TownTalk: VC BoC Adds Dress & Appearance Policy
The Vance County Board of Commissioners voted for and adopted a dress and appearance policy at their recent board meeting.
(Our WIZS written coverage will appear here soon.)
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The Local Skinny! State Elections Board Vacates Local Decision In Perdue District 4 Residency Appeal
In a 3-2 vote Wednesday morning, the N.C. State Board of Elections vacated a decision of the Vance County Board of Elections, paving the way for candidate Kelley Wade Perdue to remain a candidate for the District 4 seat on the Vance County Board of Commissioners.
Commissioner Dan Brummitt had challenged Perdue’s residency in District 4, prompting the county board of elections to hold an evidentiary hearing on Jan. 22. The board voted 4-1 that Perdue hadn’t proved her case that she resides or maintains a domicile with District 4, but rather in District 2.
At Wednesday morning’s hearing, the state board of elections heard from Perdue’s attorney, Steven Walker. Perdue was present at the online meeting but did not address the panel.
Walker reviewed evidence that Perdue had provided showing the District 4 address on documents ranging from a driver license and voter registration to property, utility and bank records – all showing the same District 4 address.
Walker stated that she had temporarily moved her residence – and voter registration – because of illness, “but always intended for her domicile to be in District 4.”
Perdue renewed her driver license and voter registration in September 2024. Both reflect the District 4 address.
Looking at the whole record in this case, Walker asserted that the Vance County Board of Elections had come to the “wrong conclusion” and asked the panel to reverse the local board’s decision.
A motion by Stacy “Four” Eggers, IV to uphold the earlier decision failed 3-2 and a subsequent motion by Jeff Carmon to vacate the local board’s decision passed 3-2.
Perdue told WIZS News Wednesday she was grateful that the appeals process worked as it was intended and that her appeal was ultimately upheld.
“This experience reaffirmed an important principle: when citizens believe their rights have been compromised, they deserve a fair, lawful, and transparent process to seek resolution,” Perdue said.
“Throughout this appeal, I stood firm, followed the law, and respectfully pursued every available avenue to protect my rights—not just for myself, but because those same protections must exist for every citizen of Vance County. The rule of law matters most when it is tested, and this process demonstrated why due process and accountability are essential to our local democracy.
“As a candidate for the Vance County Board of Commissioners, District 4, this experience has only strengthened my commitment to stand up for fairness, equal treatment, and the rights of the people I seek to serve. Just as I fought for my own rights through the proper legal channels, I will bring that same determination, integrity, and persistence to advocating for the citizens of Vance County.”
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City, County Declare States Of Emergency As Winter Storm Bears Down On N.C.
City and county leaders have declared states of emergency in advance of the weekend’s predicted winter storm, which could bring create dangerous conditions as it moves east over the next couple of days.
In a called emergency meeting of the City Council Thursday afternoon, Henderson Mayor Melissa Elliott said she would put in place the state of emergency for the city because of the chance of hazardous road conditions and the potential for power outages as a result of the storm’s sleet and freezing rain, expected to accumulate on roads, trees and utility lines.
On Friday morning, Vance County Board of Commissioners Chair Carolyn Faines also issued a proclamation declaring a state of emergency for the county through Tuesday of next week.
The proclamation by Faines further states that the county’s Emergency Operations Plan will be in effect, and “all applicable mutual assistance compacts and agreements are in effect and shall remain in effect until this proclamation expires or is rescinded.”
Perdue Appeals To State Board Of Elections Following Jan. 22 Challenge Hearing On Residency
Vance County Board of Commissioners candidate Kelly Wade Perdue said she has filed an appeal with the N.C. State Board of Elections following a decision earlier Thursday about her residency in the district in which she filed. Perdue told WIZS News late Thursday afternoon that she will be notified about a future hearing date after the next board meeting.
District 4 Commissioner Dan Brummitt filed a residency challenge on Jan. 8 during the filing period for the March 3 primary. That assertion was upheld in a 4-1 vote by the panel that heard evidence and statements by both individuals. The Vance County Board of Elections served as the panel hearing the matter; it concluded that Perdue had not proved her case concerning her residency.
