Author: Scott D. Yost

In a highly surprising move that virtually no one saw coming, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners, at the prompting of Commissioner Justin Conrad, voted unanimously to approve raising up to $10 million for school security needs using two-thirds bonds – a little understood local government financing method that’s never been used by Guilford County to fund school projects. Conrad made the motion – one that proved popular with both Democratic and Republican commissioners on the board – at a Thursday, June 14 work session. What the commissioners are saying publically is that this is the fastest way to...

Right after the Guilford County commissioners heard that the proposed new Animal Shelter – which in the past was expected to cost about $9 million – was now projected to cost $18 million, for a moment, the cat had their tongues and, then, when they finally did say something, it was clear they thought the plan as presented was for the dogs. “I started gasping for air,” said Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Alan Branson. “I was wondering if the batteries in my hearing aid were working.” The chairman doesn’t actually wear a hearing aid, but...

The Statue of Liberty welcomes the poor and the huddled masses at no cost, but right now the Guilford County Sheriff’s Department is welcoming state prisoners and federal inmates for a price. A big new jail, proximity to a federal courthouse and a new program that helps inmates reenter society have all made the Guilford County jail in Greensboro a very attractive place for others to store their inmates, and the Sheriff’s Department has built a nice side business with a solid revenue stream that Guilford County Sheriff BJ Barnes said this week amounts to about $1.5 million a...

A rendering of the proposed new Guilford County Animal Shelter.  At 44,000 square feet, it is twice as large as the current shelter.  The Guilford County Board of Commissioners still has to vote to approve the funds, and estimates are between $16.5 million to $18 million, depending on add-ons, etc. Last year, Guilford County purchased property for the new shelter at 979 Guilford College Road, which is just southwest of Greensboro and is less than two miles from the existing county shelter.  At a work session on Thursday, June 14, the commissioners discussed the project and many had questions...

It only took about two minutes from the start of the Tuesday, June 12 Summerfield Town Council meeting for it to decay into the contentious, unruly shout-fest that everyone knew it was going to be before it started. Perhaps the best thing that can be said about the meeting is that no new assault and battery charges came out of it; however, at the meeting, councilmembers called each other liars, speakers from the floor accused the town of financial impropriety and the town attorney told a councilmember, “Ma’am, you’re an elected official – act like one!” So it was,...

The Guilford County Board of Commissioners’ Thursday, June 7 meeting at times looked more like an old-time church revival than a commissioners meeting. The commissioners meeting room on the second-floor of the Old Guilford County Court House was jam packed with people who jumped to their feet cheering whenever speakers gave an impassioned plea – not one about eternal salvation but instead about the need for the Board of Commissioners to fully fund the Guilford County school system’s request in the 2018-2019 county budget. The Guilford County commissioners are in the heat of the budget process right now and...

Nonprofit’s might not make profits, but they do need to get money from somewhere – and, for many hopeful organizations each summer, that somewhere is Guilford County government. Every year at budget time, local organizations that promote arts and culture, put on the High Point furniture market or the North Carolina Folk Festival, or even sell groceries, come to Guilford County hands out, palms up to see if the county can spare some money – and a lot more than a dime too. Late last month, the Board of Commissioners heard County Manager Marty Lawing’s proposed budget for 2018-2019,...

On Thursday, May 24, Superior Court Judge Andy Cromer ordered, for a second time, a stay of the Guilford County Board of Elections’ Tuesday, April 17 decision that determined Summerfield Town Councilmember Todd Rotruck wasn’t a resident of that town – a decision that resulted in Rotruck being removed from the Summerfield Town Council. Rotruck and his attorney, Marsh Prause with the Winston-Salem firm of Allman Spry Davis Leggett & Crumpler, seemed delighted when they exited courtroom 3-C in the Guilford County Courthouse in downtown Greensboro. That was because they, and some others who had sat through the hearing,...

“Sorry… We’re closed.” Don Wendelken, a former Guilford County Board of Elections member who runs the Facebook page Summerfield Scoop, put that iconic, red-letters-on-a-white-background sign above an image of the Summerfield town seal after town officials canceled the Summerfield Town Council meeting for the third time in a row. Next to the image, he posed the question, “Summerfield closed?” The Town Council hasn’t met to conduct town business since Tuesday, April 10. The council did hold a special meeting on Monday, April 23, but no actual town business was conducted at that meeting, which ended up just being one...

