Board Again Rejects Bond Referendum on Jail
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Commissioner Cindy Morgan tried a second time Monday night to put a $52.5 million bond issue on the ballot, and failed again, likewise with a 3-2 vote.
The Moore County Board of Commissioners, without further comment, voted along the same lines from when the subject was broached at a meeting earlier this summer.
"It just seems reasonable," Morgan said of holding a referendum on the bond issue. "I've thought long and hard about this."
Morgan said she had talked with the State Board of Elections, where she was informed that it is not too late to add the issue to the November general election ballot. She then made a motion to put the bond issue to a vote of the people.
The $52.5 million in bonds includes $40 million to pay for the jail-public safety complex, with the remainder designated for major utility projects in Pinehurst.
However, the measure adopted on the original 3-2 vote caps the limited obligation bond issue at $50 million.
A long pause followed her motion for a referendum, and finally Chairman Tim Lea proffered the second. When the vote was called, they were the only yes votes, and Commissioners Larry Caddell, Jimmy Melton and Nick Picerno again voted against.
Morgan asked to add the subject to the agenda at the beginning of the meeting, after three individuals had voiced opposition to the lack of a referendum during the public-comment period.
Libby Moodie said that "several commissioners" were out of touch with the views of the public. She said the jail should be built outside the Carthage town limits, not on the Grimm property downtown. Moodie said the county should instead use the downtown site for the local government office building, which the commissioners had previously decided to place elsewhere because of insufficient space.
"It is unfair to the taxpayers," Moodie said in asking the board to put the bond issue to a vote.
Bert Patrick, the leader of a movement opposing the downtown site for the jail expansion, reiterated her concern about the safety of school children. She distributed photographs showing the highway school signs and markings on the street beside the site.
"I beg you to reconsider the safety of our children here in Carthage," Patrick said.
John Marcum, of Pinehurst, also asked the board to reconsider its decision to place the jail in downtown Carthage. He told of watching the process with incredulity as the commissioners considered the location and the financing of the capital projects.
The economy was thought to be improving a year ago when the project was being discussed in detail, he said, adding that, in his opinion, the economy is in much worse condition today. He said issuing bonds would mean an increase in the tax rate.
Marcum called Carthage one of the oldest towns in the county and one of the prettiest and questioned why the county "keeps cramming" huge buildings into such a small community.
He told the board that it's not too late to put the measure on the ballot.
Unlike general obligation bonds, limited obligation bonds do not require a referendum.
In other business Monday, the board agreed to call a public hearing to receive comment on a proposed water shortage response plan, approved an agreement with the N.C. Department of Environ-ment and Natural Resourc-es to cover forestry service in the county, approved a water purchase contract with the town of Aberdeen and approved an easement for a water vault at Westmoore Elementary School.
The board voted to table a request for a review of property value after the close of the appeal process, and at the request of Melton, agreed to hear details about a proposed comprehensive transportation plan at the next elected officials forum, to be held in November.
Contact Florence Gilkeson at florence@thepilot.com.
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Comments
plumblevel 2 years, 9 months ago
One must look at the real reason Melton, Caddell, and Picerno have consistently voted in favor of spending 52.5 million and why they have denied the public a bond referendum on this issue. Caddell and Picerno contract criminal, law enforcement and public utility software to the county. I will let you draw your own conclusions.
There will still be a vote on actually building the facility once all the bids are in. If the vote is postponed until after the November election and Melton loses to Wayne Garner they would lose their 3-2 voting block. If this indeed is a self interest project, why should they risk the taxpayer voting against their agenda where two will greatly benefit.
I remind you Larry Caddell is 40% owner and CEO of Southern Software which contracts criminal, law enforcement and public utilities software to the county. Picerno founded the company, owns the Southern Software building, is on the board of Southern Software and his son works there. So, I ask you, why is it in their interest to let the public vote and with a negative outcome deny them their business opportunities?
I believe it is apparent why they arrogantly refuse to let the public vote. Let their arrogance find its due at the polls in November with Melton running against Garner and in 2012 with Picerno. Unfortunately, Caddell is running unopposed. Melton, Caddell, and Picerno have denied our vote on a referendum but they cannot deny our vote in the November election.Time to clean up Moore County!
Bflat 2 years, 9 months ago
Cadell, Picerno and Melton do not care what the taxpayers think. This mess has been going on much too long.
SoPinesNo1 2 years, 9 months ago
Southern Software obviously does a huge amount of business in the criminal, law enforcement and public utilities software arena. I'm sure that they have many, many clients much larger than Moore County, and the loss of Moore County as a client would be just a drop in the bucket of their overall revenues. If some of you believe that having or not having Moore County as a client is so vital to the survival and prosperity of Southern Software, why would they have given the initial software to the County?