Shortly after the hearing ended, Perdue told WIZS News that she had already begun completing the necessary paperwork.
Vance County Board of Elections Director Haley Rawles confirmed that Perdue can appeal the matter to the state board of elections.
The Vance County Board of Elections served as the panel for the challenge hearing, which began at 10 a.m. in the commissioners’ conference room. The vote was 4-1 that Perdue had not presented sufficient evidence to support that her residence is within District 4.
In Brummitt’s closing remarks, he said he had initiated the challenge after hearing from constituents that Perdue lived elsewhere.
Perdue contended that she is in the process of building a new home in the Watkins community, which is in District 4. She maintained that she owns several properties in District 4, one of which is the site of her future home.
The meeting lasted more than 90 minutes, following a formal process of the challenged candidate – Perdue – and the challenger – Brummitt – presenting opening statements, followed by presentation of evidence and cross-examination. After the presentations, the panel deliberated and the meeting concluded with the 4-1 vote in favor of the challenger.
Board Of Elections Sets Jan. 22 As Date To Hear Residency Challenge In District 4 Commissioners’ Contest
In a meeting Monday afternoon, the Vance County Board of Elections set a hearing date of Jan. 22 at 10 a.m. to consider a challenge lodged by a Vance County commissioner concerning the residency of a candidate who has filed to run for a seat on the board of commissioners.
District 4 Commissioner Dan Brummitt has called into question the residence of Kelley Wade Perdue, who filed to run for the District 4 seat.
“I had some constituents call me with some concerns about where she lived,” Brummitt told WIZS News Monday. Brummitt said after some investigating, “it appears that she does not live at the address that she has listed…there was enough evidence to demonstrate that she doesn’t live in that house. She’s got to provide evidence otherwise,” he added.
Perdue told WIZS that she has been a registered voter in District 4 for years.
“During that time, I voted for Commissioner Dan Brummitt without any questions being raised about my residency. Now that he is being challenged for his seat, my residency has suddenly been questioned. I look forward to working with the Board of Elections. I’m excited to champion a new voice for District 4,” Perdue stated.
Vance County Board of Elections Director Haley Rawles told WIZS that the board of elections will hear from both sides – Brummitt, the “challenger,” and Perdue, the “challenged candidate,” as part of the official proceedings on Jan. 22. The hearing is open to the public and will take place in the commissioners’ meeting room on the second floor of the county office building, 122 Young Ave.
(This information was originally posted January 13th)
TownTalk: Vance County Board Retreat Recap – Part 2
The Vance County Board of Commissioners’ annual retreat gives commissioners and county staff an opportunity to exchange information and opinions as they discuss a variety of topics that are sure to come up in 2026.
In the Jan. 9 retreat, there was a lot of discussion about revenues and spending, giving commissioners and staff a glimpse into what likely will be a part of future budget discussions.
In Commissioner Dan Brummitt’s view, it’s less a matter of money coming in than money going out and more about being more efficient when it comes to spending.
“I don’t believe we have a revenue problem,” Brummitt said during the retreat. “I believe we have an expense problem.”
County Manager Renee Perry assured the commissioners that the county doesn’t “just spend money” for the sake of spending. “We don’t have enough revenue to support anything at this point,” she countered.
“We know that we have an issue with revenues. we fully understand that,” she said. Vance County remains a Tier 1 county, along with almost half the rest of the counties in the state, which means it has higher unemployment, lower median salary and lower tax base than Tier 2 and 3 counties.
Personnel take the biggest bite out of the county’s budget, what with soaring insurance costs and even the slightest bumps in pay to try to improve recruitment and retention.
The county has 380 employees and 70 vacancies. Commissioners could opt to cut those vacant positions as cost-saving measures, but the bulk of those vacancies are in the sheriff’s office, detention center and Department of Social Services, three areas that typically experience chronic staffing shortages.
