They work hard to protect us, and in return, we should be honored to support them. This idiom rings true. No good deed goes unpunished. Please support Squad 410, especially in this growing county. Thank you.

Debbie Vavra.

Good evening. Thank you for allowing me to speak this evening. My name is Debbie Vavra, I'm from Kannapolis, and I'm here to urge the Board of Commissioners to work with the Board of Education to come up with a budget that fully supports public education. Teachers are the backbone of our community, and public schools serve all students. I haven't had children in school for more than 20 years, but I'm still a strong supporter of public education. The kids are our future. They're the ones who become firefighters, teachers, healthcare workers, engineers, and all the people who take care of us. They deserve a good education. Teachers deserve to be supported with better pay and better funding per student. How can North Carolina be satisfied with being at the bottom of the heap for support of schools in the United States? That's unacceptable and frankly embarrassing. Teachers are being hit from all directions with curriculum requirements, limits to what they can teach, and people constantly looking over their shoulders, and yet they give their all. They do it with a lot of pressure. The Board of Commissioners needs to discuss the school district's needs and not just push forward with a budget that's below what the districts need. The state needs to pass a budget so the county can pass one here and support public schools, thank you.

Keisha Sandage.

So first off, thank you guys for passing a proclamation for Juneteenth. There are Juneteenth celebrations all across the county. There is one in Harrisburg on the 18th, there's one in Kannapolis on the 19th, and there is one in Midland on the 20th. So I hope to see you all there. Just a few reminders, in April 2019, then board member Laura Blackwell Lindsay stated, seems like a waste of time for us to spend so much time on the budget and literally get nothing back from the county. Seems like a waste of time now. The Cabarrus County School Board has asked you for 8.43% more. Laura, also during the six years on the school board, you voted to approve the school budget four out of six times. While serving on the school board, you also publicly discussed concerns that you had with deferred maintenance not being provided by the county. As the commissioner now appears at the board of education is struggling to even have a full and meaningful conversation about this funding request. I find that very ironic that your leader is suggesting that you not fund the schools fully when your leader, when she was on the school board, requested for funding four out of six years on the school board. That should make you question. If the budget process felt frustrating and unproductive to Commissioner Lindsey in 2019, why would we want today's school board members to have that same experience? What has changed between serving on the school board and serving on the county commission? I ask you guys to figure that out. Educational leaders should have the opportunity to present their needs, answer questions, and engage in meaningful dialogue, even if the final funding decision differs from their request. Ian. I think that when you talk on public social media platforms, you just don't get anything accomplished. And a few weeks ago, we saw that easily could be had in private if you guys need to, in public if you need to, to get a resolution for our school system. The county's educational partners, including Cabarrus County Schools, Kannapolis City Schools, and RCC, deserve to be heard before decisions are made. The seats may have changed, Laura, but principals shouldn't. Every elected body deserves an opportunity to present its needs and participate in an open, respectful budget process. Thank y'all.

Rick Hulforth?

Very good.

Thank you.

Good evening, commissioners. I'm Rick Hofferth with the Cabarrus County chapter of Down Home North Carolina. I'm addressing tonight the resolution on transparency that you all have had lots of time to take a look at. On March 29th of this year, I emailed all five of you. I heard back from two, and I did not hear back from the other three, not even an acknowledgement of my email, which I was kind of surprised about. Commissioner Wartman, Commissioner Jones, responded we met with them we had productive conversation the rest of you no response no conversation and i think that it's clear now how you're going to vote this evening and i cannot overstate the significance of elected officials publicly refusing to be transparent with the citizens that they serve regarding financial matters that will impact citizens lives especially the most vulnerable. Our resolution does not ask for money, does not ask for changes in the budget, or changes in financial procedures. We are asking you, the Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners, to share information, gather community input, and talk to our state and federal leaders about cascading impacts of federal budget cuts and state budget delays and cuts on our local budgets for years to come. Some of you think it is wrong when citizens, an individual or a group of citizens, demand anything from you. I see in this attitude a fundamental failure to understand that you work for us, all of us. regardless of who voted for you. The matters for which we are asking transparency are not the decisions that you have made. The cuts that are coming due to HB1 passed last summer by the 119th United States Congress and the failure of our state legislature to pass a budget are going to be forced on you. If you refuse to be transparent and work together, the buck is ultimately going to stop with you. You won't be able to come back later and say, we didn't know, because you know right now. And the people of Cabarrus County are going to demand that you explain why you knew and did nothing, why you failed to protect the citizens of Cabarrus County. November 3rd. is only a little bit more than five months away. Do you want to own all of this? We are asking you to be transparent, gather input from citizens, and find a way to work together. Your vote this evening is not a conclusion. We will continue to work for the good of all people of Cabarrus County, especially the most vulnerable. Thank you.

Justin Luter.

I'm Justin Luther I live in Kannapolis and I'm here also to speak on behalf of the transparency resolution Thomas Jefferson wrote a well-informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny I would add a citizen never needs fear or be overly concerned for the government if that government operates with transparency In fact, it's the duty of a just government to do all in its power to be transparent in all its decisions, whether the public explicitly demands it or not. But in this case, we are explicitly demanding transparency. I want to address just the first section because I fear and we've shared, so please if you have this read along, we've shared this. I don't believe the people are aware of what you are going to vote on today, which I think is the first sign of a failure of transparency. So the first section is public transparency requirements. The county managers show established and maintain a dedicated Web page on the school systems website that provides six simple things. One clear explanations of how federal government shutdowns and state budget delays impact school services. Our people should be educated on what is happening in the school system. to regular updates on the status of federal and state funding for programs administered by the county people need to know what funding is coming and what funding serves what programs itemized information showing which services may face cuts or disruptions and the government entity whether it be federal state or local responsible for those funding decisions Plain language summaries accessible to residents of all educational backgrounds and language proficiencies, historical context showing funding trends and the cumulative impact of budget cuts over time. Lastly, contact information for federal and state elected officials who have decision making authority over affected programs. I think the key point that people are saying here is that you, as our elected representatives, are here to work for us. You are here to represent our interests, not your party's interests, not your personal interests, our interests. And I ask that you support this resolution, pass it, and let's move forward. Last thing I do want to say, it warms my heart, Mr. Pittman, that you would vote against our Juneteenth resolution. Confederacy lost once, and every time you vote against it, it loses again, thank you.

Nancy Hoffar.

Good evening, commissioners, and thank you for this opportunity. After the people who have preceded me this evening, I almost didn't come up here. I was ready to employ what I know about writing and just say ibid, but I decided I'm going to talk anyway. When Down Home first presented our resolution in March, I thought it would be a fairly easy process, asking county commissioners to be transparent, not asking for their time or money. One of the first criticisms made was that following through with our resolution would put an undue burden on county staff. So members of Down Home met with members of county staff, we met with the assistant county manager, and we were pleased that they had already come up with a version of what they would do for transparency if the commissioners approve the resolution. There have been several speakers tonight concerned about the school budget, taxes, safety, and transportation, and I think many concerns have been brought about since our federal budget began severe cutbacks. If the Commission can be transparent about how and why they are dealing with these cutbacks, it would alleviate much of the worry and concern. The Commission of Financial Efficiency created for this purpose has only met once or twice since it was created last year. I attended the most recent of their meetings in May and there were not seven members as it has been reported. At the end of this meeting, there was a discussion about when the next meeting would be and it was decided that December would be soon enough. This is not transparency and it's time that we hold our elected officials to this, thank you.

