City Council - Regular Meeting

Heat. Heat. [Music] [Music] All right, we'll call our meeting to order. If you please stand for the pledge of allegiance. I pledge algiance 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.

Remain standing. We'll have Dan Marshall do the invocation.

Will you bow with me in prayer? Our gracious Lord and heavenly father, we come before you once again in the name of your son Jesus Christ and through his finished work on the cross on our behalf. Lord, we come to intercede on behalf of these government officials who you have called to serve this community under your authority. We know that they face daing challenges in this role. The decisions that they render affect many families, businesses, and other communities. You call them to serve with courage, diligence, self-discipline, humility, honesty, and integrity. We also know that they face the temptation to compromise their integrity in the governing principles that you have set for public servants. Some of those principles and temptations are set forth in 2 Chronicles 19:7 where King Jehoshaphat exhorts his public officials. Fear the Lord and judge with integrity. For the Lord our God does not tolerate perverted justice, partiality, or the taking of bribes. Therefore, we ask that you be a shield to them, guarding them from yielding to any such temptations. May you bring to pass Proverbs 2:7 in their lives. He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity. May their hearts desire be in conformity with the Lord's instructions to his disciples in Matthew 6:13 when they ask him how to pray. And don't let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. We ask that you grant them safety not only in their physical health and well-being, but also in the way in which they conduct themselves as your representatives and as representatives of the people. May their conduct be shaped by your admonition in Proverbs 10:9.

People with integrity walk safely, but those who follow crooked paths will be exposed. Lord, we also know that these public servants live under a microscope. Their actions, words, and attitudes are scrutinized intensely because of what they say and do influences those who are watching them. From those who serve them to their non-government co-workers to the citizens of this county and their own families, we ask you grant them the strength of heart, mind, and will to walk in integrity and to set a godly example to those who are watching. May they experience the truth of Proverbs 20:7. the godly walk with integrity. Blessed are their children who follow them. Finally, Lord, we know that they can also experience stress as they confront the weighty issues that come before them and the criticisms that are leveled against them. Therefore, we ask that you grant them comfort and the joy that only you can bring as they carry out their responsibilities with a servant's heart and a desire to please you. May the truth of Psalm 119:1 resonate in their lives daily. Joyful are people of integrity who follow the instructions of the Lord. We ask this in Christ's name. Amen.

Amen. Amen. All right. Do we have a motion to approve the agenda or any revisions? I make the motion that we approve the agenda with any revisions. Second. All right. All in favor say I. I. All oppose. I pass 4 zero. All right. Next, I want to recognize everybody out there. We have a member of the youth commission here. Uh, Llaya Parker. All right. What school are you from again? Yes, please. Um, hi. My name is Laya Parker. I'm from Hickory Ridge High School and I'm a senior. Well, welcome. I hope you enjoy this. Okay.

Thank you. Yeah. [Applause] All right. Next, we have recognitions and presentations. Uh, proclamation for planning and development, uh, Susie Morris.

Good evening, commissioners. Um, what we have for you this evening is the proclam proclamation of weatherization day 2025. Whereas October is National Energy Awareness Month and October 30th is designated as National Weatherization Day. And whereas the county of Cabaras has a long-standing commitment to serve its resources and to help lowincome households through its weatherization assistance program. And whereas the state of North Carolina has administered the weatherization assistance program since its inception in 1976, providing a variety of state and federal resources through numerous community action agencies, housing authorities, and departments of local government that serve people in every county in the state. And whereas it is important to recognize the importance of those programs that ensure that all residents, especially those living at or below the federal poverty level, have the opportunity to live in energy efficient, healthy, safe, and comfortable homes as provided for by the weatherization assistance program. Now therefore be it resolved that the Cabaris County Board of Commissioners do hereby proclaim October 30th, 2025 as weatherization day in the county of Cabaris. And we urge all citizens to join us in this observance adopted this 20th day of October, 2025 by the Cabaris County Board of Commissioners.