Perry told commissioners she had asked department heads once again not to request any new positions in the upcoming budget cycle, despite the fact that she knows they need the extra positions.
Speaking of personnel, Perry said she would recommend that commissioners consider again for the upcoming budget a 3 percent cost-of-living increase for county employees and put on the back burner – again – implementing the $1.2 million pay study salary increases.
A 3 percent COLA adjustment equals just more than $668,000, and Perry said that’s her recommendation simply because of all the other priorities the county has at the moment.
She would like to see the county consider a performance pay plan in the future, adding that it could start at a flat rate, moving later to a percentage plan.
So, if there’s not enough money coming in to sufficiently cover the county’s expenses, what’s a county government to do? There are a few choices to raise more revenue, including raising taxes.
One option that Perry encourages commissioners to consider is a local option sales tax increase. That requires a referendum for voters to approve.
Right now, the sales tax rate is 6.75 percent, and it could go up to a maximum of 7 percent, which would provide some extra money in the county coffers.
“I do think that this board should have a conversation at some point about getting the max on the sales tax – that would just be my recommendation,” Perry said. “I’m just surprised that we’ve never explored that here in this county…we get good revenues from sales tax.”
Perry predicted that a ¼-cent sales tax increase would translate to as much as $1.5 million in revenues.
Another option would be to raise the property tax rate, and staff has done some preliminary projections about what that could look like, but Perry said she’d hold off on those discussions until budget work sessions take place later in the spring.
If revenue projections are on the mark, the county is expected to add $400 to its tax base this year – $4.8 billion – up from $4.4 billion last year.
Another conversation for later, as the money comes in, Perry said. “That’s what we’re hoping for – that’s what we’re going to talk about in budget work sessions.”
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TownTalk: Vance County Board Retreat Recap – Part 1
Editor’s Note: WIZS is taking a closer look at the Vance County Commissioners’ annual retreat and will bring you excerpts from the topics that were discussed in upcoming TownTalk segments.
At their annual retreat last week, the Vance County Board of Commissioners spent a good chunk of time talking about money – dollars coming in and dollars going out – and the impact that flow will have on county residents’ pocketbooks.
During the retreat, held Friday, Jan. 9, County Manager Renee Perry said the county capital improvement plan includes repairs to the existing jail, new EMS substation, a new EMS/fire substation and a new detention facility.
All that comes with a price tag – the new jail estimated at $50 million alone – that the county can’t manage without considering some sort of a tax increase.
“We don’t have the revenue to support a debt service on the jail,” Perry explained. Even with USDA funding, she expects the county would be paying at least $2 million a year on a 40-year note – and that’s with a relatively low interest rate of 3 percent. If that interest rate were just a tick higher at 4 percent or 4.5 percent, that amount would climb to more than $2.5 million annually.
Although Perry pointed out benefits of a tax increase – supporting Vance-Granville Community College and social services and creating more competitive pay packages to recruit and retain employees – she acknowledged the negative impact to taxpayers.
“Even a small increase can be burdensome,” she said.
Any tax increase the county decides on would “go directly to capital (improvements) and nothing else,” she emphasized.
At its January 5 meeting, the board approved spending up to $2.9 million on repairs to the current jail, with that money coming from the fund balance. Those repairs are predicted to be complete by November 2026.
A new EMS substation, with an estimated cost north of $2 million, is on the CIP, too. The land has been purchased, and construction costs are going to come from fund balance.
With a projected $10 million price tag, the EMS/fire substation will most likely have to be financed.
Questioned by Commissioner Dan Brummitt about the high cost of the EMS building construction, Perry said, “It won’t be less than a million. It’s not going to be cheap.”
Assistant County Manager Jeremy Jones said the 4,000 square-foot building will include sleeping quarters for eight, as well as bathrooms, a kitchen and a day room.
While basic construction with basic amenities, it will be quality construction. “I don’t want to just throw a building up,” he said.
About all the proposed projects Board Chair Carolyn Faines said, “If we’re going to build, we’ve got to build for the future.”