Robert Meton.

Hello, y'all. My name is Robert Mitton from Concord, and I'd just like to talk a little bit about accountability and transparency. As we all have been speaking about this, accountability, what does that mean? One thing that accountability means is facts, that we go by facts, we do not deny facts, If something is well documented, if it's history, if it's American history, we don't publicly, as a public elected official, deny the facts and come up with some other version. And so when you have something like a no vote against June 19th, that is denying American history blatantly. Smirk all you want. Deny American history doesn't do you any good. It's fact. It's fact. It is fact. And it's just disgusting that we have people in this day and age representing us who cannot accept facts and cannot be honest about reality.

Thank you.

Grace Hemsley.

Good evening, thank you for having me. My name is Grace, I'm with Down Home North Carolina and I also want to mention I have a degree, a bachelor's degree in history and a master's degree in history and I'd have to agree with my friends back there. But that's not why I'm here to speak. I wanted to address that I've heard some of you have said and believe that you do not think citizens or groups of citizens have the right to request or demand anything from elected officials, which is really strange. It has me begging the question, who elected you? Why are you in public office? And finally, the big question, who were you elected to represent? And I also want to be really clear, this isn't a matter of partisan politics. And this isn't a matter of the resolution. This is a matter of people who belong to any party. deserving better than any elected official who doesn't think their very job is to engage with the community, hear the request, and simply sit at the table. What I myself can answer to and tell you, that come November 3rd, we will remember this and ensure that citizens and groups of citizens are aware of this starting now. And I hope you're aware of us and remember this now as well. especially as you watch election results come in in November. Not because you didn't pass the resolution, but because all of the people of Cabarrus County deserve better than that. And I lastly want to remind everyone as we get ready to commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence that there is nothing more American than speaking up, exercising your constitutional right to free speech, and most importantly, demanding that our government represent we the people. Thank you.

stephen bryant good evening commissioners county manager county attorney why are the cabarrus county board of commissioners adverse to transparency A constructive citizen group present a resolution for transparency. This organization is not asking for money, a new position, or anything out of order. It appears that the majority of the county commissioners have objections to transparency. What are you afraid of? What are you hiding? This country, this state, this county are facing some tough and harsh decisions. Being the county commissioners or any public-facing organization receiving taxpayer dollars, the greater the transparency, the greater the trust. The Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners' aversion to transparency in these turbulent times turbulent and financial and political times leads to distrust by the voting public. Thank you for your time.

Ezra Whitechick.

Good evening, board. Thank you for this opportunity to come before you. My first time talking to the board. I don't have notes, but I'm going to speak to you from my heart. I recently retired from one of the largest banking corporations in the world after almost 30 years. And my dad always taught us as growing up to always have a backup plan for your backup plan. So my backup plan, a year before I retired, started my own business that's where I am now so my question to the board is what is the county doing to help small businesses succeed truly succeed what are you doing are you waiting for the businesses to come to you or are you reaching out to the businesses to help them succeed outside of that implore you to look in your hearts because folks are talking about transparency here and it doesn't mean translucent it doesn't mean opaque it means full transparency so my question you can answer that later we can answer it through an email whatever you want to answer that question but I would expect an answer I mean, that's what questions are for, to get answers, right? But in terms of the transparency, I agree fully with the folks that are speaking here that when you say transparency, every single dollar and penny that comes into this county needs transparency because who does it come from? The people sitting in this room. Everyone in here deserves to know where their tax dollars are going. Who's getting that money? What are they doing with it? And what is the county holding back from them? So if there's some shady deals going on, you may as well step down now if you got some shady deals that might come to light. Okay, I'm just being honest with you.

I'm speaking to you from my heart.

I'm not here to slam anybody, I'm not here to embarrass anybody, but transparency is key. In my business, yes, I'm fully transparent. Any questions you want to know about my business, I give you full transparency, because I'm not trying to hide anything. But as elected officials representing not just the people in this room, but every citizen of this county, you're representing them. And as a team, you represent them. Talking together, talking to each other, making sure that your constituents in your areas are fully heard. And that transparency is key to their willing to support you in November. It supports whoever they feel is giving them the transparency that they deserve, that they elected you to sit on this panel to give them. So on that note, I step down. Thank you.

Chris Cranston.

Good evening to all present and those watching online, with a special mention to the folks who have joined or visited our Facebook group, Cabarrus County Citizens Against Tax Hikes and For Government Transparency. Today and every June 15th has been a challenge for me since 2015 when my older brother Sid went missing and I'm not claiming victimhood or looking for comfort but I would regret not mentioning him on this day and I miss and love him very much and look forward to our reunion in the presence of the Lord. Okay, on to the task at hand. First let me say thank you to every person on government payroll that has put work in on this budget, especially the ones trying to shrink it. i have wanted to see some attempt at ruling and spending and finally after over two years of the people's will being ran around we can admire some fruits finally seeing the light of day take note compromises have been met something that's been missing for a long time even with the compromises i see plenty of arrows being slung who's shooting them and who's been on the receiving end taking hits for common citizens as myself and i want to say thank you thank you very much Y'all are the reason and I would go as far as say the exclusive reason our taxes aren't going up this year, right? Hope I'm right on that. Four of you were elected to represent we the people and not we the government. Cabarrus County government can and should be able to stand on its own merits and the people need representatives they can trust to represent them even when they're not present. watching the revenge firing take place has been extremely disconcerting and has only moved us backwards still looking for transparency on that myself i do look forward to finally having a county manager that isn't in jeopardy of a firing and perhaps even receives a 5-0 vote that would be welcome are we paying sean newton his lawsuit more than he seeks without even a court date and i can't help but wonder One more thought, you all have the massive responsibility of taking our money to redistribute it to others. Please remember you're taking from families like my own who can't reasonably afford healthcare plans. Self payers like me sponsor many government employees health needs for life. And if I dare mention that, then I hate all public servants and I would prefer they were all suffering while I dance on their heads. The real truth is I love people and I want the best for all. And I get that my tones and posture can be used to argue that, but it remains true. And I appreciate diversity of thought and love brotherhood from sea to shining sea. And don't doubt me. i'm going to close this with an invitation to attend church this sunday for father's day i can pick up folks if needed and even take them home after my church does have one mandatory requirement you must be a sinner which might explain why i'm so comfortable there you can easily find me online to message me i want to say thank you to every father out there with their nose to the grindstone working hard to make a better life for their families which in turn if we are represented well results in a better cabarrus county for all of us And I wanna remind people about the protections from the state level. Property taxes are the only taxes that we have to pay or lose our home. I don't have to go to work, I don't have to pay income taxes, but we need protections from two and 300% increases on property taxes from somebody, another government, whatever, we need it.

Thank you.

Brendan O'Connor.

