Board stalls on WATCH funding
By Steve Herring
Published in News on August 5, 2016 1:46 PM
For the second time in as many weeks, efforts by some Wayne County commissioners to increase county funding for the WATCH van was stalled by a 3-3 vote.
And in an ironic twist, Chairman Joe Daughtery, a staunch opponent of county funding of nonprofits, voted for the increase, but only as a way to force the deadlock vote to bring the issue back before the full board in two weeks.
Commissioner Wayne Aycock did not attend the meeting.
WATCH, or Wayne Action Teams for Community Health, was not on Tuesday's agenda, but was added by Commissioner John Bell who voted for the increase in June, but switched his vote to no when the budget was approved.
Both he and Commissioner Ed Cromartie, who had also favored the increase, voted no in the most recent previous vote on July 19.
At times the debate between board members grew somewhat contentious.
Bell said he and Cromartie had been discussing the issue for a "long time" and had decided to bring it back before the board.
His motion to increase the funding from $110,000 to $165,000 was anchored to a string of conditions.
Those conditions included assurances that the WATCH van will go to "appropriate" areas of the county at least four times a week; provide the board within 60 days of funding approval with criteria for individuals to be seen at the van or the two other fixed locations, including those who do not live in the county; provide a list of the number of people seen in each location on a quarterly basis; and notify the county within 60 days of approval the manner in which anyone can donate to WATCH.
Commissioner Joe Gurley asked Bell to rescind the motion until all the board members were present. He said that Aycock is very compassionate about WATCH.
Bell said he would rather for Gurley to amend the motion than to table it. Gurley did not.
Cromartie said he had brought a copy of the News-Argus that carried an article about WATCH. He said he had reached a "level of satisfaction" from what WATCH officials said in the article.
Cromartie said he and Bell had supported WATCH for years. He said he and his wife have written a check to WATCH to demonstrate their confidence in the agency.
Commissioner Ray Mayo said that the change of heart was the result of public pressure.
"Doesn't it make a difference when citizens step up to the plate?" Mayo said. "It sure changes our mind doesn't it?"
Mayo then made a motion to table the vote until the board's Aug. 16 meeting so that Aycock, who is a "big proponent of WATCH, would be present.
"Let me personally take some issue with that in that I was not here at our last meeting and Commissioner Mayo did in fact make the motion at that time knowing that there was not a full board here then," Daughtery said. "Now we are stating since we don't have a full board today that we need to table it.
"I was not able to put my comments on the record at the last meeting because I wasn't here. Nor was I able to vote at that time, but it was in fact voted on, and there didn't seem to be any issue with it at that time. So why is that an issue today when Commissioner Aycock is not here?"
Mayo said Daughtery was at the meeting because of text messages some commissioners had received from him.
Daughtery said he had watched the meeting on the Internet, but denied sending texts.
Daughtery said he would like for the board not vote on potential controversial issues unless all seven members are present.
"We had an opportunity to do it at the last meeting," Mayo said. "All this is, is a political move because the citizens of Wayne County, everybody listening, the citizens of Wayne County changed these people's minds. Nobody else did.
"Nobody else did because the phone calls that all of us have gotten in support -- I gotten one phone call against WATCH out of many."
Mayo said he had a letter from a WATCH client and what it means to him.
"So what has happened here, it is a political move, and it has been brought on by the citizens of Wayne County. So I am just glad that board is seeing that the citizens run this county not us."
Before Daughtery could call for the vote on the motion to table, Cromartie said that unless Mayo was a mind reader that he wondered how Mayo could determine that he was moved by phone calls Mayo had received.
Mayo responded that Cromartie had told him he, too, had received phone calls.
"You got pushback and you told me from your citizens," Mayo said.
"When," Cromartie started as Daughtery repeatedly gaveled the debate to a close.
The motion to table failed with Gurley and Mayo voting yes.
Before the board could vote on Bell's original motion, Mayo offered an amendment to it to increase the funding to $220,000.
Mayo said that would allow the WATCH van to operate five days a week.
The amendment failed 4-2 with Gurley and Mayo voting yes.
Daughtery finally called for the vote on Bell's original motion.
Daughtery, Bell and Cromartie voted yes. Gurley, Mayo and Commissioner Bill Pate voted no.
Bell said he would continue to bring the issue back up until it is approved.
Later in the meeting Daughtery said he did not want people to think he supported the increase and had voted for the motion in order to force the issue over to the board's next meeting.
He also reiterated the reasons for his opposition to the funding even though it is "a great program."
Primarily, Daughtery said he does not think taxpayers dollars should be used to support nonprofit organizations.
Also, the contract that transferred the once county-owned Wayne Memorial Hospital to the nonprofit that now operates the hospital requires that the hospital provide indigent care.
WATCH was created by the hospital to keep patients out of the more costly emergency department, he said.
The hospital is the only one to benefit financially from WATCH, Daughtery said.
Daughtery said commissioners are currently negotiating with the hospital and that he could not understand why some commissioners would surrender bargaining chips by increasing the funding.