Harnett: Commissioners change public comment policy and receive 2025 mid-year report

Harnett County Commissioners reduced the allowable public comment time for upcoming meetings at the Aug. 4 agenda meeting.

The board reduced the allotted time for public comments from one hour down to thirty minutes and the allowable speaking time for each individual from five minutes down to three minutes.

“A lot of times they are just up here bashing the commissioners and all that kind of stuff,” Commissioner Barbara McKoy said.

Vice Chairman William Morris proposed the reduced time allotments, saying public commenter Alan Longman was “babbling.”

Bunnlevel resident Alan Longman said the county water had 20 major failures, the cadmium level was five times above the allowable levels, and that the water was the third worst quality in the state.

Harnett County Regional Water provided test results showing the cadmium levels well below EPA standards. View the Jan. 1, 2025, document here.

Longman shared that China is preparing its students for new world teaching and furthered his discussion saying politicians do not belong in education.

“I see you’re trying to put money back into, the uh, and I’m for treatment of drug addiction,” Longman said as he continued to sway behind the podium and said the sheriff’s department “had a history of being wrong on how they implement things” concerning the DARE program previously used in schools to warn students of the dangers of drug abuse.

Longman said the county needed to investigate the prisons for funneling drugs to inmates.

“I know firsthand that it is internal and set up as a system in our jail,” Longman said about inmates and sheriff personnel smuggling drugs.

The first public comments speaker, Land Use Attorney with Morning State Law Group Hunter Winstead represented Blissful Properties & Realty LLC which the board granted a commercial zoning request.

Winstead’s visual presentation showed public support for the commercial zoning request for a small convenience store at the intersection of Piney Growve Rawls Road and U.S. Highway 401.

Winstead ran out of time for his presentation, and after the board approved reducing public comment time, Commissioner Eddie Jaggers said they can always allow someone to continue speaking when there is a “big issue.”

County Manager Brent Trout said the 2025 Mid-Year Report was completed.

A brief overview of the glowing report follows.

Board of Elections

Processed and verified 140,000+ voter registration applications, excluding incomplete ones.

Conducted routine voter roll maintenance (removals due to death, felony convictions, and relocations).

Hosted the first-ever Election Worker Appreciation event with 100+ attendees.

Held four public input sessions on precinct boundary changes.

Successfully divided Barbecue and Anderson Creek precincts to improve access.

Relocated office with no service interruptions.

Capital Projects / Construction / Renovation

Renovated 2nd floor of the Department of Social Services building.

Updated Neill’s Creek Park concessions and restrooms.

Upgraded Boone Trail Community Center entrance and concessions.

Repurposed former Board of Elections building for office use (Solid Waste, Fleet Services, Capital Projects).

Renovated Cooperative Extension kitchen for better use.

Cooperative Extension

Completed and began use of the Educational Kitchen for cooking programs.

Secured 7 NC AgVentures Grants totaling $42,270.

Hired a new Field Crops Agent.

Partnered with Health Department for Girls Are Great program.

4-H programs:

200+ slots for Summer Fun.

150 more for underserved youth in Bright Pathways Summer Camp.

Trained 16 school food service employees in Safe Plates certification.

County Manager’s Office

Submitted OSBM quarterly updates with zero discrepancies.

Funded 43 nonprofits, with additional support for 5 more.

Performance Management

Strategic Plan for FY2026 presented and approved.

TEAM Harnett updated business plans to align with Strategic Plan.

Reviewed 42 Key and Other Strategic Actions:

10% pending

52% in progress

38% completed

Began software automation planning for performance tracking.

Opioid Task Force

Supported Recovery Alive in Dunn (4 in long-term recovery).

Held monthly and quarterly meetings to guide strategy.

Secured funding for MOUD for uninsured/underinsured.

Partnered with NC Harm Reduction to help 30+ individuals.

Documented success story: one individual completed recovery and started a new life.