Good evening, everybody. Yeah, my name's Brendan O'Connor. I'm a Concord resident, and I've worked for over 15 years in community and economic development. I'm a PhD student now at UNC Charlotte, and a dues-paying member of Down Home North Carolina. What I would like to ask you all, since it sounds like some of you are going to vote against this transparency resolution, is why? I'm asking you to make it plain. My suspicion is that some of you all want to cut the services of some Cabarrus County residents. And if so, I'd like to ask what are those services you want to cut? Make it plain, be people of your word. I imagine you all would like to be thought of as that way. But to do that, you have to first be willing to name them. So do you want the General Assembly's lack of a budget or Congress and the cynically named Big Beautiful Bill to cut the services of women, infants, and children, the WIC program, or of Medicaid, which among other things, those expected cuts from the quote unquote Big Beautiful Bill are gonna put rural hospitals under threat of closing? What is it? And why did you all not provide all of those particular edits to the resolution when it was circulated around to each of you? Is the public well so poisoned that all of you were not at least willing to name any other edits or disagreements and positions on cuts or any other edits and negotiate them in good faith? With respect, do you want to govern or do you want to act like a rubber band that snaps back based on the moves of federal or state government? Do you all have autonomy locally to actually govern or not? That is, this is all in the context of the cheap, essentially two-party system and the binary zero-sum politics it encourages. I understand that. So I don't think it's fair to put all things on you all. But it's complicated enough that y'all are 100%, Sorry, but it's complicated enough that you all 100% have serious governing responsibilities still. And to my mind, for any of you who are willing to vote against this transparency resolution, but not willing to offer honest critiques and suggested changes before opposing it, That is the definition of not being willing to work together in good faith. I hope I'm wrong based on your votes, and in closing, I'd also co-sign that what's the issue you have with Juneteenth? Make that plain, too, and say it in the streets, to the press, and let's be real about what's going on with our history and the division in this country, because that doesn't help. Thanks.

Michelle Williams.

Good evening, commissioners. My name is Michelle Williams. I'm a parent of three children in our district, a certified teacher at a Title I school here in our district, and a candidate for the Cabarrus County Board of Education. And I believe it is my duty to advocate for our public schools. I'm speaking up for my fellow colleagues, my students, my neighbors, as well as all the children within this county. The school district worked tirelessly for several months to work through its budget process and identified needs based on our growing district. Those needs included rising costs, student support, transportation, safety, instructional needs, and employee retention. But before the school district was able to present its proposal, the discussion was stopped and funding was directed to remain at last year's level until further notice. And that is exactly where the conversation should have happened. A budget process is meant for questions, discussions, negotiations, and finding solutions together. I've spoken with so many community members and there are major concerns here. The concerns and questions that are being asked are why didn't the conversation happen publicly? Why wouldn't the public get the opportunity to fully understand what was being requested and what needs may not move forward? This is not transparency and taxpayers deserve it. The concerns revolve around the fact that a budget represents choices and whether a student receives additional support. However, these aspects were not acknowledged. What opportunities, resources, programs, and positions must be considered for elimination? from our well-deserved students and staff? What fees may have to now be circumvented to parents and guardians? And that opens up an equitable issue. What staff members will continue to be stretched thin to the limits due to the lack of supports? Parents and guardians are asking, will my child have the support they need this upcoming school year? Will their teacher have the resources they need? And will our schools have the people in place to meet the needs of every single student? And I want to be clear, these requests were not about unnecessary extras. They were about student safety, student support, and student outcomes. Our teachers and staff are tired of operating with uncertainty. They wanna know that the work they do every day is valued, and support it excuse me and there is no state budget and our local educator still showed up every day for our children they deserve leaders who listen and advocate the kids in our community deserve it every 35,000 student plus 4,000 staff members are worth hearing and fighting for and to my knowledge there has not yet been a full conversation between both boards about this budget and I hope then I'm wrong. And I hear we are tonight waiting to hear what the budget results are. The school board has a responsibility to advocate for our students and staff, and those responsibilities should come together at the same table alongside our county commissioners. Thank you.

Wesley Honeycutt.

Wes Hunnicutt from Midland. I didn't write anything down tonight, so at worst you all just have to listen to me ramble for three minutes, but I wanted to throw a couple of numbers out there. $309 million is the first one. That's what the county budget was in 2020. Last year it was $548 million. This year it's $559 million. Until this year, the budget's increased by 10% every year since 2020, at least. Some years more, some a little less. If we increase the budget by 10 years, we're gonna have a billion dollar budget by 2032. that is not sustainable i know that folks are coming here and everyone wants something different it's your job to take this purse of finite money and try to do something with it but The number can't just go up indefinitely. I understand it's gonna go up some. We're always gonna have inflation. Unless Cabarrus County stops growing, it's gonna go up, but it can't go up to that magnitude. It is not sustainable. I mean, you're gonna have people paying $10,000 in property taxes for a modest home in Concord. Some probably already are paying that, depending on where they're located. So something has to be done, and I know that there's all sorts of golden calves that come up, right? There's some areas that you literally can't talk about cutting without people losing it. I'm going to give the ultimate example right now. Van Shaw is in the back of the room. If Van Shaw comes up here and says, I need a billion dollars to run the sheriff's department next year, somebody has to tell him no. Now, I think Van Shaw's got a great group of guys. One of his guys called me a couple weeks ago checking on me because he hadn't seen me here in a while. I mean, that is a good, that's a good dude. He's got good guys working for him. But if he says I need a billion dollars and you got to triple your budget just to fund the sheriff's department, somebody's got to tell him no. And everybody's got to not get their feelings hurt about it. Right, so I understand, I'm listening to a lot of talk about all this stuff that the government should do. I challenge everyone in here to step up and say, where can I be a better neighbor too? It is not government's job to solve all of our problems. All these Bible verses that we bring out about being generous and kind and helpful to one another, Jesus didn't tell us to get Rome to do it, it's us. All of us. So I challenge everyone in the room, where can you be a better neighbor? Where can you help your neighbors more? Where can you solve some of these problems? Because honestly, I want all of you to do less. I want a government so small I can barely see it. And they're like, oh man, the crazy libertarians coming out up here. But I promise you, it's better for everyone. There's more freedom. I've not driven by one of the new schools and thought, man, we're barely checking the needs boxes here. There are people with holes in their floors paying property taxes so we can build Taj Mahals. I really think that if we would take a step back and evaluate true needs versus wants we'd all be okay with cutting and maybe funding some of these other things that are a little bit more worthwhile three minutes that is all thank you you're welcome all right we will move on to the consent agenda commissioners i need a motion to approve the consent agenda as presented

All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? All right, that carries 5-0. Okay, I am going to need a motion to suspend the rules. We are going to flip our reports and general comments by board members above the new business and then move new business down. So I do need a motion to suspend the rules.

I so move. Second.

All in favor, please say aye. Aye. And any opposed? All right, that carries 5-0. And then we are going to move new business underneath reports and commissioner general comments.

