SALISBURY — Rowan County voters got their first look at Republican candidates for the board of commissioners during a forum on Tuesday night, hosted by the Rowan County Republican Party at the Rowan Public Library Headquarters in downtown Salisbury.

The event was moderated by State Sen. Carl Ford, who presented the three candidates with the questions. All four Republican candidates were invited, but sitting Commissioner Craig Pierce informed Republican Party Chairman Tony Yon before the event that he would be unable to attend.

Ford presented the candidates with seven questions during the forum:

“How do you feel about the current tax rate? Would you up the rates, cut or stay the course on the current tax rate?”

Jonathan Barbee said that he felt that the tax rate could be lowered, especially when he considers the economic development that has come to Rowan County and how that has raised the economic base for the county.

Mike Caskey said that he understood the issues with the county tax rate, with many people’s property tax bills increasing due to the recent revaluation. He noted that the growth in the Charlotte region has pushed people to relocate to Rowan County, causing housing costs to rise. He pointed to the commissioners dropping the tax rate from 65.75 cents to 58 cents per $100 valuation, which he said was done in an attempt to get the county to revenue neutral. He said he hopes to continue to lower that rate as more businesses come to the county and provide more revenue.

Angie Spillman said that she definitely wants to lower property taxes, but that it is tough to commit to lowering the rate because that income is how the county pays its bills. She did say that she wanted more tax incentives for residents similar to the ones offered to businesses that move to Rowan County. She said that she hopes to help grow other revenue streams as well, but that she wants to work towards other sources besides just bringing in industrial growth. She said that industrial growth in Rowan County would cause the population to explode, stretching emergency resources, such as police and fire departments, thin. Instead, she pointed to development opportunities around High Rock Lake.

“What are your ideas on the mall property, including what’s already occurred and going forward?”

Caskey pointed to the effort the commissioners put into not raising taxes in order to fund the purchase and renovation of the old Salisbury Mall property. He said that the county created a capital account, where money was moved from other funds in order to build up a decent sized funding base to borrow against. He also said that federal agencies are agreeing to move into the property, which would provide revenue in the form of the rent agreements. He said that eventually he hopes that other government agencies, such as the Department of Social Services are able to move into the property without dipping into tax dollars.

Spillman started her answer by saying that she did not agree with the decision to buy the mall, but that the county owns it now so the main question is how to move forward with it. She stated that her first and foremost concern is that any development in the mall be cost-effective and agreed with moving different departments into the building. Spillman also said that she did not want to see the county buy any more private property moving forward.

Barbee agreed with both Caskey and Spillman in saying that an empty building was a waste of space and money. He said that he supported the moving of different county services into the one, combined space that the mall provides. He also said that he wanted to hear opportunities for businesses to move into the mall.

“Tell us your thoughts concerning the board of commissioners becoming the DSS board and the health board?”

Spillman said that she liked the idea of the commissioners getting involved in every single aspect of government because they hold the “power of the purse.” She said that she wanted the board to remain on top of new ideologies that may or may not fit the culture of the county. Spillman noted that although she agreed with general government oversight, she worried about government overreach.

Barbee said that he believed that it provided a good opportunity, so long as people elected government leaders who “are responsible on what we’re doing and trying to address and help the community.”

Caskey said that this was a discussion that the board had already held a public hearing about and that he recognized it was a major change in the way the county government runs. He did say that he was in favor of it, remarking that it would help the government become more efficient.

“How would you describe the balance between property rights and zoning?”

Barbee said that he believed that the county needed to strike a fine balance between the rights of private property owners and the well-being of the surrounding community. He said that he believed the main way to strike that balance was to have boots on the ground to speak directly with the communities affected about their questions and concerns, especially when new businesses are proposing a development.

Caskey said that he believed this question was one of the main issues posed in his role as a county commissioner, performing the balancing act between the rights of a landowner and the rights of their neighbors. He said that zoning was often one of the issues where the decision will make one party angry and the other satisfied no matter what the ruling is. Caskey also put a request to the members of the state legislature in attendance to look into changing the rules around quasi-judicial hearings, where commissioners act as judges in a courtroom. He said that those types of hearings put the regular citizens at a disadvantage due to the requirements of listening to only expert testimony, where the person that has lived next door for a decade is not considered an expert and so therefore their opinion cannot be considered during the decision.

Spillman started by relaying a story about how, when she ran for commissioner two years ago, she placed a large eight-foot sign on a property near Sheetz in Salisbury. Zoning staff came and told her it needed to be taken down, a decision which she eventually came to understand, saying that her sign could have had a detrimental effect on the nearby businesses. She said that she believed the most important thing the commissioners can do during zoning discussions is to have a direct discussion with the citizens and to be clear and open on what the rules and conditions are.

“With more and more of society depending on online contact, what do you think about the county website and what, if any, improvements would you make, including social media and possible including online notices”

Caskey said that keeping the county website updated and modern was a constant battle that county staff continuously worked on and needed to continue working on. He said that technology is the future, and while he believes in the necessity of local papers, he supported moving the county’s legal notices onto its own website.

Spillman said that she believed that the county website needed to be updated to be more accessible to citizens. She also said that she wanted the county to maintain some form of social media or other open line of communication that citizens could stay involved with and voice their opinions in a public forum.

Barbee said that he believed the county website could be much more streamlined to make it so that citizens could have easier access to whatever information they needed. He also said that he wanted to maintain an open line of communication and that he felt as a county commissioner he would have an obligation to report to the citizens what he experienced during meetings and what he was doing for the county.

“I know you’re not running for the board of education, but the funding of new school construction is under the purview of the county commissioners. With some new schools that have already been built, maybe more in the future and some closures occurring, what do you think the future holds on new school construction in Rowan?”

Spillman said that with the way Rowan County’s population is growing, more schools will be necessary in the near future. However, she said that building a new school should be the last resort in expanding the school system, instead preferring to renovate older buildings if possible. She said that when older schools in Rowan County are closed and destroyed, that a large piece of the community and its history has been irrevocably removed.

Barbee said that the school system needs to be provided with all the facilities that they require, but the challenge is finding ways to fund that. He said that he wanted to see the county work on partnering with the local colleges and other institutions in the community to make any expansions that become necessary happen.

Caskey said that one of his worries in expanding school facilities is the opportunity scholarship system in North Carolina, where a family can receive a voucher for a private school, and their tax dollars go towards that voucher instead of the public school system. If that system expands substantially, he said that the subtraction of student population and tax dollars may make new schools obsolete.

“If elected as commissioner, what are your top priorities for Rowan County?”

Barbee said that his top priorities would be establishing a governmental water authority that would work to protect citizens from lead contamination and to keep as many open lines of communication with the public as possible.

Caskey said that he wanted to bring a new EMS station to southeastern Rowan County, creating and expanding the county’s veteran treatment court, move the health department into the West End Plaza, continuing to work on a human trafficking study that is a coordination between the county and various activist groups in the county and diversifying the economy.

Spillman said that she wants to increase the safety of citizens by hiring more first responders and upgrading their equipment, creating a contingency fund for the sheriff’s office and establishing or upgrading communication systems between the different law-enforcement agencies in the county.

In closing remarks, Spillman endorsed Mike Caskey as the other commissioner candidate that she hopes to work alongside. She said that she believes that “everybody running is a good option.” 

All three candidates made sure to thank voters for taking the time to make sure that have as much information as possible about the candidates before votes are cast.