All right, we have a motion to adopt the proclamation. Make the motion to adopt the proclamation as presented. Have a second. Second. All right. All in favor say I. I. Oppose. Pass 4. Thank you so much. Thank you.

Next we have the Veteran Service Tony Miller. Good evening commissioners and guests. supporting operation greenlight for veterans. Whereas the veterans of Cabaris County have great respect, admiration, and the utmost gratitude for all men and women who have selfishly served our country and this community in the armed forces. And whereas the contributions and sacrifices of those who served in the armed forces have been vital in maintaining the freedoms and the way of life enjoyed by our citiz citizens. And whereas Cabaris County seeks to honor individuals who have made countless sacrifices for freedom by placing themselves in harm's way for the good of all. And whereas veterans continue to serve our community in the American Legion, veterans of foreign wars, religious groups, civil service, and the functioning and functioning, excuse me, and by functioning as county veteran service officers in 29 states to help fellow formal service members access more than 52 billion in federal health, disability, and compensation benefits each year. Whereas approximately 200,000 service members transition to civilian communities annually. And whereas an estimated 20% increase of service members will transition to civilian life in the near future. And whereas studies indicate that 44 to 72% of service members experience high levels of stress during transition from the military to civilian life. And whereas active active military service members transitioning from military service are at a high risk for suicide during their first year after military service. And

whereas the National Association of Counties encourages all counties, parishes, and burrows to recognize Operation Greenlight for veterans. And whereas Cabaris County appreciates the sacrifices of our United States military personnel and believes specific recognition should be granted. Therefore, be it proclaimed in designation Cabaris County as a green light for veteran county to salute and honor the service and sacrifices of men and women in uniform transitioning from active service. Therefore, be it further proclaim that in observance of Operation Greenlight, Cabaris County encourages its citizens and patriotic tradition to recognize the importance of honoring all those who made immeasurable sacrifices to preserve freedom by displaying green lights in a window of their place or b or their place of business or residence from November the 4th through the 11th 25th, 2025. adopted this 20th day of October 2025.

Do I have a motion to adopt the proclamation? Second. All in favor say I. I. Opposed. Pass 40. Mr. Miller, you have another one. Another proclamation I see. Yes, sir. Before I start on that one, I would like to also say that traditionally Lowe's will have those green lights on hand for individuals that need those lights to be able to show at their homes or businesses as well. Oh, perfect.

Yes, sir. Proclamation Veterans Day 2025. America was founded on the principles of liberty, opportunity, and justice for all. And whereas America has called on her men and women in uniform to protect our national security to preserve our rights and freedom and to keep our democracy safe. And whereas through their steadfast defense of America's ideals, our service members have ensured our country still stands strong. Our founding principles still shine and nations around the world know by know the know the blessings of freedom. And whereas on Veterans Day, November 11th, 2025, we recognize the men and women of our AR armed forces who have valiantly defended these values through our nation's history. And whereas we also remember and pay tribute to the American armed forces, those whose courage and sacrifices secures our freedom, keeps the peace, and defends our values around the world. Now therefore, the Cabaris County Board of Commissioners do hereby proclaim November the 11th, 2025 as National Veterans Day, and call upon our citizens to always remember and honor our veterans and those who continue to serve this country so willingly to preserve the principles of justice, freedom, and democracy for all. Adopted this 20th day of October, 2025. Right. Do

I have a motion to adopt the proclamation? I move. All right. All in favor say I. I oppose. All right. Pass 40. Thank you so much. All right. One more thing. I'd also like to Oh, go ahead.

Yes, sir. I want to make sure I invite everyone to our uh traditional uh upcoming Veterans Day program and uh working with the Boys and Girls Club that will be held on November the 11th, Tuesday, November the 11th at 11:00. and that's at the Boys and Girls Club at 247 Spring Street Northwest, Concord, North Carolina. And also in December, we will have our annual Christmas breakfast which will be held on Wednesday, December the 10th, 2025 from 9 to 11:00 and that takes place at Cabaris County Senior Center at 331 Corbin Avenue Southeast Concord, North Carolina. I am now finished, sir. Keep going. You slow down so we can write these dates down. You going to send an invite, right? Yes sir.