So moved.

those in favor please say aye any opposed all right that carries 5-0 thank you gentlemen um so we will move to reports um there the reports that have been included in the packet do mention that we do have some vacancies on some of our boards so please make sure you do go on the website if you are interested in applying for any of those boards i will start with commissioner pittman your reports

well uh some of the groups i'm supposed to go to hadn't met since last time we were here and uh town midland of course they had their meeting but i had to be out of town so i missed that one so i don't really have any of those reports let me know when you're ready for general comments all right thank you sir commissioner wortman no reports any reports commissioner jones commissioner patrick

Quite a few. So Active Living Centers Advisory Council was this morning. It was a fairly light meeting. But I did get an interesting fact out of that was just in the first three quarters of fiscal year 26, we've had a million visitors to our active living centers and parks. That was a pretty wild number to hear. wanted to mention there is a walking tour of the Concord active living center on June 25th at 9 a.m. there's a trail out back that not a lot of people know about so they're gonna actually do a tour if anybody wants to go to that and then there's a session guide for active living in parks now available that covers July 6 to August 15th if I could find it I'll share i'd show it to you can't find it you can find it on our website but it basically lifts every single event and item that's going on at the active living centers in the parks for those two months i thought it was really well laid out and easy to understand All right, then we had central line of region F aging advisory committee. And I want to mention two things there. So there's a couple new programs that are that are funded federally or by the state. One of them is the guide program and that's for caregiver caregivers of people with dementia. And so if you are a caregiver and want some respite care and some things like that those are available available to you now. There's also Veterans Directed Care Program, VDC, and that's for veterans that may be struggling a little bit that would like to age in place. So if you know any veterans that need some help, please reach out to them, but let them know that what's sort of strange about this one is that you have to tell your primary care doctor at the VA They are the referring mechanism. It's not Central Line and it's not really any other agency, which is sort of weird. So let your primary care physician at the VA know that you'd like to be referred to that. um lgc commission uh went to raleigh a week or two ago and i was proud to report that we received approval from the lgc for the northwest cabarrus elementary and high school buildings so those should start sometime this summer i want to thank kelly sifford and jim howden for going up there with us and and you know fighting for cabarrus county schools Harrisburg town council they approve their budget unanimously is 138.9 million dollars and I thought an interesting tidbit was they reduce their general fund expenditures by 2.9% so they're still doing a great job with with Harrisburg planning and zoning was pretty easy there were a couple of variance request a special use permit and a subdivision of property nothing really to note there Finally, the coffee committee. I am the chair of that committee. There were some comments tonight. We did a budget overview to kind of give the committee an update on that. My goal for the meeting, which is later this month, is to work on goals and objectives for the rest of the year. The other item on the agenda will be to recommend appointment of additional members up to this body. We've requested applications. I've got about five or six that we will add to the agenda, and so we're going to be filling out that board next month subject to the approval of this board. And then finally, I think we had someone say that our next meeting isn't until December. I just want to note that the next meeting is this month, and they happen every other month. So we welcome anybody to come to that. That's it, Madam Chair.

Thank you. So I believe that that next meeting is actually June the 25th. And if you are interested in coming to any of our Commission on financial efficiency meetings We do have a tab under the government tab where it shows you what day and time each of our meetings will be and so I also wanted to clarify for one of the speakers Just to let you all know that I do know that there's been some discussion about transportation Cabarrus County is Thankfully at this point not involved in any of those conversations and we don't really have a whole lot to do with that piece of the puzzle, but I will say this. I have a great relationship with the Kannapolis City Council members and have met with them. And so we are always open to listening and having conversations with ways that we can help as a county for some of those bus riders who need CCTS. as transportation as well so i did want to let you all know that we don't actually make any decisions with the ck rider program either so and then i have my health alliance board meeting tomorrow evening so i will have an update regarding we are in obviously the process of talking about budget for that that as well so we will be discussing that tomorrow evening and we will move on to general comments commissioner pittman

Thank you, ma'am. First of all, I want to address this thing about Juneteenth. I don't support it because it is based on a lie. People were not set free by the Emancipation Proclamation. And that general or whoever he was that told people in Texas that they'd been set free on June 19th, maybe he had just set them free, but it wasn't because of Emancipation Proclamation. It only applied to southern Confederate states and territories. It did not apply to the slaves in Union states. That's why General Grant, who could have set his wife's slaves free at any time, refused to do so until the 13th Amendment was passed in December. It was passed in June, but was finally ratified and became law in December. I believe it was December 18th of 1865, eight months after the war was over and Lincoln was dead. If you want to celebrate the slaves being set free, I want to celebrate with you, but get the right date, December 18th. Now, my wife and I went to the state GOP convention this weekend and she's on the executive committee. They had their meeting yesterday and so she was in the meeting and I was standing in the back because I'm not on that executive committee and this very nice black gentleman came up to me to talk to me and thank me for things I had said in the convention and to solicit my support for him to replace Secretary Trotzler as Secretary of Labor. And after we talked, I'm glad to say I will support him. But when this stuff came up about Juneteenth, while he and I were back there quietly talking, I told him about my objections to it and why I objected and how it ought to be in December, not Juneteenth. And he agreed with me because he's a reasonable man. He understood the truth that I was telling him. Okay, now, moving on to the transparency statement. I wanted to pass that. There's a lot of good in that statement that I agree strongly with. There were a couple of things to which I objected, and so I offered to the board members an amended version to correct those things, and it was my understanding we were gonna consider that amended version and do it tonight. I found out today. We're not going to. I wish I could have gotten that amended version before us, because I would have voted for that. As it was written with the things I had to object to, I might have to vote no. But one of the things that I said yesterday, or not yesterday, but Saturday during the state convention that got a huge response, and that's one of the things this gentleman came up to me to talk about, was you keep hearing all this garbage about elected officials being leaders. And I told the convention, I'm sick and tired of hearing people call elected officials leaders. We are supposed to be public servants. That's all I've ever tried to be as an elected official. I didn't want this job, everybody knows that. But so many people insisted on it that I ran. And I got the job and I'm trying to do it the best I can. But I don't want to support anything based on a lie. And I am willing to hear people. But I appreciate if you didn't attack somebody you don't really know about stuff about which you know nothing. You don't know me, you people who wanna attack me, or any of the rest of us up here. You may know some of them, I don't know if you do or not. But true history is important. Not what an elitist point of view forces to be taught in schools and ignores the real truth of what happened. And my son, hey, it is not your turn, sir. My son graduated from Wingate University with a degree in history. And I've talked to him about some of these things and from his studies, he confirms to me exactly what I've learned by going beyond textbooks and looking at other sources. A lot of these things I learned by doing that when I was a kid. And it makes me sick what passes for history that is falsehood. And I will not just sit by and take it. I guess I've said enough. You've said enough, boy.

Boy? What do you mean, boy?

I mean, you act immature.

Commissioner Wortman.

