Lenoir County leaders have given away the farm - twice.

The first time was when they gave Sanderson Farms a $2 million site for the company's poultry farm. The second time was about three months ago when Sanderson tried to pay for the land and some dim bulb in the courthouse refused to take the money.

You read that correctly. Sanderson wanted to give Lenoir County $2 million and the county turned down the offer! As a result, your county tax rate will be 80 cents instead of the 74 cents that it could have been. Two million dollars makes a big difference.

Maybe 6 cents isn't a big deal to you, but it is to me, especially after the enormous jump in the county estimate of my property's value.

Exactly how did that happen, you might ask. Good question. Unfortunately, a good answer is hard to come by.

We do know, with some certainty, that the county board didn't vote on the decision. A cursory examination of board minutes confirms that. The decision could have been made in a closed session, but that would have violated the state's open meetings law.

One source close to the board says illegal discussions and decisions are not uncommon in the county. But that's a problem for another day.

County Manager Mike Jarman wasn't available when I called to ask about this generous gift to Sanderson, but he returned a call from Stephen LaRoque last week.

Jarman confirmed to LaRoque that the county did indeed refuse the $2 million. Officials wanted to maintain control of the land, in case Sanderson decides not to build here, Jarman said.

I don't know about you, folks, but I'm willing to give up control of that property in exchange for $2 million. Lenoir County has plenty of land elsewhere.

LaRoque told Jarman that the county's tax rate could have been lowered if Sanderson returned the money. Jarman's answer was no, that the money would have gone into the county's economic development fund. LaRoque asked how much money was in the fund. Jarman replied that, well, it all goes into a big pot.

In other words, the county doesn't have an economic development fund. That fact was confirmed to me by another county official who said the money would have gone into the general fund.

Huh? Jarman's explanation is just a little too cute by half, and raises plenty of questions.

If the county board didn't approve the payback, who did? Were commissioners advised about the decision before it became final? Were they ever told, officially or unofficially? What other factors, besides "control," were considered?

Can this $2 million decision be traced back to some of the same people who decided to host a $20,000 party for their friends when the VA medical center was announced? That decision was reversed after outraged taxpayers howled.

Something might be rotten in Denmark, as the old saying goes, but Denmark smells pretty sweet when compared to the stench of this deal. At this time in our lives, when the county's unemployment rate is near a record high, when taxpayers are getting hit from all sides, when many seniors are facing painful spending decisions, when the county wants to push for an increased sales tax - a $2 million gift to a large corporation that doesn't want it is a disgraceful, insensitive, irresponsible act.

And somebody's head should roll.

Lee Raynor is a former managing editor of The Free Press and is currently the secretary of the Lenoir County Republican Party. You can reach her at leeraynor@embarqmail.com.

***The Free Press welcomes a guest columnist every Friday. Are you interested in writing a column? If so, contact Managing Editor Bryan Hanks at (252) 559-1074 or at bhanks@freedomenc.com.***