Courthouse Expansion
Board may use new court fees to expand courthouse

BY WESLEY YOUNG
SALISBURY POST

PINEHURST - Rowan County commissioners were plenty glad Thursday that they lobbied the N.C. General Assembly for higher court fees last year.

On retreat at the Pinehurst Resort and Country Club, commissioners learned that those higher fees may help them build two new courtrooms on the unfinished second floor of the new court building in the Justice Center.

Capable of raising $800,000 over seven years, the fees could go a long way towards construction costs, estimated at $1 million to $1.2 million.

Board Chairman Newton Cohen said the county deserves credit for asking its local lawmakers to file a bill last year increasing fees people pay for filing various court actions.

Commissioners have long felt that the county has to pick up too much of the tab for court maintenance costs.

Still, the new courtrooms are parts of a long list of court and crime control requests. Commissioners decided they will have to sit down with judges and other court officials to pare down the list.

''I think it is a given that it is next to impossible to do everything on the list,'' Commissioner Dave Rowland said.

A big item on that list is expanding the jail into a section on the top floor that was left unfinished when the county built the Justice Center.

Sheriff George Wilhelm made a forceful appeal for the extra jail space Thursday and promised to have the new cells filled to capacity as soon as they are finished.

Wilhelm wants the extra jail space to bring the jail's capacity from 162 to 210 - although even now, the detention center routinely houses 200 to 240 inmates.

Even if the county built a 500-inmate jail, Cohen observed, it would quickly fill to capacity.

But Wilhelm didn't blink at that: ''I'm going to fill it up. That is what I was elected to do. That is your problem.''

Wilhelm will couple the expanded jail with a new pretrial release program that should allow the county to ''live 20 years with a 210-bed jail facility.''

Rowan County needs extra courtrooms because the state recently agreed to give the county a third District Court judge - who should be named soon. That judge will need not only a courtroom but bailiffs to help him keep order.

Wilhelm estimates it will cost $100,000 to hire the bailiffs, plus another $23,000 to add the rank of ''master deputy'' for his more experienced officers. Toss in the $700,000 estimate for fitting out the extra jail space, and courthouse needs were adding up in spite of any new court facility fees.

Outlining goals

Commissioners began their retreat about 10:30 a.m. Thursday by outlining the things they would like to accomplish during their current term.

Cohen named no specific goal but said he hoped to leave the retreat with all of the budget requests put in priority. Commissioner Frank Tadlock said education was his top concern.

Rowland said his main goal is to keep taxes from going up, while Commissioner Steve Blount said that nearly all the spending requests the county faces relate to continued population growth.

Freshman Commissioner Arnold Chamberlain, attending his first retreat, called for economic development to improve the tax base. Chamberlain also said he wants the county Department of Social Services to consolidate services for better efficiency and to be ''held accountable.'' Chamberlain criticized the department in 1997 after three children, all previously the subject of child protection investigations, died of abuse in a short period of time.

County Manager Tim Russell told commissioners that the county could see a 15 to 20 percent increase in the valuation of property when revaluation takes place this year. When that process is complete, commissioners will face the politically delicate task of figuring out just how far down to drop the tax rate.

The board could drop the rate far enough to raise the exact same amount of money - and not raise taxpayers' bills - or keep the current rate, claim a revenue windfall and, in effect, raise taxes. The latter seems unlikely, but the amount of new spending requested might make it hard to cut taxes all the way back.

''Justice and public safety is the one thing that could impact the tax rate,'' Russell told commissioners.

Still, commissioners remain committed to the idea of raising school spending to meet the state per-pupil spending average. Given the controversies over school spending that have raged in the past, Thursdays meeting between commissioners and school officials was pleasantly cordial. (See related article, Section C.)

Sheriff's plans

Wilhelm was cordial too, though he made it clear he wants more jail space.

Wilhelm said he also plans to upgrade the North Kannapolis office so that officers can turn in reports there and carry out other administrative functions. Eventually, Wilhelm wants to relocate the office to another site.

Wilhelm said he is upgrading hiring standards, requiring for the first time that prospective deputies take tests for physical agility and mental stability. Prospects would also have to pass a polygraph.

Chamberlain was stunned that the requirements weren't previously in place, calling it ''unacceptable'' and ''unbelievable.''

Amidst all the other budget requests, commissioners quickly agreed that they support a new South Rowan Library.

The board plans to pay for the new library branch by using an appropriation now dedicated to paying off bonds used to build the main library in Salisbury. When those payments expire, the board will ''roll over'' the payments for the South branch.

At the same time, commissioners will be encouraging citizen support - and contributions - for the project. Tadlock, the board's liaison to the library board, said the panel favors a site beside the South Rowan YMCA. Other commissioners noted that someone may step forward and donate the needed land.

- Commissioners agreed with the county manager that the bears at Dan Nicholas Park need a better place to live. With other improvements at the park, Russell said, it is a shame that the bears live in cages with cement floors. The county hopes to interest a donor in providing better bear quarters.

- Commissioners plan to explore whether they could sell off land near Fieldcrest Cannon stadium and use the money to retire stadium debt.

The county owns about 40 acres around the stadium, located near Interstate 85 just outside Kannapolis. All of that land may not be developable, however, because it is in a watershed. However, commissioners noted that the city of Concord no longer uses the lake beside the ballpark as a water source.