I don't have any any real general comments I don't have any I didn't have any reports to give because I have I have accepted employment with the different employer and so i have started that these last two weeks so i have been unable to to make my liaison meetings because i now work about an hour away from home so i hope to be able to get that under control to be able to to attend these liaison meetings i've given three and a half years of attending every single one of them these last five months might be a little rough for me to to make to it but um i had to had to do what i had to do to prepare for being out of office As far as the transparency resolution, it's in the packet. I know we had took a lot out of it, so my vote is gonna be for just what exactly is in this packet. I know that when we met with Dr. Pugh and everybody that came with down home to represent, we were given a copy that our, employees felt they could work with we were actually advised that we already have a lot of this information from last year and so that's what my vote will be a yes for and it's big it's this version that's in the actual packet it gets confusing as to whose comments were where whose comments to cut what so my vote is is for the actual version that is in this packet

tonight so that's that's where where my vote will be at for that Commissioner Jones did you have any general comments to make sir can you turn your microphone

To echo what Kenny said, I'm going to be voting for this transparency resolution. I would ask that the other commissioners read through it to see the changes that have been made. If you haven't before you make up your mind, take a few minutes, read through it. I think you're doing a disservice to yourself and the community if you vote against this.

Commissioner Patrick.

Just two quick things. Somebody mentioned the levy limit that's making its way through the State House. That's a difficult one because all the legislation did was say that they were going to put it on the ballot for November that the legislature could make rules and laws around levy limits. That's quite literally all it says. So it's hard to oppose or support something that doesn't do anything legislatively. Now I can tell you if that passes and then they start writing bills underneath that and it hurts Cabarrus County, we would certainly respond. But I can't support or oppose anything that doesn't do anything other than give them some authority by the people of North Carolina to change those items. so that's that it'll be up to the people another comment had a had something to do with ccs funding and they said it was remaining flat it is not remaining flat i think the final percentage was kelly i don't want to put you on the spot six Yes, six and some change something like that. I don't remember what and that was modified because as a supplemental teacher funding that we put into that. So just wanted to clarify that for the record. If you also look in our FY 27 budget, maintenance was discussed. Basically, every capital improvement plan that's in fiscal year 27 is for deferred maintenance and capital improvements on schools across Cabarrus County Schools and KCS. So just wanted to clarify that for the public. finally on the transparency act at our first work session when this came in I said this is a good idea I like it this is a great idea let's let's get some information out to the public on what the spending looks like and communicate that to them communicate our challenges and our opportunities and our wins loved it I had a few issues with it, some language. Larry suggested some changes. I came back a few days later, offered my own suggestions. It's my understanding what is in here, Kenny, is Larry's suggested changes. um and to what larry said um if you put the the suggested ones that i put up for a vote right now i'll vote for it tonight right now but in its current form i cannot and just to explain some of this for the people that are asking for us to explain why we would not vote for it a because i wanted to see some of those changes happen but b we're in the middle of selecting a new county manager and this puts a lot of burden on that new person who is going to just be learning the county to complete things by in basically 60 days i do not want to set them up for failure let them get their feet wet understand the processes and procedures that we have in cabarrus county we can put on his 30 60 90 day action plan to look into setting up a transparency website but i'm not going to have him walk into the door and say hey guess what Among the five billion other things you got to learn about our county, we have a resolution that directs you to get these things done or you're going to fail. And I'm not going to set him up for failure. I repeat, I think this is good. I think it's a good idea. I think we should take some of these ideas and implement them. And if it were my version, I would vote yes tonight. As it stands, I will be voting no. That's all, Madam Chair.

Thank you.

Yes, sir. Kenny was just pointing out to me that even though it's showing here, these public transparency requirements, section one, et cetera, are supposed to be taken out. Can we just do that? Just stop it at the end of the now, therefore? You know of federal government state government decision in that they're throw that stuff out and we do that now.

I mean I certainly think that we can discuss any of these options. Once we get to that area.

And we didn't if we can do that I mean we'll vote for that still in there.

Yeah, I'd vote for that too.

So what we'll do is that once we get to the new business. We can have Doug. Tell me if I'm right here. We can make a motion to amend that resolution based on stopping it at that point and then vote to approve it.

Yes, you can. I was I was just pointed up reading. OK, follow along with you all.

OK, I just want to make sure that that is there.

Once we get to that, we can we can amend it and vote in the affirmative for those things.

All right, so I guess it's time now for my animal shelter video. It's kind of weird to do it in the middle of the meeting, but so tonight, if you were here at the beginning of the meeting, we had Nikki. She is at the animal shelter. She's seven months old and she was found as a stray. And then we have actually three animals tonight for the shelter video. So we have Noodle, who is the dog, and then Helen and Keller, Are the two cats. So here you go. Hey everyone, this is Commissioner Laura Lindsay and we're back at the Cabarrus County Animal Shelter today and we're going to visit with some babies that are looking for one thing and that's a new home.

Hello.

This is Noodle. Noodle is approximately nine months old and a pit bull mix. He came in as a neglect situation and now is the epitome of health. He is looking for a loving family to give him a new leash on life. This is Helen and this is Keller. Helen is about five months old and Keller is about a year old and they were found together. Helen is his seeing eye cat and they do come as a pair and they are looking for a loving home to spend the rest of their lives together. Thanks for joining us today. You can find these and all other available animals by following us on Facebook at Cabco Animal Shelter. And just to let you all know that Noodle did find his forever home today, so he is no longer up for adoption, but Helen and Keller are. So thank you.

Madam Chair, may I do just one more thing? Yes, sir. I do apologize to you, sir, for my outburst at you. You were kind of getting on my nerves, breaking the rules by shouting out over people, and I'd appreciate you not doing that. I should have asked the chair to call you down instead of fussing at you like I did, and I'm sorry for that.

I appreciate that.

Thank you, Commissioner Pittman. All right, so we will move on to new business. The first order of business is the active living and parks. Frank Lisk Park Soccer Complex contract with Byron Hagler. Good evening again.

Commissioners, I'm here this evening requesting the authorization for the interim county manager to execute the proposed agreement for the Franklin's Park Soccer Complex between Cabarrus County, the City of Concord, and Charlotte Soccer Association. This agreement is the result of more than a year of coordination and numerous meetings involving county management, legal counsel, the Active Living and Parks Commission, and staff to develop terms that benefit all parties. This agreement has been signed by the Charlotte Soccer Association and approved and signed by the city of Concord. If approved this evening, the agreement will provide up to $110,000 in annual revenue while continuing to support recreational athletic opportunities for our residents and helping offset ongoing maintenance cost of the complex. Appreciate your consideration. Any questions?

Commissioners, do you have any questions for Mr. Hagler? All right. I do need a motion to authorize the county manager to execute the contract upon review by the county attorney. So all those in favor say aye. Any opposed? Thank you. That carries 5-0. Thank you, sir. okay moving on to item number two uh this is the board of commissioners resolution amending the board of commissioners 2026 meeting schedule commissioners do you have any questions regarding this all right i do need a motion to approve the resolution as presented all those in favor say aye any opposed that carries 5-0 OK, so we do have the transparency resolution. For this evening, so I will. Commissioners, if you want to make a motion to amend the transparency resolution.

Madam moderator, point of order.

I'm sorry. No, sir.

Are you sure?

Yes, yes, sir.

Will you ask the lawyer if I'm out of order to ask for a point of order?

