CLI: Interviewer
Caster: County Commissioner, New Hanover Co.
CLI: Tell us a little bit about your background and how and why you ended up running for County Commissioner.
Caster: I retired from 27 years in the Coast Guard in 1990 and moved to New Hanover County in the spring of 1991. Although I was starting a small business, I really missed the public service aspects of being in the Coast Guard. I also wanted to get active in the Republican Party after living under the Hatch Act for 27 years of active duty plus my CG Academy time.
I was asked in 1992 to run against an incumbent Democrat for a two-year term. My opponent had been appointed to fill the seat of a commissioner that had died in office. I thought I’d give it a try, never thinking as a newcomer to the County, I could beat a long-time resident. Well, I won by a few thousand votes and beat him again two years later for a four-year term. I won again in 1998 and 2002.
CLI: What have been the biggest challenges you have faced in New Hanover County since becoming a commissioner and how did you deal with them?
Caster: There has been tremendous growth in New Hanover County, many unfunded mandates, such as reduction in class size and the governor taking away funds counties had been and should still be receiving. Each issue is getting more complicated, taking more time to study and understand. Putting in a water and sewer system in a coastal county is no small task.
And the public has learned to use e-mail, which is a wonderful way to communicate, but I spend a lot of time responding to them (and deleted all the junk). We have had to expand the courts by building a new courthouse and a parking deck required by the City of Wilmington. We have passed two school bond issues (with a third about to happen) and build a new jail.
Our library, probably one of the best in the State, has expanded as well as our parks. And we continue to receive requests to build more sports fields. We have also improved our volunteer fire departments in the un-incorporated area of the county.
CLI: Since 2000, cities and counties have had some of their most fiscally difficult budgets. The state used promised local reimbursements to balance their budgets, the economy had faltered, and mandates were increasing. What steps should cities and counties be taking to address these concerns?
Caster: We need to lobby our State Representatives and Senators to help us out. There are enough ex-council members and ex-commissioners in Raleigh. They ought to understand our situation. We also need to continue to work to keep the growth of government under control.
CLI: There is an ongoing debate as to whether school systems should have taxing authority to alleviate the annual struggle between county commissions and school boards over money. How do you feel about this issue?
Caster: I am not in favor of the school boards having taxing authority (although on one hand it would be nice to get that off our backs). The county has many competing requirements for their citizens’ money. One board needs to balance all the competing requirements.
CLI: Looking ahead, what do you see as the greatest challenges facing future local boards, and what steps can they take now to prepare for them?
Caster We just can’t keep being all things to all people. Somewhere it is going to have to give. While I have seen citizens say no more “period,” they are few and far between. Most say “no more,” but we need more schools, or libraries, or parks, or whatever!!!
CLI: Where do you find yourself using performance management, and how do you use it in local government?
Caster: I am more involved in performance management in other boards like DSS,Lower Cape Fear Water and Sewer Authority, and the United Way. I would like to do it, but don’t get much encouragement.
CLI: Your thoughts on privatization of local services?
Caster: I am all for privatization. We have had a couple of successes in DSS and the Jail. Although, the staff fights it tooth and nail.
CLI: New Hanover county and the city of Wilmington has long struggled with merging issues. Many believe that merging city and county services saves money, while others believe there is an erosion of elected oversight and lack of proper chain of command when merges are established. What are your thoughts on what will, and won’t, work?
Caster: Because of the county’s small size and the fact that the city of Wilmington is well over 50% of the county, I think they should be consolidated. BUT it is a difficult task. I originally wasn’t in favor of function consolidation because I thought it would just make full consolidation harder to achieve.
Since I believe full consolidation is going to probably not happen in the near term, we do need to get on with some functions. In the future, I would like to do fire service, water and sewer, and maybe parks.