Okay. All right. Thank you everybody. Thank you. Okay.

All right. Next is informal comments. I'm sorry. Yeah. This All right. All right. Before we start informal comments, we're going to go over a little house cleaning measure here. All right. First of all, I want to read out that during the public comment section of our April 15, 2024 general sessions board meeting, we incorrectly outline the terms of the public participation policy by suggesting that there was a prohibition against naming names. The correct outline of the public participation policy should have advised that speakers must be respectful and observe proper decorum in their statements by refraining from vulgarity, obscinities, profanity, speaking in a tone or manner that threatens disruption or other like breaches of respect. Further, there is a prohibition on personal or adhum attacks on board members, public employees, and members of the public. We remind everyone that specific terms of our policies are available online and also by request from the clerk to the board of commissioners. I would suggest that if you have not gotten a copy that you have a copy, review that uh so you understand what it is. Um part of the highlights I'll highlight a few of the things is um we adopted this public um participation policy to provide reasonable rules on how the public can have their voices heard. It's very important that your voices are heard but we have to do it in a respectful manner. Um under the policy the board welcomes all viewpoints. However, speakers must be respectful and observe proper decorum.

Speakers are free to discuss substantive concerns of public interest or job performance, but irrelevant personal insults and attacks are not allowed. Please do not identify or release personal information about minors unless you have the parents permission. Speakers must register with the clerk uh by filing out a by filling out a yellow card before speaking. speakers usually have up to three minutes. Uh you can get a copy of the full, like I said, policy from the clerk. Um and they're also, I believe they're available online as well if you want to look. In addition to that, when people are up here speaking, it's their time. Um and we ask everybody in u the gallery to respect the person speaking and no comments or uttering or speaking while they're speaking. uh we owe them the respect to give them their three minutes uh without interruption. Um and the same up here. There's people at home that need to hear what we're doing and also need to hear what the uh person may be speaking about. Um and then with the television and and the mics and stuff, if you talk amongst yourself during these or make comments, uh people may not be able to understand at home. and we want to make sure that every voice is heard and they understand exactly what each commissioner is saying as well. So again, which is uh we will now open up informal public comments. Who do we have?

Orlando Jacobs.

How y'all doing today?

So my name is Orlando Jacobs. I currently live in Cabaris County. I came here because I wanted to take a moment to look at you all in the faces and to first thank you all for your advocacy and your work. As a person who lives in Cabaris County and a proud member of the LGBT community, I want to show you that we all here can work together. The last few weeks I have taken upon myself to speak to several different people of government, both federal and state. We collectively are doing too much mud slinging. Whether you're a Republican or Democrat, we need to figure a way to come together. Mr. Pitman, I have had a chance to check out some of the comments you make on your Facebook, which is your respectful right to do. I don't know if there is an issue with you and the LGBT community, but as a gay man, I want to say that I apologize if there's any offense that you may feel at how we represent ourselves, but I also want to show a gratitude and a level of respect for you as one of our working members of government. Miss uh Lindsay, I have had a chance to speak with you several times on Facebook and also I want to extend the same level of gratitude. I am standing here a little bit emotional because at this moment this is not the county that I recognize after being here for so long. And I want to know if there's an opportunity for us as a community community to be able to come together to make decisions that's going to benefit us all regardless of what our political affiliations are. Thank you. In ingrid nurse,

good evening everyone. My name is Ingred. I am for the people, by the people. Because I am the people. My concerns are it is getting cold outside and many individuals exper experiencing homelessness are struggling with either mental health challenges or simply cannot afford housing due to the inconsistent income that they have. Um after speaking to several um they were mentioning again it's getting cold outside um every year is more unpredictable than the year before. How are y'all the commissioners planning to help the homeless population especially when those makeshift sainty towns and tent cities are all over. So as we see people handling up signs I need this, I need that. I'm having a conversation with them. They are still trying to get resources but sometimes they feel turn away. How are we going to help that population? Thanks for all you do. Ingret nurse