Okay. Okay.

okay thank you um doug do i need to take audience participation you need do i need to participate with him okay all right what is it in reference to i just have a request that any changes that you approve by amendment if you would read them yes to the record yes absolutely thank you okay commissioners i do need a motion uh to approve the resolution of resolution as presented okay do we have any any discussion

My my issue with amending this version as if we stop it. It takes out the public transparency requirement takes out the public meeting requirement public report. We've met with this group since March. We were prepared to vote on it, and I'm prepared to vote on it tonight. And if it passes, it passes. If it fails, it fails. And then when the new county manager gets in here and has some time, if it fails to put something else forward, that's the version that I'm prepared to vote for. I can't vote if we take out the requirements that they were wanting. And that's just the way I stand on it.

So I I understand where you're coming from. I think it actually does keep it in there. And if if you look at now, therefore be resolved that the various county board of commissioners hereby commits to providing clear, accessible and timely information to county residents about budget impacts resulting from federal and state governments. That's that's the spirit of the of the resolution as far as I'm concerned. And and we would we should allow not only our staff but the new county manager to in to figure out what is the best way to do that my concern is that section one two and three are awfully prescriptive and it may not make sense from a staff level perspective so as far as i'm concerned we just say we commit to doing this we want to be transparent we want to provide clear accessible and timely information to county residents about budget impacts i think that's the spirit of it

and the concern the concern with the group that brought this resolution is if we don't have guard rails on it with timelines that'll be pushed down down the road to where there's there's never um an answer that's that's the current concern from from when we met with commissioner jones and i met with the group okay is that there's there's no timeline that that keeps us in check

Would it be acceptable for you, since I'm the chair of the coffee committee, that that line item lives on that committee's agenda until this is taken care of? And so that meaning I won't let it get kicked down the road. I will make sure that committee is working on that transparent financial information at every meeting and sending it back up to this board for review.

I think you can do that still I mean that you know that's just I think that's just a matter of

Also think it's not set in stone as far as we can do this now get a policy out there says we're willing to be timely Information and be transparent and then as we get our new manager acclimated and stuff we can update this resolution To be more specific what we can actually deliver and when we can deliver it I'd just rather get something in place to let the people know We want to be transparent this kind of puts us holds us to it because it does have timely information to the county residents. that were commit to provide I don't want to put it off it's like kicking something else down the road because there's gonna be a lot of nuances with specific reporting requirements what we can and can't do with the school board and what the manager and time and things so I think if we get something pass that we can work with and massage we could develop a plan that works for everybody

would you guys be amenable to putting it on the record that when the new county manager gets in here and and they are able to look at this that we can amend this resolution to provide the information that they are requesting to get to be able to get set up a meeting and that way the new county manager can meet and if it's something we have you get to go ahead and get out and that's something you guys would would agree to I think all our heads are nodding.

Yeah we're going to be perfect absolutely agree to that.

That you get there. I mean I would move that we have ended as we have discussed with the understanding that these portions that were taken out for the moment will be discussed and see if we can even improve on those or whatever but there are things worth considering which is not.

I will do you want to read what you have where it stops and what you add to it just so we just read let's vote on it and read the want the approved amendment right yeah yeah that's not saying with the amendment

Well, what I have is that after the now therefore, would you would you mind turning on your microphone to thank you, sir?

Thank you.

I have a problem with that. What I have is effectively it would end prior to the beginning of the four numbered sections. So that's where the document now end. But you are also including that it will be amended. And after the new county manager starts, the four numbered sections will be revisited by the new county manager. And then you can update and publicize what the date parameters are, what the anticipated delivery dates of those four sections are.

Do we need to read that out loud specifically for everyone to hear? Okay. All right.

yeah just read it from the beginning well

Because you're the one that brought it to us, and so I feel like you should read it out loud.

This resolution is meant to show that the Cabarrus Board of County Commissioners is committed to being open and clear with our community. We know that federal and state budget changes can cause worry. We want to make sure residents have the facts. At the same time, we must remember that the county follows state rules for many programs. This document sets a plan to share information, gather community thoughts, and talk to our state and federal leaders. We believe that healthy disagreement is encouraged at all organizational levels, and leadership should foster a culture where all voices are heard. Whereas our county government school system relies significantly on federal and state funding streams to deliver services to our community, And whereas our Cabarrus County school system serves nearly 35,000 students and relies on federal funding for special education services, Title I programs, school nutrition, and Medicaid reimbursements. And whereas federal budgets have created uncertainty about the continuation of critical programs, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP, Women, Infants, and Children, WIC program, Medicaid, and educational funding. and whereas federal and state government funding streams for the services we administer are becoming increasingly unpredictable due to varying standards of congressional and legislative leadership and whereas the north carolina general assembly has not yet passed a comprehensive state budget leaving state agencies and local governments to operate on continuation budgets that do not account for population growth, inflation, or increased service demands, and whereas these combined federal and state budget uncertainties create cascading impacts on Cabarrus County's ability to plan, budget, and deliver services on which some of our citizens and legal residents depend, And whereas Cabarrus County operates its social services and public assistance programs within a state supervised and county administered framework, meaning formal guidance and policy changes are directed by the state of North Carolina. And whereas citizens and legal residents have a right to understand how decisions made by federal and state governments affect their access to local services, whereas transparency and accountability are essentially principles of governance especially during times of budgetary uncertainty now therefore be it resolved that the Cabarrus Board of County Commissioners hereby commits to providing clear accessible and timely information to county residents about budget impacts resulting from federal and state government decisions

So I do need a motion to what he had. We have to do the motion again and then have them second it as presented.

You could say so moved. If Commissioner.

Okay. All right.

So now second, second.

All right. All right. So commissioners, I do need all in favor of this transparency resolution as presented. Please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? all right that carries five zero thank you good job guys good conversation i like it all right let's move on to uh item number four which is the go the geo bonds with jim howden welcome

thank you good evening commissioners the next step in the geo bond process is for the board to approve the introduction of bond orders for each referendum and to approve the reimbursement resolution which allows the county to reimburse itself so what we're asking for tonight is to have three separate votes the first is a motion to approve the introduction of the bond order authorizing the 340 million dollar school bond Motion to approve the introduction of the bond or order Authorizing the six million sixty million Excuse me community college bond and then a motion to approve the reimbursement resolution for both projects Any questions

All right so we've got three motions. I need a motion to approve the introduction of the bond order authorizing 340 million dollars to the school bond.

So moved. Second.

All those in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? That carries 5-0. I need a motion to approve the introduction of the bond order authorizing the 60 million dollars in community college bond.

So moved. Second.

All those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? That carries 5-0. And I need a motion to approve the reimbursement resolutions for both projects.

So moved. Second.

All those in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? All right. That carries 5-0. Thank you, sir.

I've got a few more things, if I may. I want to announce that we'll have a public hearing to be held at our July 21st meeting, for anybody that wants to talk about the GO bonds. We will ask the clerk to publish the notice of the public hearing and the introduction of the bond orders. And then I also need to file with the clerk tonight the sworn statement of debt and the statement of disclosure, which have been signed and notarized.

Thank you, sir. all right so our next agenda item is number five fire marshal fire district changes public hearing at six o'clock that would be way past six o'clock Good morning or good evening. I don't even know what time it is anymore.

I don't even know what we're doing. Okay.

