Officials question Task Force spending

In two years of operation, the Military Growth Task Force has used federal and local money to pay more than $1 million to outside consultants to publish an 860-page possibly redundant regional growth plan.

The Task Force — formed in 2008 with the purpose of preparing seven southeastern North Carolina counties for the expansion of three Marine bases — was awarded a $1.7 million grant from U.S. Department of Defense’s Office of Economic Adjustment. The seven counties — Onslow, Carteret, Pender, Duplin, Jones, Craven, and Pamlico — matched 10 percent of the grant.

Pamlico County Commissioner Chris Mele told The Daily News on Thursday that the entire Task Force was an exercise in redundancy.

“I think it is ridiculous to pay the Military Growth Task Force to conduct studies that have already been done,” she said.

The Task Force’s executive director Mark Sutherland said while much of the information published by the Task Force is available at the county level, no one had developed a regional plan until the Task Force came along.

“Studies exist and there are regional organizations, but what we’ve done no one else has done: bring it all to the same table,” he said. “Problems like traffic and employment do not end at the county line. Regional problems have to have regional answers.”

But questions arose internally as early as September 2008 as to whether the committees within the Task Force were being redundant, according to meeting minutes of the Task Force’s Managers and Planners Committee.

“Concern was expressed that we may be duplicating work of other committees,” the minutes state.

The Task Force’s Regional Growth Management Plan looks at regional growth related to the arrival of additional military personnel, much of which is mirrored in already existing studies.

For instance, Onslow County’s 2009 Certified Comprehensive Plan — which cost $64,700 — analyzed issues such as population, housing, transportation, water and sewer. The research lays out plans for future growth in the county associated with the military over the next 20 years.

The Task Force’s plan disclaimer acknowledges the use of other studies and recommends anyone “using the information in this plan for personal or business decisions should review all publicly available data for themselves.”

In November, Mele voted against funding the Task Force with Pamlico County tax dollars. After the county board voted to fork over $6,250, Mele said she was “disgusted that we don’t have control over money taken from our citizens.”

Pamlico County became the last of the seven counties to give matching funds to the Task Force. Onslow County has given the lion’s share at $30,000, according to the county’s finance office.

Swansboro Town Commissioner Dr. Tina Siegel said she would like to know the return on that investment.

“A lot of money has been invested in the Military Growth Task Force; I’d like to see tangible results in the seven-county area,” she said.

Sutherland began his association with the Task Force as a consultant with Marstel-Day, the firm hired by the Task Force to write the Regional Growth Management Plan, the organization’s preliminary study. He receives an annual salary of $130,000.

Sutherland said that while consultants led the way early on, staff will be taking over in the next phase of the operation.

The original grant was for $1,733,200. Of that, the Task Force budgeted $298,819 for salaries, benefits and travel for three full-time employees: a director, planner and office administrator.

The Task Force set aside $69,681 to run an office and pay for equipment and supplies.

The remaining $1,364,700 went to consultant firms for accounting and auditing and to establish a GIS Website, manage the Task Force’s committees and complete the Task Force’s Regional Growth Management Plan.

The Task Force now has five employees, including a deputy director and a director of communications, and has recently moved into office space in Swansboro. Its deputy director is paid $71,925 annually. The director of communication earns $60,000; senior analyst, $50,000; and office coordinator, $31,500.

Sutherland said the Task Force is expecting another federal grant for $2.5 to 3 million to be approved in the next few weeks. The Task Force will have to raise local funds of $200,000 to $300,000 to match the 10-percent local requirement.

The Task Force was formed in January 2008 under the umbrella of North Carolina Eastern Region, which was originally Global TransPark Development Commission. The GTP, which struggled for years to pay its bills, finally landed Spirit AeroSystems in 2008 — after the state offered $125 million in incentives to the aircraft parts manufacturer, according to information from former Gov. Mike Easley’s Office. The GTP is still $20 million in hock to the General Assembly, according to the state’s treasury office.

Daily News staff member Mike McHugh contributed to this report. Contact Lindell Kay at 910-219-8456. Read the Daily News reporter blog at http://newsroomblog.freedomblogging.com.