By Richard Sullins | richard@rantnc.com

The Lee County Board of Commissioners on Monday floated a new set of procedural rules that would allow for removal of its leadership if necessary.

The new rules, if adopted, would allow for removal of the board’s chairman or vice chairman from those roles “upon a vote of ‘no confidence’ by a majority of the Board.” The current rules only allow removal if the chairman or vice chairman resigns from the board or becomes disqualified to serve as a commissioner. Removal of the chair or vice chair would not result in that commissioner’s removal from the board.

Monday’s meeting, the first held inside the meeting space at the new Lee County Library, was specially called.

County Attorney Whitney Parrish outlined the proposed changes, noting the board last updated its rules in 2023. She said the new language was drafted by outside counsel at the request of several board members.

No chair or vice chair of the Lee County Board of Commissioners has ever been removed. Commissioners offered no public explanation during the meeting for why they are now seeking such authority. The board set a deadline of August 12 to finalize revisions to the rules of procedure.

Chair Kirk Smith, a Republican, immediately objected. He argued that “no confidence” votes belong to parliamentary systems, not American governance.

“Two hundred fifty years ago, we told the British we’re no longer going to have their parliamentary system,” he said. “I’m just curious what this move in the middle of the year is all about.”

Boards and councils in the United States routinely elect and sometimes replace their own leadership by majority vote, though such actions aren’t typically described as “no confidence” votes.

Smith wondered whether the board would even have time to consider any of the recommendations for change during the next couple of months, given the requirement contained in state law that the county adopt its budget for the coming fiscal year no later than June 30, a process that requires a laser-like focus by the commissioners in May and June.

Smith also questioned how future boards might define “no confidence,” warning that standards could shift with political winds. He asked Parrish to provide examples of situations that might justify such a vote before the board revisits the proposal ahead of the August deadline.

The revisions would also curb the chair’s power to control meeting agendas — currently, only the chair can approve or block items from being added. Republican Commissioner Taylor Vorbeck said she’s had multiple requests for agenda items denied without explanation.

“If something one of us requests gets denied and doesn’t make it onto the agenda, can we at least be told about it?” she asked. “There was something very important recently that was denied multiple times, and none of us have gotten an explanation.”

Vice Chair Andre Knecht, also a Republican, asked whether the UNC School of Government had reviewed the proposed changes. Parrish said she didn’t know. Knecht requested that the School of Government be given an opportunity to evaluate the revisions and offer feedback.

The chair and vice chair of the board are elected by its members to one year terms each December. Although there was no acknowledgement of any impetus for creating rules that would allow the board to remove its leaders, the proposal comes less than two months after Smith pointedly questioned an attorney from the Southern Environmental Law Center who had been invited to address the board about potential data center impacts locally.

Smith acknowledged that exchange as a possible reason for the move when contacted for comment after the meeting.

“No doubt I hurt somebody’s feelings during my questioning the lawyer from the Southern Environmental Law Center and my subsequent text message regarding the 6-1 vote to initiate staff to draft a data center moratorium,” he said, adding that he’d been told about “the desire of board members with the intent to remove me from the chair.”