Planning, Permitting, and Inspection

Adopted updated Comprehensive Land Use Plan (April 26, 2025).

Community engagement included 4 open houses, 1,792 surveys, 2 events, 12+ meetings.

Reviewed 436 development projects:

34 final plats (1,493 lots)

20 preliminary plats (1,791 lots)

15 commercial site plans

Processed:

3,101 permits

1,209 water tap/meter apps

14,738 inspections

1,121 plan reviews

Revised permit forms for user-friendliness.

Cross-trained new staff.

Certifications achieved:

John Kokoszka: Building Level II

Daniel Floyd: Mechanical and Electrical I

Economic Development

Launched:

Harnett County Jobs Campaign (goal: 1,000 jobs by 2030 with high wages).

Industrial Land Program to ready sites for industrial use.

Secured $148,500 in funding (public/private) for product development.

Edgerton Industrial Park – Site 1: Engineering completed; supports 100,000 SF & 10,000 SF buildings.

Harnett 95 Industrial Center: Completed a Reverse Site Selection Report (SWOT, benchmarking, etc.).

Released new economic development marketing video: Strong Roots, New Growth.

Emergency Services

Whole Blood Program launched May 16 for hypovolemic shock treatment.

Improved Patient Care Report (PCR) documentation led to a 19.3% drop in billing errors.

Drafted Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP) for Emergency Services and IT.

Successful FEMA demonstration (Shearon Harris) and new decontamination equipment rollout.

Cross-trained all Administrative and Billing Staff.

Eliminated financial reporting delays and improved accuracy.

Received Smoke Alarm Grant from NC Office of State Fire Marshal.

Implemented Blazestack fire investigation software (July 1).

Completed 250+ hours of business inspection data entry.

Facilities Management

Repaved Development Services/IT parking lot.

Replaced Courthouse chiller pumps.

Installed new sidewalks, flooring, and ADA-compliant parking at multiple facilities.

Renovated interior offices for Tax, Register of Deeds, and Health Department.

Finance

Staff achieved NC Finance Officer certification.

Updated deposit process for faster reconciliation.

Began implementation of Tyler ERP bid and expense modules.

Enhanced cross-training and launched DocuSign and vendor request portal.

Updated travel authorization process.

Fleet

Completed 854 work orders for 372 vehicles.

Rebuilt a HARTS van; added 7 vehicles to Fleet Replacement Program.

Sold 36 vehicles, 2 trailers, and 9 equipment pieces for $174K+ via GovDeals.

Online auctions drew 30,816 hits and 2,161 bids.

Animal Services

Administered 1,268 rabies vaccinations (+18.39%).

Shelter intake: 1,465 animals (+7.2%).

894 adoptions (+18.1%) and euthanasia rate down to 38.9%.

Held 9 adoption events and 3 public education campaigns.

HARTS (Transit)

Denials dropped by 59.9%.

CPTA Bus Rodeo Team placed 5th of 28.

Completed North Harnett Transit study.

Driver turnover rate down 23%.

Youth Services

30 youth program admissions (25 in Community Service, 5 in Teen Court).

50 program terminations.

12 Teen Court participants, 45 completed community service.

GIS

Completed 13,789 data updates.

Launched apps for polling places, mosquito areas, and tax revenue.

Upgraded E-911 and Arc Enterprise systems.

Created tools saving $18,000+ in processing.

Harnett Regional Jetport (HRJ)

Operations increased 12.79% (from 32,167 to 36,279).

Strengthened communication with aircraft owners.

Purchased Kubota UTV for maintenance.

Launched corporate area development, started runway expansion studies.

Began non-directional beacon decommissioning with FAA.

Harnett Regional Water (HRW)

Wastewater Plant Upgrade is 45% complete ($112M project).

PFAS treatment pilot study underway.

Purchased Angle Property (42 acres) for future plant.

St. Matthews extension nearing completion.