So just a quick reminder on this. So we did have two properties that were de-annexed from Kannapolis. As part of that process, the general statute and the law does require us to hold a public hearing prior to the placing them in fire districts. So when they come out of the municipal area, In order to have fire protection, we have to place them into a fire district. And so what this does is just an administrative process to place them into a fire district as a result of that deannexation. It does require a public hearing to give anybody affected the chance to speak on for or against those changes. And so that's what we're here tonight to do.

OK. So I will open the public hearing for the proposed fire district changes.

We have one public comment from Scott Robinson.

I want to take this time to thank Kelly sitting down face to face with me and trying to answer all my questions about being de-annexed from Kannapolis. I was annexed in 1998 against my will and received no services for 28 years. We finally got de-annexed this year, June 30th. And I want to speak in the affirmative to be in this fire district. These guys are on the gas. They saved my son's life once that fire station was built. within all of my house. That's all I got.

That is all.

All right, and I will close the hearing. All right. I need a motion to approve the ordinance in changing the fire districts. All right, that carries. Thank you. All right. Discussion regarding comparison County squad for 10. I know that we have had a deep discussion regarding this commissioners and so if there are no other discussions then I will turn this over to commissioner Wartman for the motion Again as chairman Lindsay has stated we have had incredibly long deep conversations about this

I think we've all said everything that we needed to say. So at this time, I make a motion to discontinue the operation of squad 410 effective November 12th, 2026, which allows current employees five months of continued pay and benefits to secure other employees.

I need a second. OK, all those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? All right. That carries 5-0. Thank you. We will move on to the adoption of the fiscal year 2027 budget.

Thank you. We have the recommended budget in front of you, as well as the technical changes. showing balanced budget. For the general fund of 413 million 572,821 dollars and then community investment fund for 89 million 804 thousand 172 dollars. The arena fund at 2 million, 808. 1736 dollars. The opioles said opioles settlement fund at 3,000,719,426. The landfill fund at 3,185,283 dollars. The emergency telephone fund at 475,793. Social Services fund of 500,000. The intergovernmental intergovernmental fund of 1.8 million. The health and dental insurance fund at 27 million 109 916. Workers compensation 7 million 387. and the fire tax districts for $10,570,152. For a grand total of $560,933,349. All right. So, commissioners, I do need a motion to adopt the budget ordinance for fiscal year 2027. Second. All right. Any discussion?

man chair i wish i know we can't do it i guess we can't i wish we could vote on it section by section because there's a lot of stuff in here that's necessary and that i would like to support law enforcement public safety fire rescue services and all that but for years this county budget has had things in it that do not belong because they are not government entities or government responsibilities and i would want those removed i've been asking and asking to get those removed nothing's been done about that and uh so i um i had to vote no last year because nothing was done about it i guess i'm gonna have to do the same thing this year i'm sorry

commissioner warman i would just like to thank you guys there was a lot of conversations and a lot of compromise um i wasn't a fan of of cutting the hundred thousand from the edc but in order for the employees not to have to pay for their insurance i was okay with that i know we all stand in different places There's been a lot of hard conversations, and I would just like to thank you guys for the work that we've been able to do together, some of the hard talks that we've had to have and some of the things that we've all given up to get to where we're at. my first year here it was at 60 cents and we've been able to keep it at 57.6 for three times now so so for that I'll be voting for it I hope you guys can work it down from there but I will I will be voting for the budget any other comments commissioners right so we did we do a motion yeah okay

So all in favor of the budget, please say aye. Any opposed? All right. That carries for one. All right. So we are going to move to the last agenda item of tonight, and I'm real excited about it. I am. So we are going to announce our new county manager. this evening and I have a couple of things actually I have four pages worth of things and I'm gonna try to organize my thoughts with it so before I talk about our new county manager I'm gonna give some kudos to this board In the last year and a half, we have gone through a lot of changes. We have had to make some really tough decisions. We have lost board members before their time and had to learn how to work with new ones. I want to thank our vice chairman, Ian Patrick, for recommending developmental associates to help us with the process. And to be honest, I was not a fan, like Commissioner Pittman, of having to pay someone to help us find a county manager but that was money well spent months of planning talking with their staff telling them what each of us were looking for in a county manager many hours of vetting candidates through the process there were people that were based on their resumes were my favorites and that's only where it started Then there were other city and county staff that volunteered hours and scored them on various exercises regarding how they communicate, government strategy, budgets, relationship building, and many other processes that resumes could never show. This board spent many hours discussing each candidate and ultimately coming from 99 total resumes to our top 15 to our top five, to our top two. Our top two candidates are both incredible people, and our county would be blessed to have either of them. But ultimately, I am proud to say that we will have a unanimous decision tonight on our new county manager. I am so thankful to everyone that applied, the staff at Developmental Associates, and to this board for coming together on our new county manager. He has many years of experience, his knowledge and process improvement, financial stability, operational efficiency, infrastructure, and team building is going to set Cabarrus County up for a very successful future for our residents. I have had the opportunity to talk to him over the last few weeks and share some of the board's goals and thoughts about what the majority of residents expect out of this County. government which is efficient, lower taxes, and a focus on what government is actually responsible for. I ask all of you and our staff and our community to join in praying for this gentleman as he transitions over to his new role. And I'm gonna allow my other commissioners to make some comments on the process as well. Commissioner Pittman.

Thank you, Madam Chair. As you say, and we all had different ideas of who was the best choice until we actually got the interview. And you know, there was somebody else that I really wanted. And talk to this gentleman and there was no contest. He's very qualified. A lot of experience knows what he's doing. and i think he'll be able to work with people and kind of develop a camaraderie and a spirit of trying to work together that's who i believe he is and so i'm ready to vote for him commissioner wortman um commissioner patrick you were absolutely right with with developmental associates they were amazing to work with

There's been a lot of animosity on this board. We realize that it's often viewed as different sides or different factions that we have on this board. And with the last two county managers, this board came to an understanding that we had to get this one right. It was bigger than all of us combined, at least for the next 15 to 20 years. We had some very honest conversations, some very open conversations. Commissioner Pittman struggled with technology quite a bit. but we had a good time doing it the the gentleman that as Commissioner Lindsey said will absolutely be a unanimous decision tonight that takes every side every faction out of it we all agree we were all equally blown away by him and I am super excited even though I only have five months left to work with you absolutely excited and i think you will bring amazing things to cabarrus county all right commissioner jones

like everybody said up here we're real excited um he was the top of the class so um there was no contest so i think cabarrus county is going to be in good hands next several years and i look forward to working with them on my limited time left on this board but uh i look forward to a lot of good things happening

