Caldwell Commissioners assume control of DSS, Health boards

To the echoes of a booing crowd, the Caldwell County Board of Commissioners voted to assume control of the county’s Department of Social Services and its Board of Health following a series of residents critiquing the necessity of the move.

“The plan is a scheme for you all to control,” said Steve Huntley during public comments, dragging his finger through the air, pointing at the board. “And we don’t trust you all.”

Since the decision was made, it consolidated the reporting structure of the two departments, transitioning the Board of Health and the DSS Board into advisory boards that report to Caldwell County Manager Shane Fox, who then answers to the commissioners.

Until this point, local boards of health have operated independently, carrying out their responsibilities under state oversight and funding requirements. Changes to North Carolina General Statutes and a 2012 session law gave counties the option to adopt a different governance structure, a step more than 30 counties have taken, including Alexander, Burke, Watauga, and Wilkes.

“Our objective for the structural reorganization is to modernize our human services delivery model by removing the standalone boards and placing the governance directly under you, the Board of Commissioners,” Fox explained. “Through me, as county manager, we’re able to eliminate operational silos and establish a direct line of public accountability.”

Board Chair Randy Church expanded on the motives, saying, “We’re not taking the place of the state of North Carolina; they still are gonna fund DSS. … They’re gonna govern it just like they have always governed it. The biggest difference for this board is to actually have some say-so in that. As a taxpayer, I would hope that folks realize that we’re responsible for that, and right now, we don’t have the ability to be responsible for it.”

However, as one public commenter pointed out, Commissioner Donnie Potter serves as chair of the DSS Board, and Church serves as chair of the Board of Health, meaning they already have some say in the board-level decisions.

WHAT ACTUALLY CHANGES?

At a high level, very little changes upfront.

According to Potter and Fox, day-to-day operations will remain the same and the boards — aside from becoming advisory boards to the commissioners — will remain the same.

The primary change is the governance. The advisory boards will provide a monthly update to the commissioners for decision-making.

The commissioners will now be responsible for selecting, consulting, and directing the county director of social services and the local health director.

As for the public, the commissioners will be responsible for advising local authorities on policies to improve social conditions, planning and presenting budgets, and promoting public health by adopting the rules necessary for that purpose.

“I’ve never seen a presentation go faster than that,” said public commenter Charles Senf, his voice sardonic and gravelly like comedian George Carlin. “It’s almost as if it didn’t matter.”

Senf echoed what other speakers had said, saying that he couldn’t see a reason for the decision, as none of the commissioners had medical degrees and the public had limited information about what the outcome would be, despite the 30-day notice in the local newspaper.

“What’s wrong over there? What is it we’re trying to fix? Simply stated, is it trying to save money? … I have no idea of what your intent is. You didn’t spell it out. We deserve to hear the details of why you’re doing this.”

SIMILAR CONTROVERSY IN BURKE

As referenced by Fox during his presentation, Burke County made a similar move in August 2024, much to the chagrin of the residents in attendance.

At the time, 15 speakers stood in front of the packed meeting room and explained why the absorption of the two boards wasn’t a necessary move, according to previous reports in The Paper.

The two boards had each separately passed resolutions opposing the dissolution, but it moved forward, nonetheless, with all requests for reconsideration or delay ignored.

Although many positions remained the same, when the time came to reappoint the advisory board leadership, the Burke County Commissioners ousted former chair Isaac Crouch and replaced him with Dr. Ken Bonfield.

In a 3-2 vote, Crouch was also not reappointed to another available seat on the board for which he was eligible.

Crouch had publicly opposed the commissioners’ decision just four months before and said at the time that the move was “disappointing, but not surprising, just because of how politics work around here.”