Chris Cranston. Good evening. I don't really have much written up today. I was going to go for more of the the West Honeyut style and just talk. Um, first thing I want to do is say thanks to the taxpayers that are out there listening. I know you don't get to hear that much. Um, but some of us really do appreciate and acknowledge the fact that we wake up every day. We go to work, we pay our taxes. I also want to thank those people out there that are working so hard on their properties knowing they're going to get punished for unrealized gains when those property tax bills come in. And I I know there's a lot of people out there that say, "Don't do it. throw up on your house, throw paint on it, spit on the sidewalk, so when the tax man comes, your taxes don't go up. But some of us, you know, the rest of us, the majority of us understand, we want some dignity. We want some nice things and we're going to continue to improve our lot and we know you guys are coming. We know you're coming for our unrealized gains. And I really am against that. These are things that we are putting money into. We don't get back until we sell. And everybody's, "Oh, you're rich. You sell your house." I don't want to sell my house. I want to keep my house. I want my kids to move there. So, I'll never get those gains that that by the time I do and you go back and you look at the tax card, I don't care if I sold it for a million. I paid a million in taxes over the It's like just like when you sell a car six times. The government gets more than the manufacturer. And it's the same thing with our homes. They just never stop taxing. They never quit going up. And I, you know, I'm in here trying to fight for it and I get accused of being a joke and laughed at and people on the radio, my taxes only went up eight bucks in a year. My taxes weren't even supposed to go up at all. But it's a joke. It's funny. And I I to me it's not funny. And

especially to the people like, "Yeah, can I afford my 5,000 whatever my taxes are?" I that is not the exact number. So whoever wants to fact check me and, you know, hold me to the fire for that, it's around five grand. And I'd like to retire in 10 years. and by then it's going to be 12 and then I won't be able to retire because it's going to be $1,000 a month just to live there. And you know that's the reality of it. It's just the reality of it. And I just want everybody out there that's paying their taxes to know that October for me is taxpayer appreciation month just like every month. That's you know I just wish I wish you guys would say thank you to the taxpayers occasionally. There's two up here that I I know represent the people. And Kenny, I swear, man. I know you're one of the people, dude. Come on, man. Like, give us something. You know, I what you did, you really crushed me, man, when I I said I'm the 80%'s a joke. And I I'm sorry, man, if I offended you, but you went right back to 85. Like, you're discouraging me from coming and even trying. And it worked. But I, you know, I've had, you know, steadfast prayer and trying to get back up and like like let's go in and brush myself off and try not to cost taxpayers because I upset Kenny 5% of of our tax giveaways for the businesses. Thanks for your times, guys.

Valerie Aoyo Hello. Good evening. Um, I have just two concerns. She kind of touched on one of them, Miss Ingram. Those homeless people you're talking about. I am one of them. And I'm one of them thanks to Cabaris County. I paid my rent during the pandemic. Progressive residential.

The county knows about this. But I'm here today cuz they know about it for two years.

I have filed complaints. I have filed complaints with the administration, with the board. I did everything. I used to work with the county. I'm a state official was until recent years. I know my rights, but I have a problem, county, and I'm asking y'all because it bothers me to be a state official and then work for the county. I used to with the gas. I used to go around and helping kids, doing what she doing, helping the homeless on my own. I have a business. It's called One Love Community. I did that on my own. I started in Wilmington. I came from Wilmington to to Cabaris County. I was married. My husband left me because on the doors of the steps of the Cabaris County Sheriff, he had a stroke because because Cabaris County courthouse. We on one lease. They evicted him and say he owed money when I'm paying to the courthouse. Nobody asked me what happened. I have came to y'all plenty of times. I have came to the county. I have came to your attorneys. I have came to the management. I have came to the to to the county attorney. I have came to everybody and asked, "Hey, where do I get legal help? Y'all got a beautiful court building. I'm glad my money paid for that, but I have a problem that you paid a county manager $488,000." He broke my and violated my