many of you mentioned the long process with developmental associates and I would say for the for the candidates that it was grueling as well as long it was not easy and if you wanted to do well in this you had to really work at it so we're not gonna have that issue at all with this gentleman We received 158 responses from the community on what we should look for in a county manager. And I don't want to overlook that because we did review that thoroughly and try to figure out what the community wanted in this new person. And I think you will see that the selection bears that out. um as commissioner lindsay said we got 99 applications which was quite a bit as i am told so i'm i'm glad we had a really great pool to choose from and that's really going to help us out couple of things on the process i just i went back and looked because it was a lot of work for us in a lot of meetings and i just wanted to see recapping and looking back on what happened so uh... we of course had to approve the application uh... or excuse me the job posting And then, of course, we had to review applications. And then there were phone interviews by outside people that then came back and presented to us the scores. And throughout all of these, we got presented with scores. They weren't good or bad. They were just like, these are how they performed. And we talked through each one of them as we went. Then we did surveys with the candidates. Outside assessors, including other county managers from across the state came in and did assessments with them and then reported back to us on what they found. They scored them and they ranked them as well. they they had to go through emotional intelligence testing so that was a big ask for them I'm sure and then of course an in-person interview with the board and a mock presentation I think that's what really sealed the deal for everyone um i do want to i do want to say that i think actually this process strengthened this board's working relationship because there has been some issues in the past and i think forcing us to work together to get to something that we needed to get right as commissioner wortman said for the community made us realize that we can put down our swords and our shields and do what was right for the community and i'm really i'm really proud of you guys and i just want to say thank you it's i've been here short-lived May be short-lived But I just want to thank you guys because it was it was fun to work with you and we were doing really serious work So I'm extremely excited to get them on board begin working for the good of the county. I Really do firmly believe that we are now entering a new era of fiscal responsibility Efficiency of services and a return to a government that responds to the wants and the needs of Cabarrus County And so I'm really proud of that Having said that It would be my pleasure to make a motion to employ John K Eller the 4th as County manager pursuant to G s one 53 a dash 81 effective, July 27th 2026 and pursuant to the terms of the negotiated contract.

That carries 5, 0.

And then I make a motion to formally approve the contract negotiated between the county and Mr. Eller and authorize the chair to sign.

Can I get a second? All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? That also carries 5-0. And so with that, I'm very excited and I ask Mr. Eller if you don't mind coming up and giving a few comments to the community. And we are so excited to have you here tonight. It seems like it's been a long wait, but we're very thankful, so welcome.

thank you madam chair and thank you board of commissioners this means the world to me tonight i'm going to say a few words to everyone in this crowd as well as on the dice tonight i want to speak to distinguished members of the board but also to our county team members our community leaders and our residents I heard a lot of conversation tonight, a lot of various opinions, and that's okay because that's what democracy is about. I want to thank every one of you for being here tonight, on my special night, for giving me the privilege of serving you going forward. I want to say to everyone, tonight is ultimately about you, your families, Business owners, farmers, students, seniors, teachers, first responders, public safety, the list goes on, but also our neighbors. Everyone who calls this place home. I'm truly honored and humble to stand before you today as your new county manager with this phenomenal opportunity now to partner with all of you for serving in this great county we know as Cabarrus for years to come. I have great confidence that we're going to be okay because all of our collective efforts are going to make it that way. I'd like to thank God for placing me in this position. I'd like to thank my family, my wife and my three grown kids who couldn't be here tonight for their love and support as public administration is at the easiest place to be sometimes. And I'd also like to thank Cindy at Gibson Mills today for some great barbecue and unlimited tea refills. So as I was serving time in the community today to get to know some people. So thank you, Cindy. Madam Chair Lanzi, Vice Chair Patrick, Commissioner Jones, Wartman, and Pittman, I really want to express my deepest gratitude to all of you for placing your trust and your confidence in me. I've witnessed your collective partnership throughout this process and your careful deliberation, making sure that our team members' feedback and community feedback were heard throughout this process. and reaching the decision tonight. All those things led up to that. And along the way, I want to thank you for making yourself available for all the questions that I had. I know I was very inquisitive and did a lot of study about where we were with things and talk to you about where I would like to collectively work together to go. I'd also like to thank Attorney Hall, who was available to work with me along the way in making himself available. Many may never see the effect that public administration leadership can have on our personal lives and family. I want to thank all of our county staff for carrying that burden. County team members and residents who work here, you're the foundation for which our success is going to be based upon tonight. I look forward to working with every last one of you. And as your county manager, here's what I pledge and promise to do. I promise to be data informed. I promise to focus on performance and be outcomes driven. I promise to employ a spirit of accountability. And when continuous improvement becomes a part of our culture and what we do, it's gonna transform the way that we approach and conduct our business. We're gonna test some things. They won't always work. We may fail, but we're gonna get up and we're gonna learn from those things and we're gonna work harder and we're gonna get better each and every time. When we succeed, we're gonna celebrate together. As staff, as community, we deserve that together. I pledge also to prioritize fiscal responsibility so we're wise stewards of our taxpaying dollars and we're going to use everything we have at our disposal to make smart decisions just like we would at home with our own money. I pledge to promote a spirit of collaboration and communication across our governments, across our departments, across our community organizations, and across our residents in the community to understand how we can gain efficiencies in the work that we do and streamline services to make them better. And I promise you I'll work tirelessly to make our county a better place to live, work, raise a family, and build a future. I will work hard, I'll work with integrity, and I'll never lose sight of the fact that I'm here to serve Cabarrus County. Because we all deserve a county government that's responsive, efficient, transparent, communicative about what we're doing and why, so that we can deliver tangible results to our residents. As I stand here before you tonight, I don't pretend to have all the answers. I have ideas. But I ask for your grace, your patience, and your support during this transition because we're going to continue to face challenges, budget challenges, economic pressures, state and fiscal related issues, federal and fiscal related issues. We're going to have infrastructure needs. We're going to have workforce development challenges and the constant demand to do more with less. and it's gonna be easy in life for us all to criticize. My plea for all of you and for our residents is help me focus on solutions. Bring those problems, but let's focus on solutions, tangible solutions, because truly listening will help us make a meaningful impact and change where we wanna go and the desire to get there. Together, I want to partner with everyone to really focus on the betterment of our county and turn those challenges into opportunities for progress ahead, and that's really the spirit I bring to my work each and every day. I not only look forward to working with this board, again, I thank you for what you've done tonight to appoint me as your new county manager, but also future boards to maintain leadership stability that's so important for our county. As such, I will offer to meet with all candidates who are running in the upcoming county commission election to hear their thoughts as well. Regardless of who sets on the dice, my promise is to work with every single one of you equally to help you achieve your policy goals and to help us be a premier government and above all, make Cabarrus County a preferred place in North Carolina to raise a family and work. In closing, I want to thank you again for allowing me to speak tonight and for being here and for hearing all the conversation we had tonight. And I look forward to working with everyone in our community and on this board for years to come. Thank you very much.

I will just say that we are so excited to have you. Cannot wait for you to get started. So thank you for putting yourself out there and then agreeing to take this job on and doing it because it's your passion, not because it's a job. So I appreciate you. All right. Yes, sir.

sorry i just want to say what a great speech that was and i think it shows a lot of his talent ability and wisdom one thing that bothered me though when he mentioned seniors he looked right at me

All right. So I would encourage everyone when we go into closed session, if you want to talk to Mr. Eller, he will be right back there. So go bombard. I'm joking. Don't bombard him. All right. I do need a motion to go into closed session per NCGS 143-318.11A34N5 to include Newton versus Cabarrus County. Second. All right. All those in favor, please say aye. Aye. All right. We are in closed session. and five to include Newton versus Cabarrus County all right all those in favor please say aye all right we are in closed session