New Hanover County Commissioners eliminate workforce housing and community relation committees

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — During Monday’s meeting, New Hanover County Commissioners voted 3-2 to eliminate two committees: the Workforce Housing Advisory and Community Relations Committees.

County manager Chris Coudriet had recommended the elimination of the two committees due to recent budget decisions made by commissioners.

Commissioner Stephanie Walker was one of two commissioners voting against the eliminations.

“The old agreement is not good anymore or it looks like it’s viable anymore, let’s look at a different way to form this committee or come up with a different plan,” Walker said. “But just to do away with it because a budget decision was made, I don’t think is the right thing to do.”

Vice-chair LeAnn Pierce said commissioners do want to add workforce housing, but they’re looking to ensure that money already given out to support developments is being used correctly.

“I think it’s important that we see where the 9 million and the 19 million, which is nearly 30 million dollars, where that lands and what kind of developments,” Pierce said. “And is it really getting to the folks that we’re hoping to support, which would be our middle-class folks. Our teachers and our firefighters and our police officers.”

Coudriet also recommended getting rid of the Community Relations committee because there are other similar committees, including the Commission on Women and the Commission on African-American History, Heritage, and Culture.

Dane Scalise said the Community Relations committee made several recommendations over the years that were unnecessary, like a civilian review board above the county sheriff.

“The argument that we would have a joint committee that would tell the Sheriff what he is or isn’t allowed to do is loathsome to me,” Scalise said. “The Sheriff is elected by the people of New Hanover County. That is the civilian review board of the Sheriff.”

Rob Zapple was the other vote against getting rid of the committees.

” I would like to make it easier for our citizens to be able to address these issues in any one of these committees,” Zapple said. “You pull that away and we’ve taken a step back 20 or 30 years.”

The two committees include members from the county and the city of Wilmington, so the committees could remain in place if the city fully takes over.