By Jessie Burchette
jburchette@salisburypost.com
All five county commissioners will serve as liaisons to key county boards.
Carl Ford, newly elected chairman of the Rowan County Board of Commissioners, stuck with the approach of former Chairman Arnold Chamberlain by appointing one or two commissioners to act as a contact with each key board.
Over the past several years, commissioners have competed to be appointed as liaisons to key boards. The appointments have made some happy and left others displeased.
Traditionally, members of various boards have lobbied the chairman to appoint a particular commissioner who might be more supportive of their efforts and goals than others.
In 2005, Chamberlain opted to avoid the possible friction by letting everybody serve as liaisons to the Rowan-Salisbury Board of Education, the Salisbury-Rowan Economic Development Commission and the Rowan County Planning Board.
In the list of appointments released Tuesday, Ford continued Chamberlain’s strategy.
Among new appointments, the Rowan/Kannapolis Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority will get its first liaison. ABC officials requested an appointment.
Commissioner Tina Hall, a frequent critic of ABC system operations, will serve as the liaison to that board.
Typically, a commissioner serving as a liaison attends meetings of the boards and serves as a conduit for information or requests to the Board of Commissioners.
Other boards and appointments include:
– Board of Health ó Chad Mitchell;
– Social Services ó Ford;
– Piedmont Behavioral Health Care ó Jon Barber;
– Personnel ó Ford, Mitchell;
– Library ó Barber;
– Rowan-Cabarrus Community College, Hall;
– Parks and Recreation Commission ó Hall;
– Centralina Council of Government ó Coltrain;
– Emergency Services ó Barber;
– Rufty Holmes Senior Center ó Barber;
– Tourism Authority ó Raymond Coltrain (must be approved by Board of Commissioners);
– Aging and Senior Citizens ó Barber;
– Human Relations Council ó Coltrain;
– Partnership for Children ó Hall;
– Juvenile Crime Prevention Council óHall;
– Criminal Justice Partnership Program ó Ford;
– Cooperative Extension Advisory Board ó Coltrain;
– Cabarrus-Rowan Metropolitan Planning Organization ó Hall;
– Downtown Salisbury ó Coltrain.