From the Wilmington Star-News (12/30/09): Why, when and how Alcoholic Beverage Control Board members decided to give raises to the father and son who run New Hanover County's liquor stores – netting them six-digit salaries – may never be known because those decisions were never recorded in their meetings, an attorney said Wednesday.
The board’s failure to document decisions made behind closed doors appears to be a violation of the state’s open meetings law.
Wilmington attorney George Rountree met with the board members and ABC Administrator Billy Williams and his son, Assistant Administrator Bradley Williams, in advance of Monday’s meeting with county commissioners to prepare them to be grilled about everything ranging from the salary increases to travel expenses to land purchases next to their headquarters at 17th and Castle streets.
Most noteworthy was that for at least the past five years and likely longer, none of the ABC Board’s proceedings that took place during executive sessions were recorded, Rountree said. The state’s open meeting law states: “every public body shall keep full and accurate minutes of all official meetings, including any closed sessions. When a public body meets in closed session, it shall keep a general account of the closed session so that a person not in attendance would have a reasonable understanding of what transpired.”
Minutes may be documented in writing or a sound or video recording, according to the law, but it appears that did not take place in the ABC Board’s case.
Rountree, was initially hired in October 2008 to help the board maneuver the politics and processes of rezoning the land it bought adjacent to its headquarters to build a bigger liquor retail store.
Two county commissioners who attended the meeting said they were disturbed by what they heard.
“Even if they did admit they made some mistakes, you still have to have minutes for what you talked about,” said commissioner Jonathan Barfield. “Clearly, that process was violated.”
Chairman Jason Thompson said he came to the meeting to hear an unfiltered explanation from board members, but added he heard nothing new on Wednesday. He also questioned how board members who are attorneys, such as Stephen Culbreth, or Chairman Charles Wells, who has served on numerous boards in the community, failed to follow state law.
“Statutes haven’t been complied with for 40 years,” Thompson said. “That level of wrong needs to be dealt with. If I didn’t follow a statute in North Carolina, I’d be in a little more trouble.”
What trouble board members could face, if any, remains to be seen. North Carolina law does not outline any criminal penalties for violating the open meetings law, but someone can file a civil injunction seeking a stop to the actions, or they can file a suit, seeking a judgement.
Rountree had no explanation on why the board failed to document the executive sessions regarding decisions made about the Williamses’ pay and other matters, but he said the closed-session minutes would be documented from now on.
by Vernonica Gonzalez, Star-News Staff Writer