Accountability and transparency were on the agenda for some new Council of State members at the first meeting for 2025.
State Auditor Dave Boliek, a Republican, asked questions about items normally not discussed in depth at the beginning of the meeting, including the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Right of Way matters.
“These matters have been shared with members of Council of State well in advance of this meeting,” Gov. Josh Stein, a Democrat, said. “They and their staff have had an opportunity to review it and have any questions answered beforehand, so don’t be surprised if this goes a little quickly, but if there are any questions for Mr. (Charles) Grady.”
While Boliek agreed that he had reviewed the items on the agenda, he still had questions about the way items were worded.
“There are several matters on the right of way agenda that appear as though we’ve paid more for those pieces of land, and we are selling for less than for which we pay now,” he stated.
After Grady explained that DOT wasn’t selling the parcels for less than it paid, Boliek said the wording on the agenda items should be clearer.
“It would be helpful if that was articulated for the public because, as presented, it looks as though we’re buying land and selling it for less than what we paid for in an appreciating market,” he said.
Boliek continued questioning the document’s wording regarding state property matters and the lease amendment involving the NC AHEC hangar at the RDU Airport.
In 1998, the governor and Council of State approved a five-year acquisition lease with two five-year renewal options on behalf of NCDOT’s Division of Aviation for the UNC Area Health Education Center (AHEC) hangar and office building.
“I appreciate the information, but I do have to say that the way this was written up is really convoluted, and it ought to be written so at least an average lawyer can understand it, and I had to go through it several times, and I’m probably a below average lawyer,” he said. “In full disclosure, my general counsel did call, and we got some clarification from DOT, but I am curious as to exactly what we’re doing here because when you read it as presented, it’s unclear as to whether we entered into, we the state, and I guess it’s probably UNC through AHEC entered into, or DOT with UNC for the hangar at RDU.”
After some discussion with an NCDOT official, Boliek said he wouldn’t be approving the matter and asked to have it removed and voted on separately. Stein asked if NCDOT’s general counsel could explain the matter further. After doing this, Boliek agreed that counsel’s explanation made more sense.
“I do want to reiterate I read this three or four times, and if anybody else on the Council read it and tells me that they understood exactly what was being asked, I can’t believe that you did because it’s really written convoluted, and quite frankly when you got something like this it would also be helpful to have a copy of the lease,” he said. “Governor, I would appreciate the DOT in future property matters be a little clearer because I went through this with a fine tooth comb pretty good because I am the auditor, and I think the people expect me to look at it, and it really is unclear.”
Later, during the roundtable discussion, Boliek thanked his staff who are serving the people of North Carolina and “holding government accountable at all levels.”
He said they are currently developing a strategic plan.
Boliek also thanked Council members for working with his office when they do audits, including State Treasurer Brad Briner. In addition to helping him look back at the State Health Plan, Boliek said he is conducting a complete financial audit of the state treasury, a statutory requirement whenever a new treasurer enters office.
He also thanked Stein for their collaboration on monitoring the funds expended in western North Carolina for Hurricane Helene recovery.
“So that we can keep a true account and not get in a situation where six years from now we’re asking where did the money go,” stated Boliek.
Stein addressed Boliek at the end of the meeting, saying he very much appreciates the conversations his staff has been having with his.
“We are endeavoring to get you all information as quickly as we can in a regular cadence because we want to be accountable to you,” he said. “We want to be accountable to the public. We are going to have a public dashboard every North Carolina resident can see to make sure that we’re doing the job as best as we can. We all want this to be done immediately with perfection, and we’re going to come as close to those goals as we possibly can.”
Boliek also gave out his office’s hotline number, 1-800-730-8477, for anyone who may have any issues they think the state auditor’s office should look at in a state office or municipality.
Labor Commissioner Luke Farley, a Republican, said the Council has a lot of work to do and raised a concern that only six meetings are scheduled for the year, and there is hardly enough time to complete it.
“I understand that the prior practice for a very long time is that we would meet monthly,” he stated. “I would like to see us go back to that if that’s possible because I think there’s a lot of work that we need to be doing, and we need to be meeting monthly to get that taken care of. So, I would ask you to consider that.”
Farley said a key example from Tuesday’s meeting was the approval of the disbursement of insurance proceeds for Hurricane Helene.
“By my math, about $2 million one claim we were paying to Western Carolina (University), another claim to App State (Appalachian State University), and so if these agendas are going to include things that help speed up Hurricane Helene recovery like paying out insurance proceeds, I don’t see a reason that we should be getting to that only every other month,” he said. “In fact, this is probably something we should have had a meeting about last month as soon as we were all sworn in. So, as labor commissioner, I feel like I’m obligated to encourage us all to work and get to work and make the most of these opportunities that we have instead of getting together just every other month.”
Farley added that even if they only meet every other month, they will need more time, possibly a week, to look at the agendas, which will have twice the amount of items on them. He said, like Boliek, he is also looking at the agenda closely.
“I’m not quite at auditor level, but it does stand out to me, for instance, when we’re selling something for less than we paid for it, and so I would like to encourage us to go back to a regular meeting schedule,” he said. “I understand that was the practice for many years, and I think the people who sent us here to sit around this table, we owe it to them to be working for them as hard as they are out there working.”
Stein ended the meeting by stating that he thinks everyone can agree that the most immediate need right now is helping people recover from Helene in the western part of the state.
He mentioned the $30 million small business grant program announced last week and his request this week for over $1 billion from the General Assembly for rebuilding needs, and that urgency, focus, transparency, and accountability are needed to get things done.