constitutional right because not one person from this county after the United States Congress told the senators in every state progress residential is violating our constitutional right during the pandemic. Nobody listened. Cabaris County profited. The state profited. Everybody profited. Why we have the homeless man? Ask the county. Because those lawyers, those are the same lawyers and these same judges that we supposed to have protection. We supposed to have an attorney stand beside us. Not call legal aid.

And I'm sorry, I'm not going to take your time's up. Not legal aid. Get some legal get some legal services. Thank you. And I want I want y'all to respond to that. Okay. Y'all don't want to respond in court. All right, Madam Clerk. That is it. That's it. Okay. We are closing public comments. Uh now to the consent agenda. Everyone has reviewed that consent agenda. Uh do we have a motion to approve those? I'll make a motion that we approve the consent agenda as presented. All right. All in favor say I.

I. opposed. Passes 40. Madam clerk. All right. Next is new business. The active living and parks ordinance amendment. I believe everybody's got a copy of that amendment in your package how it was written. Um did do you want to speak on it? Okay. Yes, please. Thank you for your time and for having us back. Um I'm Ian Sweeney with Active Living and Parks. Dominique Clark, Communications and Outreach.

Um so the proposed ordinance amendment is to allow the sale of uh alcohol at uh county sponsored events only um by county approved vendors in a county approved area um with presence from um local law enforcement. I think it's important to distinguish that this is not for the general public to um have recreational alcohol use at their reservations. And this was really in response to us wanting to put on a uh a signature fall event that um my colleague here had the idea for. Um so I know we spoke briefly about this ordinance amendment a couple weeks ago. So we're back here to field your questions, maybe answer ones that we had previously. So, I would just open uh the floor to to you all and uh we'll hopefully be able to answer your questions effectively.

Mr. Chairman, go ahead. Mr. Pit, I know you're not going to be like liking what I say, but I just don't believe county should be involved in the dispensing of alcohol. So, I will be a no vote on this.

Anybody else have any questions for the All right. Um I would like to address um Commissioner Lindsay's question at the work session. She asked us an estimate maybe um in revenue and we've set a modest goal of about $50,000 in revenue between vendor spaces and sponsorships to just to give you a scale on maybe the size of the event. And this one would be after the completion of a second entrance at at Franklist Park for safety and for um recommendations from risk and safety and infrastructure and asset management. That's a good question. I appreciate you answering that. Um, and I'll make a motion to approve the ordinance.

Second. All right. All in favor say I. I. Oppose. All right. Pass 3 to one. Thank you all.

Now we go to appointments to boards and committees. Uh first one we have the removal on the home and community care. Did you want to speak on that? Good evening, commissioners. So yes, we have two individuals that um we're requesting to have removed from the home and community care block grant advisory committee. Um due to the bylaws of that committee um one individual Evelyn Miller were asking her to be removed due to failure to meet the attendance requirements and the other one Helen McKinnus were asking that person to be removed because she no longer resides in Cabaris County.

I'll make the motion to approve both of those removals. All in favor say I. I. All right. Both of those approved. Four to zero. Thank you. Next is uh Juvenile Crime Convention Council. Does anyone wish to be heard on this? Do you want I'm talking to

Sorry, I'm serving a dual role tonight. Um I believe an email was sent to the commissioners kind of summarizing the seats. Um if you have any questions about our process, I'm happy to answer. We have one student under 21 and two at large seats that were up for discussion. So I'm happy to make the motion to appoint Eric Young to fill seat 19A. Is there a second? Second. All right. All in favor say I. I. Oppose. Did you say I didn't catch you? Okay. Four to zero. That passes for Eric Young.