Republic Services, the second largest waste disposal and recycling company in the country, which serves much of Guilford County and some of its towns, is now on a short leash with Guilford County – but, due to a lack of options for the county, Republic may not be at the end of its rope. In recent weeks, the franchise agreement that allows the company to operate in Guilford County has been under review in closed session discussions of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners, and several commissioners said this week that Republic hasn’t cleaned up its act despite promises...

Summerfield Town Councilmember Teresa Pegram has filed an assault charge against fellow Town Councilmember Dena Barnes. Pegram filed the charge of “simple assault” with the Guilford County magistrate’s office on Thursday, May 17, claiming that Dena Barnes assaulted her during a Monday, April 23 closed session of the Summerfield Town Council. That closed session was held to discuss the highly publicized removal of former Summerfield Town Councilmember Todd Rotruck from the six-person council. Pegram said she didn’t wish to make any statement at this time regarding her filing but she indicated that she might be willing to do so...

The most important thing that happens in Guilford County government each year is the adoption of a county budget, and a major step in the process happened at the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Thursday, May 17 meeting: County Manager Marty Lawing presented his proposed budget for fiscal 2018-2019. In that budget, he recommended no property tax increase, $8.5 million in additional funding for Guilford County Schools’ operations and capital projects, along with funds for an average 3 percent merit-based pay increase for county employees. Lawing’s fiscal 2018-2019 proposed county budget totals $616,459,260, which is roughly $8 million more...

Guilford County Facilities, Parks and Property Management Director Robert McNiece has left the building – or rather, has left the buildings, the ones he’s overseen the last four years for Guilford County. McNiece, who resigned suddenly, served his last day of county service on Friday, May 18 after giving verbal notice to the county two weeks earlier. Before his resignation, there was no outward indication he was ready to leave. Guilford County is in the midst of several multi-million dollar building and renovation projects, and, in recent months, McNiece has frequently been at the front and center of county...

Summerfield Town Councilmember Teresa Pegram has filed an assault charge against fellow Town Councilmember Dena Barnes. Pegram filed the charge of “simple assault” with the Guilford County magistrate’s office on Thursday, May 17, claiming that Dena Barnes assaulted her during a Monday, April 23 closed session of the Summerfield Town Council. That closed session was held to discuss the highly publicized removal of former Summerfield Town Councilmember Todd Rotruck from the six-person council. Pegram said she didn’t wish to make any statement at this time regarding her filing but she indicated that she might be willing to do so...

If anyone thought things in the Town of Summerfield couldn’t get any crazier – well, they were certainly in for a revelation this week when things hit a whole new level of crazy. And, given what preceded this week, that’s saying a lot. The latest round of action, controversy and drama kicked off just after 3 p.m. on Thursday, May 10 – three-and-a-half hours before Summerfield was scheduled to hold a Town Council meeting. That afternoon, Superior Court Judge Andy Cromer held a teleconference with attorneys to announce his decision on whether former Town Councilmember Todd Rotruck could participate...

and Guilford County government is going to school and getting wonky – not wonky as in “crooked, off-center, askew,” but wonky in this way: The county, in collaboration with the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) and MetroLab Network, is taking a very deep academic dive into numbers, stats and other data in an attempt to solve problems facing the county. Homelessness and substance abuse are the first two targets of the new program, but plans are to expand the initiative to address many other county issues in the future. The Guilford County/UNCG partnership is only the fifth...

There are 100 counties in North Carolina but only one of them – Guilford County – has the 2018 Outstanding Tax Collector of the Year. The North Carolina Tax Collectors’ Association (NCTCA), a professional organization constituted of tax department directors and other tax officials representing counties and municipalities across the state, awarded the honor to Guilford County Tax Director Ben Chavis, who received the accolade during a banquet at the NCTCA’s annual three-day conference held this year at the Koury Convention Center in Greensboro. The Outstanding Tax Collector of the Year award is presented annually to the tax official...

Summerfield Mayor Gail Dunham has filed an incident report with the Town of Summerfield stating that she was assaulted by Summerfield Town Councilmember Dena Barnes during a closed session of the council at a contentious Monday, April 23 meeting. The report the mayor filed with the town states that, in that closed session, Dena Barnes gave Dunham a “hard slap on the right arm” and used her hands “aggressively” in other ways as well. “It was assault,” Dunham said, adding that it was painful when Dena Barnes slapped her arm. Dunham said she was extremely disturbed by the incident....