Funded Lead and Copper Compliance Program ($1M SRF).

Awaiting Fort Bragg easement for Hwy 87 sewer project.

Revenue exceeded $50M.

Health Department (HCHD)

Clinical Services:

Outreach events up 5.75% to raise health awareness.

Health Education:

Launched 5 major campaigns, including:

QuitlineNC: 60 radio ads, 1,254 reached.

Heart Month: 3,723 reached.

Girls are Great: 6,034 reached, 90 attendees, 89% learned something new.

Installed sharps kiosk (36 gallons collected).

Events:

Mobile Free Pharmacy served 1,034 residents, 17% uninsured.

Senior Health & Safety Fair drew 150 seniors.

Environmental Health

Opened dedicated plan review room for efficiency.

Human Resources

18 graduates from first Harnett Management Academy.

Hosted HR Best Practices at the Jetport.

129 new hires onboarded; 471 used self-service open enrollment.

Held employee wellness events and 12 orientation sessions.

Launched offboarding portal and selected new workers’ comp provider.

Information Technology

Remodeled 911 Center, upgraded network infrastructure.

Installed 326 devices; migrated to Webex Cloud Voice.

AV upgrades at multiple locations.

Security and badge upgrades at Alexander building.

Relocated multiple departments and handled 5,383 tech requests.

Completed HIPAA audit.

Legal

Processed 190 public records requests with 9-day average response time.

Reviewed 363 contracts/change orders.

Heard 96 appeals on School Bus Stop Arm Ordinance.

Library

Received $10,000 LTC ADA Grants for 4 branches.

Won LSTA Grant for Bookmobile and RFID.

Created Strategic Plan Implementation teams.

2,795 summer reading participants, 320,000 minutes read.

Circulation:

Physical: 177,296 (+26%)

Digital: 48,242 (+33%)

Computer use: 7,894 sessions (+16%).

Hosted 868 programs with 19,754 attendees.

Parks and Recreation

Installed new scoreboards, pickleball lines, dugouts, and shelters.

Launched new programs: Socca Tots, Summer Camp, Movies in the Park.

Began construction on 2 blueway water access points.

Submitted Parks Trust Fund grant; started greenway feasibility study.

752.5 rental hours logged.

Over 296,000 visitors Jan–June.

Hosted community and strategic planning events.

Soil & Water Conservation

Secured:

$140K for stream debris removal

$78K in Ag Cost Share (751 tons soil saved on 790 acres)

$19K grant for no-till drill

$10K for stream study in Erwin

Enrolled 574 new acres in Voluntary Ag District (total 27,378 acres).

Conservation Education

Keep Harnett Beautiful: 509 volunteers, 27 cleanups (1,900 bags, 850 bulky items).

Sponsored 5 Envirothon teams, 1 won wildlife division.

404 students, 300 adults educated through events.

Solid Waste

Hosted hazardous waste/shredding event.

Completed Dunn-Erwin Landfill cell expansion.

Extended Saturday hours at two landfills.

Created RFP for Northwest Convenience Center.

Tax Department

Increased past-due real estate collection rate by 57%.

Met with 345 seniors across county to explain tax relief programs.

51,786 site visits completed for 2026 Reappraisal.

4,200+ mobile home visits for personal property valuation.

Veterans Services / Workforce Development

Three staff completed accreditation training.

Hosted Memorial Day and Charters of Freedom ceremonies.

Supported local employers with job placement events.

Held multi-employer job fair with 18 employers, 46 job seekers.

3,082 services provided to customers.

31 veterans served, with placements in jobs and training.

American Rescue Plan programs supported

4 in substance use disorder recovery

10 small business participants

6 justice-involved individuals

Read the complete 2025 Mid-Year Report here.

Aug. 4, 2025

Stephanie M. Sellers

Submit a comment for consideration for publication to accompany the next Harnett County Commissioners’ meeting at editor@sandhills.news.