Watauga Commissioners To Vote On Resolution Tuesday Establishing County Social Services Advisory Board

By Jesse Wood

Aug. 16, 2013. The Watauga County Board of Commissioners will vote on a resolution establishing a social services advisory board at next Tuesday’s board meeting.

This comes a few months after the Republican commissioners – spearheaded by Chair Nathan Miller – voted 3-2 to abolish the local Department of Social Services board and appoint the five previous DSS board members to the advisory board. At that May board meeting, several people, including Watauga County Social Services Director Jim Atkinson, spoke in opposition to the move while nobody from the public spoke favorably of the abolishment during a public hearing. Click here to read an in-depth article about the contentious meeting.

While the resolution states the advisory board shall provide guidance and recommendations upon request regarding policy and administration, Atkinson “shall continue to have full authority over the policies and procedures of non-mandated services and decisions, as well as the oversight of mandated policies.”

The initial advisory board members and their terms are as follows:

  • Nathan Miller, as County Commissioner/Manager representative.
  • Audrey Tate, through August 30, 2014.
  • Mary Moretz, through August 30, 2015.
  • Tom Trexler, through August 30, 2016.
  • Sharon Brietenstein, through August 30, 2017

The commissioners meeting starts at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 20.

See the proposed resolution below: 

SS Res 1

 

SS Res 2

 

SS Res 3