The Summerfield citizen responsible for the residency challenge that removed former Summerfield Town Councilmember Todd Rotruck from his seat on that Town Council is speaking out about what she says are false allegations being leveled against her and is providing new details about the events surrounding the most controversial political battle in the small town’s history. Janelle Robinson, who filed a challenge of Rotruck’s residency with the Guilford County Board of Elections in March, said this week that she was merely a concerned citizen operating alone in her challenge and not part of any pro-land development cabal set on...

On Thursday, May 3, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners heard a very disappointing report from the Guilford County Purchasing Department on the county’s use – or rather its lack of use – of Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprises (MWBE). The report had several commissioners visibly perturbed and now Commissioner Skip Alston is calling for the county to hire a full-time MWBE director who would answer directly to the county manager and focus exclusively on upping Guilford County’s use of MWBE contractors and suppliers. Late in 2017, the county – led by Commissioners Carolyn Coleman, Carlvena Foster and Alston,...

The Guilford County Animal Shelter, under new Animal Services Director Jorge Ortega, has reached a major milestone: It passed a state inspection with flying colors and with the inspectors commenting that “great improvements” are being made. Passing an inspection is a run of the mill occurrence for most cities or counties with animal shelters, but the Guilford County Animal Shelter has been operating under a “disapproved” status for nearly a year after failing several inspections in 2017. That was a black eye on the county given that, of 125 publicly operated shelters in North Carolina, Guilford County was the...

Former Summerfield Town Councilmember Todd Rotruck is taking the battle over his Town Council seat to North Carolina Superior Court. On Thursday, April 26, Rotruck filed an appeal in an attempt to overturn a decision by the Guilford County Board of Elections that ultimately removed him from the Town Council. He simultaneously filed a lawsuit against the Town of Summerfield that claims “illegal” and “vigilante-like actions” by Town Attorney Bill Hill and Town Manager Scott Whitaker prematurely excluded him from the council seat he was elected to and also infringed on his constitutional right to serve as a councilmember....

The Tuesday, May 8 primary is almost here and one of the most watched battles is the one to become the Republican contender for the Guilford County Board of Commissioners District 2 seat in November. In that contest, Guilford County Commissioner Alan Perdue is up against challenger Ashley Tillery. Right off the bat, there are a few obvious differences between the two: Perdue is male, Tillery female; Perdue lives in Greensboro, Tillery in High Point; Perdue is the incumbent while Tillery is running for office for the first time. The messages from the two campaigns are distinct as well....

The Summerfield Town Council held one of its most contentious meetings in the 22-year history of that town on Monday, April 23 at 6 p.m. in the Summerfield Community Center – a quickly called special meeting to discuss the matter of Todd Rotruck, who the Guilford County Board of Elections determined last week does not live in Summerfield. That ruling by the Elections Board meant Rotruck could no longer serve as a town councilmember. Rotruck was elected to the position last November but a successful voter registration challenge by Summerfield resident Janelle Robinson knocked him off the board since...

On Thursday, April 19, staff and elected officials from Guilford County, Oak Ridge, Stokesdale and Summerfield met in Oak Ridge to examine and discuss the preliminary results of a new major water study that could have a profound effect on future growth – and the patterns of that growth – in northwest Guilford County. The results of the study are expected to be made public sometime in May; however, local leaders got a private viewing of those findings at the closed meeting at the Oak Ridge Town Hall. According to Guilford County Commissioner Justin Conrad, who attended the briefing,...

Guilford County has sent a letter of intent to the State of North Carolina expressing the county’s willingness to expand the Guilford County Juvenile Detention Center to house delinquents for the state once a new law goes into effect – a law that will dramatically increase the number of 16- and 17-year-olds being held as juveniles in North Carolina. The state is going to have a lot more delinquents on its hands after Dec. 1, 2019, when youths in that age group are no longer tried and incarcerated as adults. It will need to hold them somewhere and, more...

Koury Corp. President Steve Showfety probably has most things he wants, but on Thursday, April 19, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners voted to give him something he really wanted but didn’t yet have – a fourth three-year term on the Piedmont Triad Airport Authority. Though Showfety got the reappointment he was seeking, he did so without a vote to spare and just in the nick of time, as his term on the authority was set to expire this month. Most county appointments and reappointments to boards and commissions require a simple majority vote; however, earlier this year, the...