Glen Alpine board silent on resignation, votes to review town staff policies and procedures

A week after Jim Frady’s resignation, Glen Alpine’s Board of Aldermen met with no mention of his separation from the board and with one less seat at the table.

The board met Monday, June 30, primarily to address its outdated policies and procedures, but the meeting opened with tension as members of the public wasted no time in voicing their concerns and offering feedback.

Bob Benfield, who served the town as Mayor from 2017 to 2024, expressed disappointment with the town’s division. He addressed Mayor Michelle Lewis, “You need to get your group together.”

Benfield said the town has a good police department, a good fire department, and good EMT services, which is what the town needs. He said the problem is that the town’s residents aren’t involved with their local government.

“It’s not this board, it’s not us, it’s because people don’t care until something hits the fan,” Benfield said, “then when something hits the fan, you want to find blame.”

Benfield said that if something is for the good of the town, it needs to be done, adding that whoever runs for an elected position next needs to raise the tax rate because the town can’t achieve its goals without sufficient funding.

The board approved the town’s budget in June with the tax rate remaining at 26 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, bringing in about $389,750 in revenue. For context, the property tax rate was lowered from 29 cents last year. Two years ago, the rate was 32 cents per $100 in valuation.

The local option sales tax is the top revenue source at $550,000. Total revenues for the town this fiscal year are estimated at more than $1.36 million.

Benfield said the framework for a good board is there, but the members need to be on the same page. “We got to fight the fight. We got to stay the course. If you can’t do that, get off. Go on home, forget about it,” Benfield said.

Elise Hembree, who has lived in the town for 22 years, said she was concerned about an “unprofessional” post from Lewis after Frady’s resignation, noting that any time something is published about the town or local government with quotes that represent the town in an unprofessional or rude manner, that it makes the town look bad.

“It makes us look like we either don’t know what we’re doing or we’re backwards or we’re just rude, and that is not what this town is,” Hembree said, also noting that she was concerned about the idea of the town being unincorporated.

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

Public comments were the last mention of any rift between the board or of the resignation. Lewis transitioned the board to the discussion of policies and procedures, which include job descriptions and expectations for all town employees.

The lengthy list of policies, last updated in 2007, has grammatical errors, is missing important policies, and is so outdated that some policies may no longer have any legal grounds, Mayor Pro Tempore Luke Boone. Boone said some of the policies and procedures that are missing include leave approval, tobacco use, vehicle use and material safety data sheet (MSDS) policies. An MSDS is a document that provides comprehensive information about a substance’s hazards, safe handling, store and disposal. The sheets are important for ensuring employees are safe when dealing with chemicals used in water treatment or public works departments.

“There’s nothing in here to hold anyone accountable. We have no records of anything,” board member Sheila Perkins said. As for job descriptions, Perkins said the board often hears complaints about employees not fulfilling their duties, but the town must provide clear job descriptions to hold them accountable.

“I can’t just say that you’re not doing your job. I have to prove you’re not doing your job,” Perkins said.

The board voted to adopt the policies but agreed to review one or two policies every month and vote to make adjustments as needed. The board also voted 3-1 in favor of seeking guidance from the Western Piedmont Council of Governments. Board member Reid Scott voted against the measure, saying he preferred using free resources from the UNC School of Government over spending town funds.

POLICING NEEDS

The board met with each department head to review their individual policies and procedures, while also discussing the specific needs of each department. Both the police department and fire department have their own form of policies that they follow that are unique to their departments.

Police Chief Kirk Penley said that his department needs one more officer in order to achieve 24/7 coverage. In addition to the chief, the department has three officers and one captain. Penley said the current staff provides nighttime coverage in Glen Alpine, but that leaves the daytime on weekends with no one on patrol.

No applications have been submitted for the open officer position, Penley said. Even with an additional officer, the department would still need a fifth to provide true 24/7 coverage. Without that, any illness, vacation, or training would leave a gap in staffing.

Fire Chief Adam Marlowe said that most of his volunteer firefighters live outside the immediate Glen Alpine area or are also members of another fire department. He did give the board good news that the department had been chosen to receive a grant for a new pickup truck.

The board agreed to schedule time for Public Works Director Nick Adams and another department employee to obtain their commercial driver’s licenses so they can operate a new truck recently purchased by the town.