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Local Physicians Voice Concerns Over Detainees’ Lack Of Access To Opioid Treatment At Jail
County commissioners have been grappling with what to do about the current jail for quite some time now, spending big chunks of money to make repairs to the facility to satisfy state inspectors as they proceed down the path of construction of a new detention center.
In the meantime, however, commissioners and county staff heard Monday from two local physicians who expressed concern about a different kind of cost: one that detainees face when they can’t continue to receive treatment for opioid use disorder because they’re in jail.
Granville Vance Public Health Medical Director Dr. Shauna Guthrie said she is a former physician who has provided care to detainees at the Vance County Jail. Guthrie and Dr. Laura Ucik with Rural Health Group in Henderson spoke to commissioners during the public comment portion of their monthly meeting.
“It’s really important to continue this treatment,” Guthrie said, adding that detainees with substance use disorder are considered a protected class of individuals by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“This could open us up to significant litigation should any harm occur,” Guthrie said, when detainees are forced to detox without benefit of the treatment medications.
Not having their medication puts them at a “significant increase” for overdose when they are released. Treatment reduces recidivism, she noted.
Ucik, board-certified in family and addiction medicine said the treatment had been halted since last summer, due to staffing financial and safety concerns.
“These life-saving medications are absolutely necessary” for detainees, she said. “It’s not only inhumane and truly a form of torture to force people into withdrawal in a jail setting when they’re often in isolation and don’t have adequate support.”
She agreed with Guthrie and said disruption of treatment places individuals “at serious risk of death when they’re released from jail.”
Much like a nicotine patch can help reduce a smoker’s cravings, Ucik said drugs like methadone and suboxone help control cravings.
“We can intervene and save lives,” Ucik said. “We can recognize together that this is a life-or-death situation here in Vance County (and) try to work together to come up with a solution.”
One possible solution involves use of a long-acting injectable version of the drugs that is administered once a month instead of more frequently.
Vance Commissioners Reschedule Annual Retreat For Friday, Jan. 9
– information courtesy of Vance County Clerk to the Board Dywanda Pettaway
The Vance County Board of Commissioners will meet at the Vance County Administration Building located at 122 Young St., Henderson, NC 27536 on Friday, January 9, 2026 at 8:30 a.m. for their annual planning retreat. Once published, a copy of the agenda can be found at https://www.vancecounty.org/…/board-of…/agenda/
Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@VanceCountyNC/streams
Any questions should be referred to Dywanda Pettaway, Clerk to the Board, at 252-738-2003 or via email: dpettaway@vancecounty.org
TownTalk: County Fiscal Operations Policy Stalls In 3-3 Board Vote
The Vance County Board of Commissioners did not approve a proposed fiscal operations policy presented Tuesday during a special called meeting.
The vote was 3-3, with Commissioners Leo Kelly, Carolyn Faines and Charisse Fain voting in favor and Commissioners Yolanda Feimster, Valencia Perry and Dan Brummitt voting against. Commissioner Tommy Hester was not in attendance.
In presenting the document for their consideration, County Finance Director Stephanie Williams explained to commissioners the need to have a comprehensive policy in place.
The 30-page document includes “clear, uniform standards” across all county departments to ensure compliance governing the county’s finances.
“You want to hold people to a standard, but you have to give them standards to put in place,” Williams said.
County Manager C. Renee Perry stated that the county has never had such a policy.
“This is really big for us, for sure,” Perry told commissioners.
Williams said she found an 8-page policy when Perry brought her on board.
“No way you can run a county with eight pages of policy,” she said, adding that although the League of Municipalities doesn’t mandate counties to have fiscal operations policies, she stressed “the absolute importance we have a policy to move forward.”
The existing document addresses topics including debt, cash management and budget policy, but doesn’t include policy about bidding, purchasing and cash handling – internal controls that have been found lacking in recent LGC audit findings.
Perry asked commissioners to send her via email any questions or concerns regarding the proposed policy by Dec. 29.
The commissioners will gather for their annual retreat on Friday, Dec. 19. Their next regular meeting will take place on Jan. 6, 2026.
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