Yeah. Okay. Right. All right. The next one is for Ingret Nurse. Do we have a motion on that? I'll make a motion to appoint Ingred. I'll second it. All in favor say I. I. All oppose. No. All right. Does not pass. 22. Okay. And then the last one is the student. Um, can I have a motion on that one? I'll make a motion to approve that one. All right. Do I have a second?

Second. All right. All in favor say I. All oppose. That passes 4. And the next one would be Regional regional one.

Yeah. One, two, three, four. I got Yeah. All right. A regional agent advisory committee. Dr. Pew, did you want to speak on that one at all? So, we also have a recommendation to appoint Sandra um Bernaki to fill the delegate number three position on the region F aging advisory committee. Um and the rationale for selecting um Sandra in comparison to the other two nominees is because she met specific qualifications as outlined by the bylaws. All right. Thank you. I'll make the motion that we approve Sandra Bernaki to fill delegate number three position.

Second. All right. All in favor say I.

Post pass 4. All right. That's all for the appointments and removals. Next reports. Reports have been included in your package review. Um you know for uh physicians and stuff. Right now it says we do still have a lot of vacancies available in different committees and stuff. So please go to the website uh fill out if you filled out in the past and even those at home if you filled out in the past and you want to refresh update and see what else is out there uh please look on the website um and maybe update um your application and show let us know if you're interested in anything else uh that we may have available. Uh we need as many people to fill these vacancies as we can get and I thank y'all in advance for all that. All right. Anything on the reports anybody want to add? You ready for commissioner's report?

Yeah.

Okay. Thank you. Just making sure I don't have a whole lot tonight. Uh at the Midland Town Council meeting the other night, Brian Etavaria, our state representative, uh gave uh to Chief Kohley a state flag for their great service down there in Midland. Um Greg Mills was present. He presented school ratings update, which was very interesting. Um, Mayor Pro Tim Darren Hartzell from Midland uh has resigned as uh he is retiring from the school system and moving out of the county. Um had overview of p of appointment procedures and um uh we asked for an appointment by motion and second in November or sooner. So, the mayor pro Tim uh it's going to be decided in December down here in Midland. Um November meeting is November 10th, not the 11th due to Veterans Day being on the 11th and a summary was given on developments in progress. They've got a lot of stuff going on down there. Just one other thing I would like to say. Thank you again for allowing me to attend the God and Country Christian Alliance banquet with Clarence Henderson, my dear friend, speaking and I, you know, had the privilege of introducing him and the meeting went very well that night. Mike Spashali, who heads up that group, uh, began the meeting with a video tribute to Charlie Kirk, which I don't think there were many dry eyes left after that. But I guess I did okay because after it was over, Clarence still calls me his brother.

Thank you. Okay.

I just wanted to bring up two of these um these committees. Seems like since I've been on here, um the adult care home community advisory committee, um there's 13 current vacancies. It seems like we can never get anybody to on that one. And the nursing home community advisory board, there's currently 10 vacancies on that. Uh seems for some reason those two we always struggle with. So if anybody's interested with those, it'd be nice to see some of those filled. And uh for the last two months I've been participating in the um Duke, North Carolina leadership forum. Uh two months ago it was in uh Flat Rock. This past week it was in Rocky Mount. Next month it's in Raleigh. In December it's in Durham. And it's on uh immigration. And so they bring elected leaders, elected leaders throughout the state together from congress members to uh senators, various commissioners, various private sector and um just putting some different heads together for solutions uh for immigration um pertaining to North Carolina. So I've been participating in that and will be through December. too.