Southern Software does not need to have Moore County as a client, and therefore building a new detention center plays no role in the decisions made by commissioners that may currently have, or have had past associations with Southern Software. They are merely doing the business that they were elected to do to the best of their abilities.
Imagining and conjuring up underlying schemes as to why many of you believe that the board is doing this to line their pockets is beyond reasonable logic.
None 2 years, 9 months ago
SoPineNo1 ~ "If some of you believe that having or not having Moore County as a client is so vital to the survival and prosperity of Southern Software," it's more about ethics and ethical behaviors. Using your line of thought, why should any government entitiy request bids on projects or vendors? Did they donate the software? Or did they use Moore County Sheriffs Department for BETA testing? According to an inside source who has since let SS, Inc. That was exactly what occurred.
The figure presented by Chief Deputy Neil Godfrey was $350,000.00 - a bit far fetched considering the software used to product the movie AVATAR only cost $999.00.
"Imagining and conjuring up underlying schemes" so you obviously don't have any issue with Larry Caddell serving on the board at SCC and voting on their budget? Why would anyone think that is a conflict of interest? Have you seen the money going to schools and the millions in bond debt? I find it interesting so many approve and agree with out of control spending leaving us in debt for decades to come. Good for you SoPinesNo1! My hats off....
plumblevel 2 years, 9 months ago
SoPinesNo1 Aren't you the one who dumped on Cary McSwain and said something about cleaning Moore up from the top down? So, why the change of tune, you now write like one of those who believes we must have blind faith in our elected officials.
You missed the point. Contracts are in place for Southern Software with Moore County, the issue is Picerno and Caddell have conflict of interest because SS has contracted to Moore County. They need to recuse themselves from voting on issues where they have conflict of interest. It is the moral thing to do. The reason they refuse is it is indeed a self interest project. Maybe that is why this project is one of the most expensive Detention Centers and Sheriffs offices in the state of North Carolina.
"building of the Detention Center plays no role" This DC is near their home office, a short distance from Caddell's home, etc. It plays a huge role in developing software to sell nationwide. Get all the bugs out at home first. Isn't that what a software developer would do?
Bflat 2 years, 9 months ago
$50 million for a DC and sheriff dept is a lot of money. It does not belong in downtown Carthage. It should be somewhere outside town. That cost does not include the courts facility. I suspect the county will be over $200 million in debt before this is all said and done. Not only that we are in a down economy. More and more foreclosures will soon be released into the marketplace that have been on hold for many months to allow people the opportunity to restructure but by this time most were too far behind with little hope of recovery. The news media hasn't talked about that aspect....yet.
SoPinesNo1 2 years, 9 months ago
I still feel the same about Cary McSwain. He has people fooled, but time will tell. And as far as the beta testing goes, I'm sure there are many entities that would jump at that chance, so why would they have to force it down Moore County's throat?
native 2 years, 9 months ago
Southern Software does not need to have Moore County as a client, and therefore building a new detention center plays no role in the decisions made by commissioners that may currently have, or have had past associations with Southern Software. They are merely doing the business that they were elected to do to the best of their abilities.
If the above is true, THEN why not let the people vote..
plumblevel 2 years, 9 months ago
native I second that "THEN why not let the people vote." What are they hiding? Caddell, Melton, and Picerno are elected officials to represent the people of Moore County. Why would they not want to find out what their constituents really want.
SoPines1 So, why are they forcing it down "Moore County's throat"? What other entities want software with bugs in it to work out?
SoPinesNo1 2 years, 9 months ago
When something is mandated, directly or indirectly, a vote is not needed. Nothing is being hidden. Moore County is not the beta test. All software has bugs, just ask Microsoft. Has your computer never crashed?
Everyone needs to move on, and refrain from tying unrelated issues together.
SoPinesNo1 2 years, 9 months ago
To vote on a bond issue when it is a bond that does not require a vote would not change the location of the detention center, nor would it eliminate the need for the detention center. It would only serve to hinder progress toward design, construction, and completion.
I suppose it is possible to just raise taxes to the levels of some other counties and simply pay for the detention center that way. A visit to the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners website shows that Moore County has the 25th lowest tax rate in the state. There are 14 counties with tax rates at or above $.80 per $100 evaluation. Neighboring Scotland County has the highest rate in the state at $1.02 per $100 evaluation.
Why not just raise taxes to Scotland County's tax rate and pay for the detention center that way?