So, um I did want to mention that uh we do have our Cabaris Health Alliance meeting board meeting tomorrow. So, I will have an update at the next meeting regarding that. Um I did have an opportunity to I am the liazison for the youth commission. Uh I did have the an opportunity to have one of the youth commissioners join me at the schoolboard meeting last Monday and she was able to speak during public comment. Um very excited to have Leila and the youth commissioners back up here on the dis as well. So I'm I'm thankful that we we have you guys and we have a great group of kids. They are working on their passion project right now. So hopefully next month we'll be able to hear uh what that's going to be. Um, I also wanted to take a minute to recognize October as breast cancer awareness month. Um, this week will be 17 years for me and I am thankful every single day that God has left me here to be able to share my testimony with others. Um, I just want to recognize all those men and women that are undergoing treatments and continuing through this breast cancer journey. just know that you are loved and we are here for you. And if you ever need anything, please reach out to me because I'm happy um to share my story and to share any kind of um information that I've learned over these years with you. And did you have anything or I can just go ahead and do this?

I'll do your video. Okay. All right. So, um waiting on it all.

Okay. Okay. So, I did want to mention too real quick that um Gina was here tonight with Julie and I'm thankful that she was able to come and join us. Um she is up for adoption at the animal shelter and Ginger Rail uh was adopted the from the video last month and Jasper in this video actually was adopted too. So, um he he now has a new home. But this is our animal shelter video for this month. I hope you enjoy. [Music] [Applause] Hello darlings. My name is Kruella. Someone told me that you can find furs here at this beautiful facility. So I intend to check them out. Follow me. Absolutely wretched. [Music] Oh my goodness. What is this creature? Hello, darling. Where are your spots? This is not what I asked for. Oh, no. You think you're so cute, don't you? This is Jasper. He's a twomonth-old pitbull puppy that is currently looking for a family. He doesn't have spots, darling, but he is black and white, so he might make a good fur for your family. Pumpkin for Halloween, darling. Hi, darlings. This is Pumpkin. Pumpkin is a 2-year-old cat who would look perfect in your house for Halloween. Thank you, darlings, for joining Kruella today here at our local animal shelter. In all seriousness, please go online and check out the Cabaris County Animal Shelter on Facebook. They are constantly updating their page and if you haven't checked it out, they do have a costume

contest for all the dogs and you can go online and vote for your favorite today. Happy Halloween everyone. [Applause] Okay, any general comments? Is the behavioral health center open?

Ted, do you have anything for general comments?

Yes. I just wanted to welcome Kyle Bilifer back to our team. Uh he rejoined us today. [Applause] Do you have any general comments? Yeah.

Okay. I got a couple comments. Um, it's more of a plea to the community and citizens to help us do our job. You have commissioners sitting up here who do not want to raise your taxes. And we are working hard now to make sure we don't have to do that come up this next budget. Our problem is not with what we do in the county, but what's going on at the state. The state is, as you know, has not passed the budget. And most of the conversation up there is they're going to cut services and then turn around and mandate that the county pick up the cost of those services and still provide them. That's going to put a big burden on every county in North Carolina. uh city man I county manager Seaffort and I are meeting with the governor's office tomorrow and we're going to bring this up to him and address it with them but it's not really in his hands as much as it is in the representatives we have up there in the house and senate I need the citizens to reach out to them let them know they cannot put these cost on counties um it could be tens of millions of dollars that we have to come up with um and it it needs to be spoken out loud up there. Don't just push it down to us um or any other county to do it. I reached out to the local um state county commissioners uh to see if they would join us in trying to put pressure on all of the representatives up there. And I'm waiting to hear back from their head on what kind of game plan we can have. But I need the citizens to start putting pressure on our state representatives because if they push that down to us, it's going to be a financial burden for

every single one of us. So, we need to start fighting now and uh get the word out to each of your state representatives. And if if they're not yours, if you know one, get in their ear. Do what you can to help us. That's the only way we can help you with this coming down the the track. There'll be more information coming out about it as we learn more, but I wanted to go ahead and put it in everybody's mind that we're fighting about it with the state right now. Um, and so we're going to need all of our citizens help so we can protect y'all. Thank you. And now, do I have a motion to go into close session confidentiality issues with an attorney? I'll make the motion for close session. Do

I have a second?